Home
hamburger menu icon

Food Packaging

Packaging Impacts

As of 2015, 146 million tons of plastics, or 46% of primary nonfiber plastics produced that year 1, were used for packaging, of which most are intended as single-use packaging for a full range of products. Following is an analysis of packaged falafel in the Netherlands, presented as a representative portrayal of food impacts.

Emissions are assessed on the basis of 1 kilogram of edible falafel. "Processing and Packaging" includes emissions in both the manufacture of the packaging and in the food packaging process. "End of Life" includes end-of-life treatment for both the packaging and any food waste. Source: Boone et al. 2.

The same study examines overall impacts.

Source: Many impacts are aggregated into a single unit, called "points". Negative end-of-life impacts are possible due to resource recovery from recycling. Source: Boone et al. 2.

Packaging plays an important role in protecting and prolonging the shelf life of food, thereby reducing food waste, though this role is not usually well-quantified 3. In low-income countries especially, appropriate packaging will reduce food waste at most stages of production 4. For example, a benficial lifecycle assessment has been found for anti-microbial coatings for milk containers, with the benefits of shelf life extension and waste reduction outweighing the cost of the coatings themselves 5.

Reusable Bags

Due to the environmental impacts of single-use plastics, especially oceanic plastic pollution, replacing disposable, single-use grocery plastic bags with reusable bags is of interest. A 2011 United Kingdom study 6 found the following number of reuses required for bags so that they have lesser greenhouse gas impacts than single-use plastic bags.

The study assumes that single-use bags are used once and not repurposed for other uses such as garbage liners. If these assumptions are false, then the number of required reuses for reusable bags increases.

A 2018 Danish study 7 found greater reuses required when considering several impacts, rather than just greenhouse gases: ozone depletion, human toxicity, particulate matter, ionizing radiation, ground-level ozone, particulate matter, acidification, and eutrophication. The study also found that organic cotton bags had greater overall impacts than non-organic cotton bags.

A 2014 study in the United States 8 found that non-woven polypropolene bags should be resued 21-34 times to have lesser overall environmental than single-use plastic, depending on whether secondary uses of the single-use bags are considered. The study notes that reusable bag ordinances in Los Angeles and San Francisco require that the bags can be used at least 125 times.

Problem:
Food Waste Due to Packaging - U.S.
Solution:
Sell Certain Types of Produce Loose - U.S.

Reusable grocery bags, particularly when used to transport meat or fresh vegetables, have been observed to carry pathogens and should be washed between uses 9.

References

  1. Geyer, R., Jambeck, J.R., Law, K.L. "Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made". Science advances 3(7): e1700782. July 2017. ↩

  2. Boone, L., Préat, N., Nhu, T. T., Fiordelisi, F., Guillard, V., Blanckaert, M., Dewulf, J. "Environmental performance of plastic food packaging: Life cycle assessment extended with costs on marine ecosystem services". Science of The Total Environment 894: 164781. October 2023. ↩ ↩2

  3. Wohner, B., Pauer, E., Heinrich, V., Tacker, M. "Packaging-related food losses and waste: an overview of drivers and issues". Sustainability 11(1): 264. January 2019. ↩

  4. Manalili, N.M., Dorado, M.A., van Otterdijk, R. "Appropriate Food Packaging Solutions for Developing Countries". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Rome, Italy, 2014. ↩

  5. Manfredi, M., Fantin, V., Vignali, G., Gavara, R. "Environmental assessment of antimicrobial coatings for packaged fresh milk". Journal of Cleaner Production 95, pp. 291-300. May 2015. ↩

  6. Edwards, C., Fry, J. M. "Life cycle assessment of supermarket carrier bags: a review of the bags available in 2006". UK Environment Agency. February 2011. ↩

  7. Ministry of Environment and Food in Denmark. "Life Cycle Assessment of grocery carrier bags". February 2018. ↩

  8. Kimmel, R. M. "Life Cycle Assessment of Grocery Bags in Common Use in the United States". Clemson University Digital Press. 2014. ↩

  9. Barbosa, J., Albano, H., Silva, C.P., Teixeira, P. "Microbiological contamination of reusable plastic bags for food transportation". Food Control 99, pp. 158-163. May 2019. ↩