Alternatives to Plastic Takeaway Packaging in Dublin

By Bernard Colgan, Discount Till Rolls. Last updated 5 October 2026.

Quick answer: The main alternatives to plastic takeaway packaging for Dublin food businesses are bagasse (sugarcane fibre) boxes for hot, wet meals, corrugated kraft clamshells for burgers, hot dogs and handheld food, and windowed kraft boxes for deli and bakery counters. From our current range that works out at roughly €0.13 to €0.38 per box + VAT, depending on size and format.

Table of Contents

• Why Dublin Food Businesses Are Moving Away From Plastic Takeaway Packaging
• Which Materials Actually Work for Hot Food?
• What Ireland's Plastic Rules Mean for Your Takeaway
• Bagasse: The Workhorse for Full Meals
• Clamshells and Windowed Boxes
• Cost Per Box: What Switching Actually Costs Your Kitchen
• Choosing a Box for Each Dish
• Where to Start
• Frequently Asked Questions

Why Dublin Food Businesses Are Moving Away From Plastic Takeaway Packaging

Ireland's single-use plastics rules have changed how Dublin takeaways, cafés and food trucks buy packaging. For most kitchens it's now just part of ordering, not a big one-off project. This guide covers the practical alternatives: what holds up to hot food, what each format costs per box, and how to match a box to your menu without overbuying.

The rules are the reason most people start looking. Expanded polystyrene food containers can't be sold in Ireland any more, and plastic cutlery, stirrers and straws went with them. For a chipper or a lunch counter, that means the old tray is gone and whatever replaces it has to cope with a Friday night rush just as well.

What a lot of guides get wrong is treating "compostable" as one material. In practice, three product families cover almost every Dublin takeaway, and each one solves a different problem. If you're specifically replacing polystyrene trays, our guide to polystyrene alternatives for Dublin takeaways goes straight to the swap.

Which Materials Actually Work for Hot Food?

Hot food needs a material that resists grease and moisture on its own, without a plastic coating doing the work. Bagasse and corrugated kraft board both manage that.

• Bagasse (sugarcane fibre): moulded and rigid. Handles curries, stews and rice dishes, and our bagasse meal boxes are microwaveable and freezer safe.
• Corrugated kraft board: the fluted layers trap air, so it holds heat and keeps its shape under a loaded burger.
• FSC-certified kraft with a window: for deli counters and bakery displays where the customer wants to see the food.

When a supplier calls something compostable, look for EN 13432 on the specification sheet. That's the European standard for packaging that breaks down in industrial composting, which isn't the same as home composting. There's a fuller side-by-side in our comparison of bagasse vs kraft vs plastic takeaway containers.

What Ireland's Plastic Rules Mean for Your Takeaway

Under the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive (2019/904), brought into Irish law by the European Union (Single Use Plastics) Regulations 2021, expanded polystyrene food containers and cups can't be placed on the market. It's a market restriction, not a levy. You can't absorb the cost and carry on, so any polystyrene left in the back room is a compliance risk, not a cheap option.

The bit that catches people out is cutlery. Plastic cutlery, stirrers and straws are banned too, and that includes bioplastic "compostable" versions. A takeaway that swaps its boxes but still hands out plastic forks hasn't finished the job. Wooden and paper cutlery covers it.

Drinks are a separate story. The Re-turn deposit scheme covers plastic bottles and cans, and cups and lids are covered in our guide to the latte levy and single-use plastic rules in Ireland.

Bagasse: The Workhorse for Full Meals

For full meals, bagasse is usually the first thing Dublin takeaways reach for. It's moulded from sugarcane fibre, naturally resists oil and moisture, and stays rigid enough that a curry and rice portion doesn't bow the base. No plastic lining needed.

Capacity is where the decisions get made:

• The 8-inch square bagasse box suits a rice box or a single hot main.
• The 9x9-inch bagasse box takes burger and chips or a generous curry without the lid straining.
• For canteens, schools and full-plate catering, the 3-compartment bagasse box keeps a main and two sides apart.
• For burgers specifically, the 6-inch bagasse burger box is PFAS-free.

Every size is in our bagasse meal boxes range.

Clamshells and Windowed Boxes

Corrugated kraft clamshells suit food that's longer than it is wide, or food that needs to stay closed and warm on the way to the customer. The hinged lid shuts without squashing what's inside, and there's no PE lining.

The #13 hot dog clamshell is the elongated one. A hot dog, baguette or wrap sits flat in it, which a square box just can't manage. For a standard main, the #10 1000ml clamshell is usually the first one people order. All the sizes are in our burger boxes range, and there's a size guide in burger boxes and clamshells explained.

Deli counters and bakeries need something else again: a box the customer can see into. The 850ml Lunchipak uses FSC-certified kraft board with a cellulose acetate window, and the 1200ml size covers bigger portions. See all sizes in our Lunchipaks range.

Cost Per Box: What Switching Actually Costs Your Kitchen

Compostable packaging costs more per box than polystyrene did, and the honest way to plan for it is cost per box rather than cost per case. Here's how our current range works out, based on case price divided by case quantity. All prices are + VAT.

The spread is wider than most operators expect. A burger box at €0.13 and a large meal box at €0.38 are both compostable, but they're doing different jobs. If you do pizza, our pizza box sizes guide covers 7 to 16 inch, and the full range is in kraft pizza boxes.

Every order ships free across Ireland from our Dublin 12 warehouse. Ordering regularly or in bigger volumes? Open a credit trade account for trade pricing and invoiced orders, or ring us on +353 (0)1 443 3964.

Choosing a Box for Each Dish

Go through this for each takeaway item on your menu:

1. Is it wet or dry? Curry, stew or saucy pasta needs bagasse. Dry or greasy handheld food can go in corrugated kraft.
2. Is it longer than it is wide? Hot dogs, baguettes and rolled wraps need the elongated #13, not a square box.
3. Does the customer need to see it? Deli, bakery and meal-prep items sell better in a windowed Lunchipak.
4. What's the actual portion size? Match capacity to the serving, not to whatever box you already stock.

Once those are answered, the format mostly picks itself. For a deeper walk-through by dish type, see how to select the best takeaway food containers.

Where to Start

Moving off plastic is less complicated than the packaging industry makes it sound. Three material families cover almost every menu. Start with your best-selling dish, find the box that suits it, and work down from there. Most kitchens we supply end up with three or four formats, not ten. Buy those by the case and the cost per box stays where it should be.

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