The Problem of Plastic in Food Packaging

In today’s food industry, plastic and packaging are as inseparable as salt and pepper. We all handle plastic-wrapped food almost every day. It has become so commonplace that we rarely stop to think about it. Food wrapped in anything other than plastic is a novelty.

A closer look at plastic food packaging reveals a colossal environmental cost. According to an article[1] published by MDPI, plastic packaging is the largest sector of plastic use worldwide. And a staggering percentage of it ends up in landfills or the ocean. How did we get here, and more importantly, what can we do about it?

The Call of Convenience

Plastic was a game-changer for food preservation. Before it became widespread in the mid-20th century, packaging was dominated by materials like glass, cloth, and paper. Milk came in glass jars and candy in paper bags. These traditional packaging methods suffered from a range of disadvantages. It was:

  • Heavy to handle
  • Costly to produce
  • Challenging to make air-tight

When plastic packaging solutions came along, they made gains not in one of these areas but in all three. Plastic packaging is lightweight, cheap to produce, and impermeable to water and oxygen. It is the perfect material for extending the shelf life of food, reducing spoilage, and transporting foodstuffs across the world. All of this plastic helped food prices drop and become available year-round.

The only catch to this marvel of modernity was its 500+ year expiry date on the packaging. Unlike food, plastic doesn’t decompose within weeks or months. Instead, it lingers for centuries, slowly breaking down into microplastics that infiltrate ecosystems, water supplies, and even our bodies.

A Wicked Problem

The issue of plastic in food packaging is multilayered. At the core is the sheer scale of production. Overall, 141 million tons of plastic packaging is produced annually[2]. A fraction of this is collected for recycling. An even smaller percentage is effectively recycled into new materials. The rest is incinerated, sent to landfills, or leaked into the environment.

One major hurdle is the complexity of food packaging. Many products are wrapped in multilayered plastics combining different materials, such as cardboard and aluminum. These layers serve specific purposes like keeping chips crispy and coffee hot, but they’re challenging to separate for recycling.

Case Study: The Sandwich Wrapper

Take a pre-packaged sandwich, available in most gas stations and supermarkets. Its wrapper might look simple, but it’s a feat of engineering. The outer layer provides structure and branding, the middle layer is a moisture barrier, and the innermost layer ensures food safety. This tri-layer construction ensures your sandwich stays fresh but makes recycling it a logistical nightmare. If some mayonnaise gets on the packaging, there’s even more complication to the recycling process.

Depending on the consumer and waste collection program, the wrapper is destined for a landfill or the ocean, where it could still be intact when today feels as long ago as Revolutionary War America.

Unless…

We can turn the tide on unrecyclable food packaging. As governments, corporations, and innovators take on the plastic crisis, the transition toward viable alternatives is happening in many places at once. Here are some solutions:

1. Bioplastics: Green Savior or Greenwashing?

Bioplastics, made from renewable resources like corn or sugarcane, are replacing petroleum-based plastics, often with loud labels about their biodegradability. But bioplastics aren’t a silver bullet. Some are compostable only under industrial conditions, not if left in a landfill. Others, like polylactic acid (PLA), require different recycling methods than traditional plastics, leading to confusion and contamination in recycling streams.

2. Edible Packaging: A Tasty Option

Imagine eating the wrapper along with your sandwich. Edible packaging, made from materials like seaweed or rice, offers a futuristic and eco-friendly alternative. Companies like Notpla are already experimenting with seaweed-based coatings for food delivery. However, scaling these solutions remains a challenge.

3. Reusable Systems: Back to the Future

In some circles the milkman model is making a comeback. Reusable packaging systems, such as glass jars or containers, are gaining traction in grocery stores and local food delivery services. The challenges with these systems are similar to the reasons plastics took over to begin with. They’re heavy and can be costly and difficult to make air tight.

4. Recycling Systems: Smarter not Harder

Some recycling equipment manufacturers aren’t trying to change the plastic food packaging, but what happens after it’s used? This includes:

  • Micro-organisms that can organically break down plastics
  • Second-life uses for soft plastics, such as fence posts
  • Recycling equipment able to clean and dissect complicated packaging

Plastic shredders for recycling difficult-to-manage products can be cost-effective when automated and adaptable with minimal investment. One of the benefits of developing better recycling techniques is that these can be used on the backlog of plastic waste already out in the environment.

The Role of Recycling Entrepreneurs

While systemic change is crucial, individual entrepreneurs can make huge differences in their communities by opening plastic recycling plants and advocating for industries to use recyclable materials to package their products. Food packaging is far from static. Food packaging recycling solutions are not only new but crucial.

[1] https://www.mdpi.com/2313-4321/6/1/12

[2] https://www.wrap.ngo/taking-action/plastic-packaging#:~:text=The%20world%20produces%20141%20million,tonnes%20of%20carbon%20emissions%20annually.

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