KFC Canada wants to serve up chicken in bamboo buckets eventually, but the fast food chain will start next year with poutine after it finds the right product for its pilot.

B次元官网网址淲e want our customers to feel that KFC is dedicated to, not only providing finger lickinB次元官网网址� good chicken in every bucket, but also delivering it in a way that our guests can feel good about,B次元官网网址� said Armando Carrillo, KFC CanadaB次元官网网址檚 innovation manager, in a statement Tuesday.

The companyB次元官网网址檚 sustainability commitment, which includes sourcing all of its fibre-based packaging from certified or recycled sources by next year, will see it testing new, innovative materials, it said in a statement.

KFC Canada says bamboo buckets will be available at some of the companyB次元官网网址檚 more than 600 Canadian restaurants starting in early 2020.

Just how early is still up in the air.

B次元官网网址淚t will depend on how quickly we can work with suppliers to find a bamboo bucket option that maintains the integrity (of) the product while also achieving our sustainable goals,B次元官网网址� a company spokesperson said in an emailed response to questions.

The restaurant chain said it will strive to have buckets that are compostable but will at the very least ensure they are recyclable or reusable.

Since different Canadian jurisdictions have different recycling and composting rules, it can be difficult for companies to make sure their products are recyclable or compostable across the country.

Whether the bamboo bucket will meet those requirements Canada-wide B次元官网网址漣s something we will need to investigate as we move forward with viable prototypes, but it will be recyclable where facilities permit,B次元官网网址� it said.

The move would replace its polypropylene poutine packages with bamboo ones.

B次元官网网址淚 think theyB次元官网网址檙e doing a great thing,B次元官网网址� said Chunping Dai, an associate professor at the University of British ColumbiaB次元官网网址檚 department of wood science.

He noted many companies are starting to look at using bamboo and not just for takeout food containers. Companies are testing or already using the material in beauty products, furniture, sleep sets and other goods.

B次元官网网址淏amboo is very sustainable,B次元官网网址� he said.

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It grows very quickly, reaching its mature size in about three or four years, he said.

The plant also sequesters about 40 per cent more carbon than trees given the same amount of land, Dai said.

One strike against it, though, could be cost, he added B次元官网网址� as plastic products are notoriously cheap.

That may come down to a demand issue. As more companies want to use bamboo, the material can be mass-produced and its cost could become more comparable to plastic, he said.

KFC Canada plans to expand the initiative to all of its buckets B次元官网网址攏ot just poutine B次元官网网址� once it is successful at finding the right packaging. In this pilot, which will last for a yet undetermined amount of time, it is looking at consumer feedback and operational ease, among other things, to gauge success.

The company has also promised to remove all plastic straws and bags from its restaurants before the end of this year.

Many other chains are making similar moves when it comes to single-use plastics and have started to test or implement packaging made from alternative materials.

McDonaldB次元官网网址檚 Canada announced in June that two of its restaurants B次元官网网址� one in Vancouver and one in London, Ont. B次元官网网址� would become test beds for its greener packaging initiatives. The two locations would trial wooden cutlery and paper straws, among other alternatives.

A&W Canada stopped serving plastic straws recently. It unveiled a public art installation in Toronto in January that spelled out the phrase B次元官网网址渃hange is goodB次元官网网址� with the last of the companyB次元官网网址檚 plastic straw reserves.

Coffee chains in the country have been keen to create more sustainable packaging as well. Tim Hortons recently introduced a recyclable lid, while Starbucks says it is working to eliminate plastic straws globally by 2020.

Consumers pushed the movement against plastic straws. Awareness seemed to reach a tipping point in 2018 after a video showing a turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nose went viral.

Aleksandra Sagan, The Canadian Press

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