Hot Sauce Packets Taco Bell

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Taco Bell Wants You To Send Back Your Used Sauce Packets So It Can Reuse Them

How to Use Leftover Taco Bell Hot Sauce Packets | Fast Food Dupes with Claire

Taco Bell is telling customers to not throw away those hot sauce packets after squeezing the sauce on your tacos and burritos. Instead, they want you to send them back in the mail.

Taco Bell has a plan in place to recycle some of the 8 billion pounds of used sauce packets that go into U.S. landfills every year.

The fast food chain is rolling out a nationwide pilot program for customers to send used sauce packets back through the mail. The program, which was initially announced as a trial in April, was created with recycling company TerraCycle to divert as many used sauce packets as possible away from landfills and reuse them.

Heres how it works: Customers sign up for a TerraCycle account, collect empty sauce packets in a recyclable container, print a free shipping label from TerraCycles website and ship the box back via UPS. Taco Bell will display QR codes and other signage in various parts of restaurants to promote the program and encourage sign-ups.

Rather than dropping off the used sauce packets at a restaurant, Taco Bell is using the mail, because a majority of transactions are taking place at its drive-thru and are eaten out-of-restaurant. It also discovered this was the preferred way for customers during its pilot launch and the mail helps them minimize their transportation footprint and ship their box of saved sauce packets once full.

You Can Now Recycle Taco Bells Beloved Hot Sauce Packetsheres How

Popular fast food chain, Taco Bell, is already a plant-based eaters dream come true. Making planet-friendly swaps is a cinch, like being able to order something Fresco style and have all the dairy ingredients replaced with diced tomatoes. The chain is also working on a meatless taco. But its latest initiative is something that might surprise you: A hot sauce packet recycling program.

Taco Bell has officially launched its nationwide pilot program with TerraCycle, an international recycling leader that collects traditionally non-recyclable items and gives them new life. The partnership is part of an industry-wide solution to help recycle the 8.2 billion sauce packets that are usedand ultimately tossed into landfillseach year.

While Taco Bells sauce packets are beloved by many, but the single-use flexible film materials used to create them are harmful to the planet. The fast-food chain has a goal to make all consumer-facing packaging recyclable, compostable, or reusable by 2025 in its restaurants across the globe, and this is a great first step in the right direction.

As you may be aware, recycling is typically easier said than done. Because of that, there are a few very important steps youll need to take to ensure your packets are actually being recycled properly. Since most Taco Bell consumers are going through the drive-thru, TerraCycle has made it possible to mail in your sauce packetsand theres four steps to get the job done.

Popular Taco Bell Sauces

Lets face it: Taco Bell just hits different. Whether you opt for a classic hard shell taco, the always-popular cheesy gordita crunch, a hearty crunchwrap, the there-again-gone-again Mexican pizza, or even one of their power bowls, theres something for pretty much everyone.

But of course, we cant talk about what makes this fast food restaurant so special without mentioning the Taco Bell sauces! These packets are so universally recognizable that people even dress up as them for Halloween. Now thats some loyalty.

Have you tried all the Taco Bell sauces? Below, were breaking down everything from mild and gooey Nacho Cheese to the fiery-hot Diablo sauce and everything in between. But be warned we cannot be held responsible for cravings caused by reading this list!

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Copycat Taco Bell Hot Sauce

We love to use Hot Sauce when we have Mexican food. And this Copycat recipe from Taco Bell is exactly what we needed for the Chicken Tacos I was making one night. If you love Taco Bell Hot Sauces then you need to give this recipe a try.

Taco Bell Hot Sauce simmering in Saucepan

Like most sauce recipes, this one is super easy to make and doesnt call for any special ingredients. If you eat a lot of Mexican Food or make spicy dishes on a regular basis, you most likely already have some Hot Sauce in your refrigerator.

You can use whatever brand of hot sauce you have on hand. I always have a bottle of Tabasco or Franks Hot Sauce on hand so that is what I typically use. Just remember to start with a little hot sauce, taste it, then add more if needed.

Fresh Jalapeños

If you eat at Taco Bell on a regular basis, you know they offer many different kinds of sauces. As of this writing, they offer the following sauces at their restaurants: Mild Sauce, Hot Sauce, Fire Sauce and Diablo Sauce.

This copycat sauce recipe from Taco Bell is Hot. At least by our standards and we eat a lot of spicy food. Im finding it a little hard to pin down if this is the Fire Sauce or the Diablo Sauce. My wife thinks its most likely the Diablo Sauce.

Eat A Ton Of Taco Bell Mail Your Empty Sauce Packets Back For The Planet

This Taco Bell hot sauce packet speech bubble is blank

Taco Bell is asking customers to mail in their used sauce packets for recycling.

Taco Bell says that more than 8 billion packets of its iconic sauce end up in U.S. landfills every year, and it wants to do something about that. The fast-food chain is introducing a pilot program that will see customers send back used sauce packets through the mail so that they can be recycled and get a second life.

