EarthX is encourag
ing diners to Go NOCO Loco! by saying NO to plastic and Styrofoam COntainers during DFW Restaurant Week. Running August 5 through September 1, DFW Restaurant Week is the single largest culinary event in Dallas-Fort Worth, offering diners special menus at more than 140 participating restaurants. With nearly 90,000 local residents making reservations during the event, the simple act of bringing your own reusable “to-go” container or using low-impact options can have a significant impact.
“Taking our meals ‘to go’ in plastic containers has had serious consequences,” said Karen Fleig, director of marketing and communications for EarthX. “If each DFW Restaurant Week restaurant and dining patron committed to using biodegradable, compostable, or reusable containers, we could plant a seed that would influence others, making a huge difference in the long-term.”
EarthX is also celebrating having struck out one million single-use plastic straws since launching its Strike Out Straws campaign at Earthx2018. Once discarded, single-use plastic straws, made from petroleum, require more than 200 years to break down, adding to plastic debris in landfills. As Strike Out Straws continues, EarthX is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in 2020 by also working toward a goal of no single-use plastic and styrofoam to-go COntainers.
“It’s simple. Tell your server you have brought your own reusable container for your leftovers. Or, ask for one of the biodegradable, low-impact Go NOCO Loco! containers made of fully compostable and rapidly renewable sugarcane fibers,” added Fleig. “And let’s not stop with Restaurant Week. Why not bring your own container year-round? We’ve trained ourselves to say ‘no’ to plastic straws, but what else can we also be saying no to?” 
Participating restaurants will offer Go NOCO Loco! biodegradable containers from EarthX partner CircleTerra, maker of eco-friendly food service ware, including plates, cups, bowls, take-out containers, napkins and more. Consumers use a significant amount of plastic and Styrofoam for “to-go” containers that ends up in oceans and landfills. Single-use containers make up about 10 percent of all trash, with less than 14 percent of plastic packaging being recycled. Single-use food and beverage packaging is one of the largest contributors to the 269,000 tons of plastic pollution that end up in the ocean, causing harm to the climate, marine life, and ultimately our health. More than $11 billion worth of recyclable material is also thrown away in the process.
According to The New York Times, the main cause of the global increase in plastic production is the rise of plastic packaging. In 2015, packaging accounted for 42 percent of non-fiber plastic produced and 54 percent of plastics that get thrown away. Due to littering and poor waste management, plastics, which are not biodegradable and contain toxic hydrocarbon molecules, have had startling consequences on our world.
More information on Go NOCO Loco! is available at www.earthx.org/gonocoloco, with more information on DFW Restaurant Week also available at www.dfwrestaurantweek.com.
ABOUT EarthX
EarthX convenes the world’s largest environmental expo, conference and film festival. Founded in 2011 as Earth Day Dallas by environmentalist and businessman Trammell S. Crow, the Texas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization promotes environmental awareness and impact through conscious business, nonpartisan collaboration and community-driven sustainable solutions. In 2019, the event drew over 177,000 attendees, 2,000 environmental leaders, exhibitors and 400 speakers. Earthx2020 will be held April 24 – 26, 2020 in Dallas. Visit www.EarthX.org.
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