Decision on Single‐use or Reusable Food Packaging: Searching for the Optimal Solution using Fuzzy Mathematical Approach

The food packaging sector generates large volumes of plastic waste due to the high demand for packaged products with a short shelf-life. Biopolymers such as starch-based materials are a promising alternative to non-renewable resins, offering a sustainable and environmentally friendly food packaging alternative for single-use products. This article provides a chronology of the development of starch-based materials for food packaging. Particular emphasis is placed on the challenges faced in processing these materials using conventional processing techniques for thermoplastics and other emerging techniques such as electrospinning and 3D printing. The improvement of the performance of starch-based materials by blending with other biopolymers, use of micro- and nano-sized reinforcements, and chemical modification of starch is discussed. Finally, an overview of recent developments of these materials in smart food packaging is given.

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Plastic Food Packaging: Perceptions and Attitudes of Portuguese Consumers about Environmental Impact and Recycling

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13179953 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (17) ◽

pp. 9953

Author(s):

Morgana Weber Macena ◽

Rita Carvalho ◽

Luísa Paula Cruz-Lopes ◽

Raquel P. F. Guiné

Keyword(s):

Food Packaging ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Plastic Packages ◽

Plastic Bags ◽

Perceptions And Attitudes ◽

Plastic Materials ◽

Different Types ◽

Single Use ◽

Strongly Agree

The use of plastics for packaging has some advantages, since they are flexible and inexpensive. However, most plastics are of single use, which, combined with low recycling or reuse ratios, contributes substantially to environmental pollution. This work is part of a project studying the habits of Portuguese citizens concerning plastic food packaging and focuses on aspects related to sustainability. The survey was carried out via an online questionnaire about sustainability, recycling, and knowledge of the effects of plastic materials or their residues on the environment. The results were obtained based on a statistical analysis of the data. The participants tend to think about the negative impact of plastic packages on the environment; 39% sometimes do not buy plastic; and 30% try to look for alternatives. A substantial fraction, 81%, support the avoidance of plastic utensils and reduction in the use of plastic bags. Most participants have a good knowledge of recycling and strongly agree with the use of recycled materials, and 87% of respondents practice separation of different types of waste for recycling. Changing plastic consumption habits has not been an easy task. Nevertheless, it is expected that society will increasingly move toward sustainable habits, questioning its actions and considering their impact on the environment.

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Re-thinking the Academic Role in the Circular Economy Discourse

Ambiente & sociedade ◽

10.1590/1809-4422asoc20200046r1vu2021l2ao ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 24 ◽

Author(s):

Giovanna del Pilar Garzón Cortés ◽

Krystle Danitza González Velandia ◽

Helmut Espinosa Garcia ◽

Camilo Torres Sanabria

Keyword(s):

Circular Economy ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Efficient Production ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Academic Role ◽

Industrial Sectors ◽

Bibliometric Review ◽

Development Goals ◽

Single Use ◽

Institutional Order

Abstract The article discusses the debate that calls the academy and the generation of scientific production to contribute to the substantial contributions of public policy from the areas of the Circular Economy - CE, especially for industrial sectors that have a high economic and environmental impact. The bibliometric review (30 years) allows arguing the limitations in the contributions to face the challenges posed by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the regulation and political instrumentation. The results show investigative biases in the institutional order of the food packaging industry that has massified production towards the consumption of single-use glasses (SUG). The discussion states that the generation of knowledge should re-evaluate social responsibility without bias in thematic trends. Finally, it is proposed that academic contributions should focus on the review of incentives for efficient production that minimizes the massive consumption of materials.

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Incorporating Consumer Insights into the UK Food Packaging Supply Chain in the Transition to a Circular Economy

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12156106 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (15) ◽

pp. 6106 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Nikki Clark ◽

Rhoda Trimingham ◽

Garrath T. Wilson

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Consumer Behaviour ◽

Development Process ◽

Single Use ◽

Essential Knowledge ◽

The Uk ◽

Packaged Food ◽

The Cost

The growth of eating lunch purchased out of the home has led to an increased need for pre-packaged food-to-go products. Single-use plastic packaging is frequently chosen for its food safety and convenience attributes; however, the material format is under scrutiny due to concerns over economic waste and environmental impact. A circular economy could transform linear make-use-dispose supply chains into circular systems, ensuring the cycling of valuable plastic resources. However, there has been limited research into how consumers will behave within circular economic systems. Understanding consumer behaviour with packaging disposed out of the home could aid designers in developing solutions society will adopt in the transition to a circular economy. This study evaluates the application of behaviour research methods, and the behavioural insight outputs, with stakeholders from the UK food-to-go packaging supply chain. A novel co-design workshop and business origami technique allowed multiple stakeholder groups to collaboratively discuss, evaluate, and plan how consumer behaviour techniques could be used within their supply chain packaging development process. Although all stakeholders identified strengths in incorporating behaviour studies into the development process, providing essential knowledge feedback loops, barriers to their application include the cost and time to implement, plus the existing inconsistent UK waste infrastructure.

