We’ve all heard the term BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle). Well, the term BYO is expanding to take on harmful single use plastics, and now the last letter is up to you! BYO Container? BYO Bottle? BYO Utensils?
The BYO Movement encourages customers to opt OUT of single use plastic cups and containers that are piling up in our ecosystems. Instead we promote customers bringing their own containers to be safely filled on site at various food and retail locations.
BYO is a super simple yet impactful solution that reduces the amount of single use plastics being produced, consumed, and discarded in your neighborhood. BYO encourages participation from both customers and businesses alike.
At times, BYO is argued to be an anti-equity or exclusionary practice that places the onus on consumers to make the necessary packaging behaviour changes. While it’s absolutely true that customers shouldn’t be responsible for systems change, this can truly be an effective way to take climate and environmental action into your own hands and act locally. While waiting for adequate legislation, we can take matters into our own hands in shifting the culture of consumption within our personal lives and communities. Consumption habits send a message.
The biggest takeaway from the conversation around BYO and reusables is that there doesn’t need to be an all or nothing solution. BYO doesn’t have to be the only reusable option available. It can work in harmony with more structured, business-led reusable programs or compostable options. We’ve all heard that plastic pollution has no silver bullet solution, and that’s because complex waste problems require a series of innovative solutions. When governments limit the ability of citizens to bring their own containers by upholding restrictive food codes, they limit the ability of consumers to make progressive choices regarding their own waste habits.