Tortilla, the UK’s most loved Mexican restaurant brand, has taken a major step forward in its environmental commitments by removing tonnes of plastic waste from its supply chain.
Through a new partnership with UK wrap manufacturer Prowrap, Tortilla will now use the Speedwrap Pro 300 dispenser across all 74 of its UK restaurants, cutting carbon emissions and helping tackle the growing global plastic pollution problem.
The change is will eliminate more than 1,200kg of CO₂ emissions every year, including significant reductions from manufacturing, transport and materials.
The sustainability improvement comes from the removal of thousands of small plastic adapters that had previously been used with Tortilla’s food wrap refills – unseen items that added up to a major environmental cost.
The Speedwrap Pro uses plastic-free refill rolls, meaning Tortilla no longer needs these adapters and as a result, the chain will prevent 178kg of plastic waste and 591kg of CO₂ from being created each year.
Because the dispensers are made in the UK, Tortilla also reduces transport emissions, saving an additional 733kg of CO₂ annually – the equivalent of charging 1.5 million smartphones.
Emily Bagshaw, Central Operations Director at Tortilla, said: “Delivering fresh, customisable meals without the environmental guilt is core to our mission at Tortilla. We’re thrilled with the Speedwrap Pro, which delivers outstanding performance and efficiency in our stores, while helping us to reduce our supply chain emissions.”
The partnership between Tortilla, Prowrap, and Disposables & Catering Supplies (DCS) comes at a time when restaurants are under increasing pressure to cut their Scope 3 emissions, the indirect environmental impact created by supply chains, packaging and transport.
Tortilla’s move shows how small changes behind the scenes can make a big difference to a business’s overall environmental footprint.
James Stacey, Sales Director at DCS, said: “It has been a pleasure to collaborate with Prowrap and Tortilla on this project. We’re proud to work with like-minded partners to set the standard for a more sustainable foodservice sector.”
To demonstrate how much hidden plastic Tortilla has eliminated, Tortilla, Europe’s largest fast casual restaurant, revealed that its old wrapping system required 27,450 plastic adapters every year.
Stacked on top of one another, they would reach 823 metres high, almost the height of the world’s tallest building the Burj Khalifa. This mountain of plastic will no longer enter Tortilla’s supply chain.
Ben Creeth, Prowrap’s sustainability analyst, said this highlights a much wider problem across the foodservice industry.
“These small plastic adapters are tiny, but they add up quickly,” he said. “And each one comes with a hidden cost. At Prowrap, we’re proud to be leading the way by shining a spotlight on these hidden costs – but more than that, we’re helping our customers take action, cut waste, and reduce costs with Speedwrap Pro.
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“In this case, Tortilla has successfully eliminated a Burj Khalifa-size stack of plastic waste from their supply chain. Just imagine how much unnecessary plastic waste we could eliminate if every other foodservice chain switched to the Speedwrap Pro.”
Speedwrap Pro is an award-winning, UK-made food wrap dispenser used widely in professional kitchens. Its plastic-free refill system and British manufacturing make it a strong choice for businesses aiming to reduce their environmental footprint.
For more information on Speedwrap Pro and Prowrap’s full product range, visit www.prowrap.co.uk.