The scheme was first announced in April, through a partnership with recycling company TerraCycle. Customers who eat so much Taco Bell that they accumulate piles of sauce packets will , collect their used packets in a box, and then once the box is full, print a free label to ship the box via UPS.

Live mas On a FAQ website, Terracycle explains that for this program, it will only accept Taco Bells packets, not sauce packets from another establishment like, shudder, Del Taco. But who goes there anyway?

Under a Best practices section, Terracycle says participants should ship their box only once its full of Taco Bell sauce packets to minimize the transportation carbon footprint of this program. We know that shouldnt take long for readers of this article. You should also try and remove as much remaining sauce as possible from the packets because liquids can contaminate other materials in the recycling stream, like cardboard, and render them unrecyclable.

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How Much Sodium Is In A Taco Bell Mild Sauce Packet

If your Taco Bell meal isn’t complete without the tangy special sauce, breathe easy because the sauce doesn’t have any fat. However, it does contain sodium. The amount in a mild sauce packet isn’t very much, but keep in mind that the numbers are for one packet, and if you’re like many Taco Bell patrons, you use more than one packet to complete your meal.

Recycling With Terracycle Appears Easy But Comes With A Catch

TerraCycle’s process for sending in Taco Bell sauces is free for consumers to use, but recycling virtually anything else from the company requires purchasing a “Zero Waste Box,” pouch, or pallet that can cost from $42 to $1,600.

According to Resource Recycling, the Zero Waste Box was the “second-biggest money maker” for the company in 2020 with $7.5 million in net sales.

Taco Bell is not the first major corporation to work with TerraCycle: several shampoo companies, makeup distributors, and other food suppliers have partnered with the group to create similar projects.

Recycling advocates told Vox in August that they’ve tried to take part in TerraCycle’s advertised partnerships in the past to no avail.

Leticia Socal, a sustainability blogger, told Vox that there’s a tremendous backlog for the company’s partnered promotions.

“There is this huge waitlist,” Socal said. “For some of them, I have been waiting for more than one year.”

Recycling advocates have also alleged that TerraCycle has repeatedly stretched the truth on what it can and does recycle in its facilities.

The Last Beach Cleanup, a plastic pollution awareness organization, sued TerraCycle in March, alleging that “most of the Products are not actually recycled.” The group said this leads consumers to believe they’re helping the environment when the items are actually being brought to a landfill or incinerator.

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The Fast Food Chain Is Partnering With Terracycle To Reduce Its Carbon Footprint

Taco Bell hot sauce packets have their own place in American culture. Beyond the burritos, the tacos, and the Crunchwrap Supreme, the sauce packets have established their own beloved audience. Whether thats because you put four packets of Mild Sauce on a taco or hoard the extras from your order to put on other food later, theres a deep love for those little packets.

Now, Taco Bell wants to expand that love into helping the planet. According to the company, 8.2 billion single-use film packets are thrown away in the US each year. The fast food chain is partnering with TerraCycle, an international recycling company that specializes in collecting items that arent recyclable and using them to make new items. This is an extension of an earlier program from April to make the sauce packets recyclable.

Customers will be able to turn their sauce packets into TerraCycle with four steps. First, sign up for a TerraCycle account online, then collect your sauce packets in a cardboard box or other recyclable container, and when the box is full, log into your TerraCycle and print a shipping label. You can take the labeled box to any UPS drop-off in your area. Voíla! You have just diverted waste.

Saving the sauce packets from landfills is the first step in reducing Taco Bells waste. The company said its working on creating other ways to reduce packaging waste.

Taco Bell Sauce Packets

Taco Bell To Recycle And Reuse Hot Sauce Packets

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Recycling Taco Bells Hot Sauce Packets: 7 Takeaways

Rick Lingle | Apr 22, 2021

Taco Bells US customers who enjoy the chains Mexican-style products use a lot of hot sauce packets.

Thats a LOT, as in 8.2 billion yearly, which for decades have been discarded as waste after use. Thats going to change through a collaboration the quick-serve restaurant chain has with TerraCycle, the company that makes the unrecyclable recyclable.

Its the first QSR brand to partner with the upcycler to tackle recycling flexible film packets.

In the food industry today, there is no widely available solution for recycling the flexible film packets that are so commonly used for condiments, says Liz Matthews, Taco Bells global chief food innovation officer. Were thrilled to leverage the expertise of TerraCycle to recycle our iconic sauce packet packaging in a way thats as bold and innovative as our menu.

Adds Tom Szaky TerraCycle CEO and Founder, now more than ever, consumers dont want to sacrifice the planet no matter how delicious the meal. Together, Taco Bell and TerraCycle will push the quick service industry by finally finding a way to recycle this type of product. This effort takes us one step closer to keeping packets out of landfills and our mission of Eliminating the Idea of Waste.’

Taco Bell is the first quick-serve restaurant brand to partner with TerraCycle to tackle recycling of condiment flexible film packets.

