New SUBWAY® Catering Trays Made From 95 Percent Post-Consumer Recycled Materials

New Trays Improve Catering Experience for Restaurants and Customers

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Apr 22, 2013, 02:57 ET

MILFORD, Conn., April 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The SUBWAY® restaurant chain, which has made a commitment to make its restaurants and operations even more environmentally responsible, is now using catering trays that are made from 95 percent post-consumer recycled PET.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130422/NY99142 )

The brand estimates that the move will keep about 1.8 million pounds of plastic materials from going directly into the waste stream annually. Each tray and lid is made from about 19, 20-ounce recycled plastic soda or water bottles and can be recycled where commercial facilities exist. The new catering trays are used in almost 29,000 SUBWAY® restaurants in the United States and Canada.

"We have made a commitment to look at every facet of our day-to-day operations in order to make our restaurants more environmentally responsible," said Elizabeth Stewart, Marketing Director, who also oversees the brand's Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. "With every step we take towards sustainability, such as with the improvements we've made to catering trays this year, and those that we made to salad bowls and lids last year, we are closer to our end goal of being able to show a significant difference in the Subway brand's overall footprint. The catering trays and salad bowls alone will keep more than 4 million pounds of plastic from going directly into the landfills each year, and we are proud to roll these out just in time for Earth Day. While we are proud of the steps we have taken so far, we recognize there is more to be done and are committed to increasing our green efforts."

Like the salad bowls and lids that were introduced in 2012, the catering trays and lids were created by Pactiv of Lake Forest, Illinois. Pactiv works with a state of the art facility that cleans and recycles PET soda and water bottles, creating the materials used in the new trays. The SUBWAY® chain is looking at additional pieces of plastic packaging that can utilize these recycled materials. The brand estimates that the salad bowls and lids, which are made from two-and-a-half recycled plastic soda and water bottles, are keeping about 2.62 million pounds of plastic from the waste stream annually.

The new catering trays display the sandwiches in a very unique way, showing off the fresh ingredients and allowing guests to take the sandwich they want without having to touch the other sandwiches to determine the ingredients in each.

"Along with creating a better display of sandwiches, the new catering trays were designed so they can be easily stored and transported, as they now feature handles on the sides of the platters and a structure allowing trays to be stacked," said Michael Fox, the Packaging Technologist for the brand. "The lids for the new platters were designed based on consumer and franchisee feedback; they are designed to snap on very easily and securely – and to be easily removed as well. We even incorporated a space for sauces and napkins so that everything comes in one package."

About SUBWAY® Catering
SUBWAY® FRESH CATERING™ is the perfect way to feed groups of people. Whether it's game day with friends, a meeting at the office or a block party for the neighborhood, the Subway brand has a robust catering program that has everything you need to make your next event a fresh and delicious success. Our menu features many delicious catering options, including hunger-busting Giant Subs, piled-high sandwich platters, quick and easy SUBWAY to GO!™ meals and much more. You can build your order just the way you and your guests like with your choice of fresh breads, veggies, toppings and more.

SUBWAY® FRESH CATERING™ offers fresh, delicious products at a great value and always made just the way you like. We also provide unparalleled convenience and customer service.

About SUBWAY® Restaurants
Headquartered in Milford, Connecticut, USA, the SUBWAY® restaurant chain is the world's largest franchise with regional offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Brisbane, Miami and Singapore. The brand was co-founded in 1965 by Fred DeLuca and Dr. Peter Buck.

The SUBWAY® brand is committed to providing a wide range of great tasting, healthier food choices while reducing its environmental footprint and creating a positive influence in the communities they serve around the world. Over the past several years, the brand has switched to products and practices that improve the sustainability of their supply chain, as well as improve energy efficiency, water conservation, and food and water quality and reduce their waste stream. Since 2006, all new restaurants use low flow faucets saving about 240 million gallons of water annually.

The brand fully supports principles of responsible farming, fishing and animal husbandry - for the long term sustainability of the earth's natural resources. 100% of the standard beverages, chips, cookies, beef, pork, poultry, cheese, eggs, sauces & dressings, soup, yogurt packaging paper and cleaning chemicals used in SUBWAY® restaurants are produced in the U.S.

SUBWAY® franchisees are encouraged to contribute to their communities, promote diversity and choose "environmentally friendly" options and business practices such as building Eco-Restaurants or incorporating elements of Eco-Restaurants into their existing restaurants.

In the U.S., the brand was also recently recognized by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest as the only restaurant chain to meet the organization's stringent health standards for children's meals.

With more than 39,000 locations in 102 countries, the SUBWAY® brand – mostly through its franchisees – provides more than 400,000 job and career opportunities worldwide.

For more information about SUBWAY® brand's commitment to the planet visit subway.com.

Find us on Facebook: Facebook.com/subway. Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/subway.

SUBWAY® is a registered trademark of Doctor's Associates Inc.

SOURCE SUBWAY Restaurants