recyclable. reusable. rewarding.
every container that leaves our minneapolis kitchen is built to get used again. entrées go out in recyclable white #5 plastic that most customers wash and reuse for weeks. bakery items go out in recyclable aluminum tins. hand your clean containers back to your driver at sunday delivery and we credit your account in tandocoins on the spot. no green stickers, no asterisks — just a container that lives more than one life.
we only use two materials.
one for entrées, one for bakery. both are recyclable in twin cities curbside, both can be reused for weeks, and neither one pretends to be something it isn't. our containers are designed to get reused before they ever hit the recycling bin — ship, eat, return, wash, ship. same container, more meals, less waste.
white #5 plastic containers
the white tubs your entrées show up in. recyclable, reusable, microwave-safe, freezer-safe — and tough enough that most customers reuse them for weeks before they ever hit the recycling bin. the white color isn't an accident either.
- why white, not black. recycling plants use light scanners to sort plastic. black plastic shows up invisible and lands in landfill even when it's recyclable. white gets seen and sorted properly.
- recyclable curbside through the #5 stream in most twin cities zip codes.
- customers reuse them 5–15 times — lunches, leftovers, pantry storage — before the container ever gets recycled.
- safe in the microwave and freezer at meal-prep temperatures. no leaching, no warping.
- cheap enough that you don't feel bad recycling. sturdy enough that you'd rather reuse.
why we use it: it's the most reusable option we've found for wet entrées, and it's one of the few plastics recycling plants actually catch. bring it back, we wash it, you get tandocoins.
recyclable aluminum tins
the same aluminum tray your grandma's lasagna comes in. cinnamon rolls, brownies, cookies, banana bread — everything from our bakery ships in these. aluminum is one of the most recyclable materials we have, and unlike paper or plastic, recycling it doesn't wear it out.
- recyclable forever. aluminum can be melted and reused over and over with no loss in quality.
- accepted in every twin cities curbside bin (unlike PLA — see below).
- holds wet, greasy bakery items without leaking. kraft soaks through; aluminum doesn't.
- oven-safe for reheating (skip the microwave). no plastic lining, so no chemicals to worry about at high heat.
why we use it: we'd rather use something that's clearly recyclable than something that calls itself compostable but ends up in landfill.
yes, we use plastic. here's the reason.
we'd switch tomorrow if there was a paper container that could hold wet, greasy entrées, go in the microwave without leaching, and break down in a minneapolis backyard compost. there isn't one yet. so for now, white #5 plastic is the best option we've found — cheap, microwave-safe, freezer-safe, recyclable curbside in most twin cities zip codes, and tough enough that most people reuse it for weeks.
for the bakery side we use recyclable aluminum tins. they handle wet pastries, they're oven-safe, and aluminum can be recycled forever without losing quality. different jobs, different materials — and no green stickers on either one.
still looking: a truly biodegradable container that holds up to wet entrées. if you've come across one worth testing, send it our way.
the life of a tandoco container.
recyclable plastic only beats compostable paper if the container actually gets reused along the way. here's what that looks like start to finish — the part most meal-prep companies leave out of the marketing.
order
entrées arrive in white #5 plastic; bakery items in aluminum tins. labels say what each one is — no green stickers, no claims we can't back up.
eat
microwave, oven, or eat cold. #5 plastic is safe in the freezer and microwave at the temperatures you'd actually use.
reuse
most people wash and reuse them 5–15 times — lunches, leftovers, pantry storage. that's where the real climate win comes from.
bring back
hand clean #5 containers back to your driver at sunday delivery and we'll credit your account in tandocoins. damaged ones, or containers from other brands? we'll still recycle them for you.
bring your containers back. earn tandocoins.
recycling is good. reusing is better. hand your clean #5 containers back to your driver at sunday delivery — we count them, credit your account, wash them, and put them back into rotation. less waste, lower costs, real rewards. one balance, no codes, no expiry.
rinse, stack, drop off.
finish the meals, give the containers a quick rinse (soap optional), and stack them. hand the stack back to your driver at your next sunday delivery. we count and inspect them right there.
coins land in seconds.
you get a confirmation email or text the moment we log the return. the coins drop into the same balance you already earn from orders — no second wallet, no codes, no expiry. if we mess up, we re-log it; nothing gets edited quietly.
spend like always.
apply your tandocoins at checkout the same way you'd redeem coins from an order. your account page shows the lifetime container count plus how close you are to the next milestone. the more you bring back, the cheaper your weekly meals get.
how many tandocoins per return?
the coin formula · plain englishmilestones stack on top of regular coins — they unlock automatically on your next order. no codes to enter, no claims to file.
counts toward your rewards
doesn't count — but we'll still recycle it
why reusing beats recycling: recycling melts a container down to make a new one — that costs energy, and you lose a little quality each time. reusing skips the melt entirely. same container, more meals, less impact. recycling beats greenwashing. reusing beats recycling.
what we passed on, and why.
a lot of what gets sold as "eco-friendly" packaging really isn't. when we looked at paper-based options, two kept showing up — and both had the same problem hiding in the small print. here's what they are and why we went with recyclable plastic and aluminum instead.
PLA-lined paper containers
the kraft-colored containers that feel premium and say "compostable" right on the side. the paper part is fine. the catch is the PLA lining — a corn-based bioplastic painted on the inside to keep grease from soaking through.
- PLA can't go in regular plastic recycling — it contaminates the batch.
- it can't go in paper recycling either — the lining disqualifies the whole container.
- it only "composts" in industrial facilities held at 140°F+ for 60+ days. it won't break down in a backyard pile, a landfill, or out in nature.
- minneapolis doesn't have widespread industrial composting that accepts PLA. so most of them end up in the trash.
why we passed: a container labeled "compostable" that ends up in landfill where it can't actually compost. that's the textbook definition of greenwashing.
PE-lined paper (biolined)
paper containers with a regular polyethylene (PE) plastic lining instead of PLA. the outside is paper. the inside is plastic. the marketing tends to focus on the outside.
- the plastic lining means the paper can't go in standard recycling.
- it's basically a plastic container wearing a paper jacket.
- it can leach at high temperatures, so it's not great for microwave reheating.
- it doesn't break down in any normal home environment.
why we passed: if we're going to use plastic, we'd rather use the kind you can actually recycle and reuse — not petroleum wrapped in paper.
10 meals in PLA-lined "compostable" containers.
- the container says "100% compostable" on the side. you feel good buying it.
- can't actually be recycled — PLA messes up paper recycling and isn't accepted in plastic recycling.
- can't actually be composted either — needs 140°F+ industrial composters minneapolis mostly doesn't have.
- it ends up in the trash. container goes to landfill and just sits there.
- the marketing wins, the planet doesn't. the "compostable" label is mostly a feel-good story.
10 meals in white #5 plastic + aluminum bakery tins.
- we don't say "compostable" on entrée containers. we say "#5 plastic — recyclable and reusable."
- you can actually recycle it through twin cities curbside #5 programs.
- bring-back program earns tandocoins for every container you return — actual reuse, not just recycling.
- bakery items go in aluminum tins — recyclable forever in twin cities curbside aluminum bins.
- nothing we can't back up. saying what's true beats putting a green sticker on it.
the honest summary: saying what's true beats putting a green sticker on it.