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Use of Waste Generated during the Manufacture of Bioplastics from Sewage Sludge

Proceedings ◽

10.3390/proceedings2020052005 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 52 (1) ◽

pp. 5

Author(s):

N. Anes García ◽

F. Blanco Álvarez ◽

A. L. Marqués Sierra

Keyword(s):

Sewage Sludge ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Medical Applications ◽

Fertilizer Value ◽

The Earth ◽

Plastic Materials ◽

Single Use ◽

Petroleum Derivatives ◽

By Products ◽

Plastic Products

There is an evolution and progress that has been taking place in recent years in science and technology and in the evolution of polymers that have created new plastic materials with excellent physical properties and durability. However, the plastic products that are made, generally have several applications, but for a single use, especially if it is in the part of food packaging, or for the pharmaceutical industry, in medical applications. Since these materials are not biodegradable, they remain on the surface of the earth for hundreds of years without considerable changes in their structure, causing pollution and damage to wildlife and the environment. With this research we intend to eliminate these plastics from petroleum derivatives, by biodegradable plastics. At the same time, the use of the generated by-products is sought, giving them an energy, thermal or fertilizer value.

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Making Food Manageable – Packaging as a Code of Practice for Work Practices at the Supermarket

Journal of Contemporary Ethnography ◽

10.1177/0891241620977635 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 089124162097763

Author(s):

Lukas Sattlegger

Keyword(s):

Food Packaging ◽

Work Practices ◽

Code Of Practice ◽

Packaging Waste ◽

Everyday Work ◽

Single Use ◽

Workplace Practices ◽

Self Service ◽

Ethnographic Analysis ◽

Innovation Processes

While packaging-free stores are in the uptake, single-use packaging remains a constitutive element in self-service supermarkets. Portraying packaging as an actor in workplace practices, the article provides novel explanations for the supermarkets’ struggle to reduce packaging. The ethnographic analysis shows that food packaging is crucial for the functioning of supermarkets. This is in contrast to engineering or marketing perspectives on packaging functions that often don’t take practical demands and habitual peculiarities of everyday work practices into consideration. Framed as a code of practice, packaging guides the daily management of food in three crucial ways. First, packaging is a multifunctional medium to present products to customers. Second, packaging is an indicator and transmitter to assess product quantities and qualities in the internal logistics of supermarkets. Third, packaging enables the management and reproduction of representative supermarket qualities like freshness and fullness. As a consequence, and in order to be successful, strategies for the reduction of packaging waste have to better acknowledge the diversity of roles packaging is playing within the framework of workplace practices. Planners of innovation processes need to consider the expertise of workers, the agency of packaging, the situational distribution of action, and the cultural framings of supermarkets.

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Polylactic acid (PLA): Improve it, use it, and dump it faster

BioResources ◽

10.15376/biores.16.2.2196-2199 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 2196-2199

Author(s):

Narongrit Sombatsompop ◽

Panupong Srimalanon ◽

Teerasak Markpin ◽

Benjaphorn Prapagdee

Keyword(s):

Waste Management ◽

Environmental Pollution ◽

Polylactic Acid ◽

Renewable Resources ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Antibacterial Agents ◽

It Use ◽

The World ◽

Single Use ◽

Alternative Approaches

Today, many people enjoy an easy lifestyle. However, this comfort has come with a price because of plastic that is thrown away after a single use. As such, governments around the world have pushed for biodegradable plastics to be produced, especially for food packaging, and these can be easily seen in supermarkets, for example. Using plastic for only one time has resulted in environmental pollution. To solve this problem, polylactic acid (PLA) has been introduced as an alternative bio-based plastic to replace artificial petroleum-based plastics. PLA comes from renewable resources and is biodegradable under certain conditions. Furthermore, the development of the properties of PLA could solve problems related to its weakness in packaging applications. This editorial proposes expansion of the property attributes of PLA to include hygienic character, through the addition of antibacterial agents. This can be done by introducing two alternative approaches for waste management: PLA recycling and degradation. However, some key research is still needed to improve the properties and waste management of PLA relative to the effectiveness of its reprocessing and acceleration of its (bio)degradation.

