FOOD PACKAGING IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT

The Future: the Role of Consumers and the Food Industry in the Impact of Packaging on the Environment

The impact of packaging on the environment has gained significant attention within the food industry, in part owing to heightened consumer concerns. These concerns focus not only on the increased total amount of waste generated, which recycling has kept from growing since the 1990s, but also on how big a carbon footprint a particular packaging material has. Hence a need for more biodegradable materials has developed. At the same time, the industry has an interest in using only the required amount of packaging because this reduces costs, complies with packaging laws if required and protects the environment (INCPEN, 2010). A combination of efforts to address these concerns, on the part of consumers as well as the food processing industry, has led to more sustainable food packaging in the past few years.

Manufacturers’ packaging-related efforts toward sustainability, such as reducing their carbon footprint, light-weighting, improving the raw materials used in packaging (including biodegradable ones), and recycling programs, are cited in a recent article (Anon., 2010 ) based on the Mintel report Packaging Trends in Food and Drink–U.S. (Mintel, 2009 ). The results of these efforts are shown in Table 44.1 , as evidenced by a monumental increase in claims of environmentally friendly packaging for the top 10 food categories. Cold cereals, followed by prepared meals, led all food categories in new claims of being environmentally friendly. From 2008 to 2009, the number of claims of eco-friendly packaging for the top 10 food and beverage categories increased by 77.3–343.2%. The Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD) reports a claim by manufacturers of increasingly launching products packaged in an environmentally friendly manner. In 2006, products in the top 10 category of the 80 global products listed in Mintel’s new-products database made a claim of environmentally friendly packaging, which increased in 2009, comprising 6% of all global food and drink products (Mintel, 2009 ). Concerned consumers have played their due role in these changes by becoming more aware of the environmental issues and demanding environmentally friendly products; for example, in 2009, 58% of respondents to Mintel's customer survey indicated that they believed that plastic bottles are “really bad for the environment” and two-thirds reported they “usually” recycle plastic bottles and containers,which is a significant increase from the 46% who reported recycling in 2008.

Consumers are also driving some of the changes with respect to the increased use of recycled material in paper and paperboard packaging. According to a survey by the Recycled Paperboard Alliance, 61% of consumers indicated that they were more inclined to purchase products from a company that uses recycled paperboard packaging. This study found further that 77% of respondents felt better about a company that uses recycled paperboard and 80% felt they were “doing something good for the environment” if they purchased products having recycled paperboard packaging (Murray, 2010).

Despite the environmental concerns of consumers and their willingness to change their behavior, there are a lot of misunderstandings. When consumers see the word “biodegradable” on a package, they believe that the package will completely disappear in 12 to 18 months, no matter where it is thrown away (either in landfills, in streams or as litter) (BPI, 2010). In addition, consumers do not know the sources used to create bio-based plastic containers, although they prefer to compost food packages. In 2010, Koutsimanis et al. (2010) examined the perceptions, knowledge and preferences of consumers (approximately 300 people across the USA) regarding, among other topics, bio-plastics and container disposal. The findings showed that consumers do not know the sources used to create bio-based plastic containers, since the most frequent reply to the corresponding question was “I do not know.” In addition, a large fraction of consumers mistakenly indicated petroleum (Figure 44.10). When asked about the future of the container after use, consumers selected the options of recycling (3.66 on a 5-point scale) and composting (3.28 on a 5-point scale) as more favorable compared with disposal in the trash bin (2.99 on a 5-point scale).

By Eva Almenar, Muhammad Siddiq and Crispin Merkel in "Handbook of Food Process Design" edited by Jasim Ahmed and Mohammad Shafiur Rahman, Wiley-Blackwell,UK, 2012, excerpts p.1395-1397 v.II. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.