2. Scope and timing: Restaurant participation will be nationwide via a pilot program later this year.

Taco Bell Is Finally Kicking Off Its New Sauce Packet Initiative

Taco Bell is taking one major step forward in its attempt to reduce waste that ends up in landfills. As announced several months ago, the chain is now kicking off a partnership with a major recycling company which will make it very easy for customers to send in their single-use sauce packets for recycling.

According to a press release, about 8.2 billion packets of Taco Bell sauce are used in the United States each year. Unfortunately, those little plastic sachets are currently single-use and not recyclable, which means they end up in landfills. In fact, the fast-food industry as a whole doesnt have a good solution for recycling condiment packets, which are made of flexible film packaging.

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Enter TerraCycle, an international recycling leader renowned for collecting traditionally non-recyclable materials to make new recycled products. Thanks to this partnership, your Taco Bell hot sauce packet could soon go on to have a second life as outdoor furniture, a plastic shipping pallet, storage container, flooring tile, or material used at playgrounds and athletic fields, according to Nations Restaurant News.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

So how will the program work? According to Taco Bell, it will require very low effort on the customers part. After youre done with your Taco Bell order, youll be able to take these four steps to recycle your sauce packets:

For more, check out:

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How To Recycle Taco Bell Sauce Packets

1. Sign up for a TerraCycle account.

2. Collect your empty sauce packets within a cardboard box or another recyclable container. Youll want to ensure all of the sauce is gone from the packets. Any leftover materials or sauce can contaminate recycling.

3. Once your collection box is full, log into your TerraCycle account to download and print your shipping label.

4. Ship your box via UPS. This is the only way to submit your packets. Do not put this in your own curbside bins or at your local drop-off.

Its that easy! The next time you order extra hot sauce with your Taco Supreme, skip the garbage and take these small steps that keep your packets out of the landfill.

Hey there! Want to help us change the world every day through easy, achievable, eco-friendly tips and tricks? and join our movement of over a million changemakers.

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Taco Bell Gets Into Sustainable Plant

Taco Bell Mild Blank Hot Sauce Packets

Taco Bells Mild, Hot, Fire, Diablo, and Breakfast Salsa hot sauces are all vegan and implementing a way to recycle them is helping establish Taco Bell as a leader in sustainability in the fast-food sector. When it comes to cutting its carbon footprint in other ways, Taco Bellwhich is already known for its myriad customizable vegan optionsis working on plant-based menu innovations.

While Taco Bell previously leaned on its beans as its plant-based protein offering, the chain officially tested vegan meata first for its US outpostsat one location in California in April. That store location offered the limited-time The Craveterian Taco, a meatless version of its Crunchy Taco Supreme stuffed with a boldly seasoned plant-based protein, shredded cheddar cheese, lettuce, diced tomatoes, and sour cream, and served in a crunchy corn shell.

Taco Bell followed this test with another super limited launch of the The Naked Chalupa with a Crispy Plant-Based Shell at another single California location in June. Created as a meatless version of its Naked Chalupa, this item was a shell made from vegan chicken filled with lettuce, cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes, and avocado ranch sauce.

Taco Bell used both of these inconsequential releases to showcase what it could do in the plant-based space on a small scale. However, the chain is committed to plant-based innovation on a larger scale.

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Taco Bell Gives Those Hot Sauce Packets A Second Use

A stop at Taco Bell always comes with a handful of hot sauce packets. From mild to hot, that extra boost of flavor just makes that burrito, taco or even that Quesalupa even tastier. How many packets do you use per meal?

The quick service restaurant brand said that 8.2 billion sauce packets used in the U.S. each year. But, what happens to those used packets? Isnt there a better option that adding to the ever-overflowing landfill problem?

In a new launch, Taco Bell has become the first quick service restaurant to partner with Terracycle. The brand Terracycle has been a leader in re-purposing non-recycable materials into a usable product. Other brands have partnered with the company to find ways to re-purpose items that would otherwise be trash.

How Is Taco Bell Using Hot Sauce Packets To Promote Its Eco

While many people find stopping at a quick service restaurant as a convenient food choice, each meal comes with waste. From the extra napkins in the bag to the wrappers, each element adds up. And, what about the hot sauce packets?

Liz Matthews, Taco Bells Global Chief Food Innovation Officer, said In the food industry today, there is no widely available solution for recycling the flexible film packets that are so commonly used for condiments. So, were thrilled to leverage the expertise of TerraCycle to recycle our iconic sauce packet packaging in a way thats as bold and innovative as our menu.

Taco Bell Recycles Hot Sauce Packets, photo provided by Taco Bell

While there has been much commentary about the scarcity of condiment packets recently, the reality is that those individual packages do create a trash issue. Although the communal condiment option might not be right choice in the current climate, there needs to be a compromise. In some ways, the secondary use option is a viable solution.

Although the concept Eliminating the Idea of Waste is still in its infancy stages, consumers are more aware. In the past year, the amount of takeout containers and packaging has seen substantial increases. Even though people many want to recycle them, the reality is that the packaging cannot go in that blue bin. While people have good intentions, the key is to find better solutions to the problem.

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