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Biodegradable food packaging membrane from bacterial cellulose and bacteriocin for preserving raw food

Heavy metals and arsenic concentrations in water, agricultural soil, and rice in Ngan Son district, Bac Kan province, Vietnam ◽

10.47866/2615-9252/vjfc.71 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 114-120

Author(s):

Huynh Nhu Nguyen Thi ◽

Nhu Nguyen Quynh ◽

Yen Nhi Nguyen Thi ◽

Ngoc Phuong Nguyen Hoang ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bacterial Cellulose ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Food Preservation ◽

Diffusion Method ◽

Cellulose Membrane ◽

Ambient Temperatures ◽

Bacterial Cellulose Membrane ◽

Single Use ◽

Raw Foods ◽

Agar Well Diffusion Method

Raw foods such as fish and meat sold at local markets are easily pathogenically infected because retailers do not keep them in proper food preservation equipment. In addition, food packaging using single-use plastic grocery bags is a burden for waste management and aggravates the “white pollution”. In this research, we created biodegradable bacterial cellulose membrane (BCm) loaded with raw bacteriocins that were collected from isolated lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and test their ability to preserveraw fish and meat. The 2mm thick and 94% wet BC membrane was obtained from the surface fermentation of Acetobacterxylinum in the medium containing 50% of coconut water and 15% sucrose after 03 days. The isolated LAB from sour cabbage, kimchi and yogurt were microscopically observed, biochemically characterized and species identified by mass spectrometry. The raw bacteriocin from Lactobacillus plantarum showing the most antimicrobial capability among the isolates could inhibit the growth of 3 tested strains of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis at the antimicrobial activity of 100 AU/ml by agar-well diffusion method. BCm treated with the bacteriocins of 100 AU/ml in 45 minutes was proved to be able to well preserve fish for 24 hours and pork for 18 hours at ambient temperatures, following Vietnam Standard for catfish fillet (TCVN 8338:2010) and for meat (TCVN 7046:2009).

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Revealing the intersectoral material flow of plastic containers and packaging in Japan

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2001379117 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 117 (33) ◽

pp. 19844-19853 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jun Nakatani ◽

Tamon Maruyama ◽

Yuichi Moriguchi

Keyword(s):

Material Flow ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Food Service ◽

Plastic Films ◽

Current Usage ◽

Usage Situation ◽

Service Sectors ◽

Single Use ◽

Plastic Containers

The Japanese government developed a strategy for plastics and laid out ambitious targets including the reduction of 25% for single-use plastic waste and the reuse/recycling of 60% for plastic containers and packaging by 2030. However, the current usage situation of single-use plastics including containers and packaging, which should be a basis of the strategy, is unclear. Here, we identify the nationwide material flow of plastics in Japan based on input–output tables. Of the domestic plastic demand of 8.4 Mt in 2015, 1.6 and 2.5 Mt were estimated to be for containers and packaging comprising household and industry inflows, respectively, through the purchase/procurement of products, services, and raw materials. Considering the current amount of recycling collected from households (1.0 Mt) and industries (0.3 to 0.4 Mt), the reuse/recycling target has already been achieved if the goal is limited to household container and packaging waste, as is the focus of Japan’s recycling law. Conversely, the results indicate that it will be extremely difficult to reach the target collectively with industries. Therefore, it is essential that efforts be made throughout the entire supply chain. Food containers and packaging that flowed into the food-processing and food service sectors accounted for 15% of the inflow of containers and packaging into industries. Thus, the key to achieving the reuse/recycling target will comprise the collection of plastic food packaging from not only households but also the food industry. Furthermore, the collection of flexible plastic films used between industry sectors will put the target within reach.

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Microplastic pollution in the sediment of Jakarta Bay, Indonesia

IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science ◽

10.1088/1755-1315/930/1/012010 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 930 (1) ◽

pp. 012010

Author(s):

A Azizi ◽

W N Setyowati ◽

S Fairus ◽

D A Puspito ◽

D S Irawan

Keyword(s):

Food Packaging ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Environmental Concerns ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Density Separation ◽

Plastic Bags ◽

Infra Red ◽

Single Use ◽

Ft Ir ◽

One Way Anova

Abstract During the COVID-19 pandemic, the increased use of plastic for personal protective equipment (PPE), single-use plastic bags, and food packaging raised significant environmental concerns. This study aimed to investigate the shape, abundance, and type of microplastics in the sediment of Jakarta Bay, specifically Tanjung Priok, Ancol Beach, and Sunda Kelapa Port. Sediment was collected using an Ekman sediment grab sampler and was extracted using the density separation method. The microplastics were counted and categorized according to the shape under a microscope. The differences in microplastic abundance in three different stations were determined using a one-way ANOVA. The polymer of microplastics was identified using Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR). The results show that the abundance of the microplastics from coastal sediment was highest in the Sunda Kelapa Port (45066.67 ± 5205.13 particle/kg dry weight), which is significantly different (p<0.05) from Tanjung Priok (40533.33 ± 2444.04 particle/kg dry weight) and Ancol Beach (34666.67 ± 2444.04 particle/kg dry weight). Fragments dominated the shape of microplastic in Tanjung Priok, Ancol Beach, and Sunda Kelapa Post, comprising 36%, 40%, 38%, respectively, followed by fiber, film, and pellet. The FT-IR tests indicated that polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), and polyamide are the most prevalent microplastic polymers.

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