Research shows an estimated 1.3 billion tons of food go to waste every year globally. That is more than enough to feed 2 billion people, the combined population of the two largest countries in the world. Food preservation packaging offers an obvious solution to reducing this massive waste. It provides an excellent solution for shelf-life extension for produce that would have otherwise been wasted.
New and more sustainable packaging has recently provided a foolproof way to reduce food waste. These packaging protect food from contamination and have become instrumental in preventing global waste. As such, a glimpse into how modern innovative packaging has reduced the environmental impact of food waste globally is indispensable for this discussion.
How Does Packaging Innovation Affect Food Waste?
The deceit of food wastage perhaps makes its environmental impact one of the earth’s most damaging. After all, it is far too accessible and less visible to dispose of a food container than to burn through fuel. The carbon footprint caused by food wastage alone stands at a mind-blowing 3.3 billion tons, accounting for 10% of carbon dioxide and methane.
The environmental and climate effects of this wastage are unquantifiable. Then comes packaging innovation: an attempt to slow down the fast-approach planetary ruin that may accompany food wastage. Indeed, these solutions are geared to unearthing peculiar ways to produce food innovation packaging to extend the shelf life and reduce the possible impact of food wastage on the planet.
Recent studies reveal that packaging foods not only means a shelf-life extension but is also one of the fastest ways to reduce grocery store waste. Likewise, recent innovative materials with biodegradable packaging have been proven to prevent food waste and elongate produce life. As a cherry on top, these materials decompose naturally without clogging landfills. Reusable and recyclable packages have further opened the floodgates for sustainable packaging with numerous potentials for reusing packages with minimal environmental impact.
The positive effect of innovative packaging far outweighs the negative. This realization has spurred several countries to incorporate eco-friendly packaging to reduce food wastage.
Role of Sustainable Packaging Innovation on Food Waste Reduction
Innovative packaging has a significant environmental impact on waste prevention. Using eco-friendly packaging lowers grocery food waste. This is because they increase consumption rates by raising the lifespan of the food item. Here are some ways sustainable packaging reduces the environmental impact of food waste.
Extension of Food Preservation Life Span
Sustainable packaging can help minimize food waste and, by extension, the release of greenhouse gasses. Statistics show that grocery store waste is significantly reduced when eco-friendly packaging is used for food. Customers are more likely to purchase food that appears well-packaged.
Customers go as far as to pay more as these packages are seen to have a higher value by . In turn, those foods are sure to have extended longevity in their pantry or shelf, increasing the potential for consumption and reducing the chances of disposal at the grocery store and their apartments.
Environmental Security and Consciousness
When people purchase goods with biodegradable packaging, they feel a corresponding and increasing sense of human goodness. They are assured that they have a part to play in the cycle of sustainability. That knowledge spurs continued environmental security, leading them to make more sustainable decisions.
In a never-ending cycle, innovative packaging speaks to customers’ psychology. It encourages them to purchase sustainably and creates an elevated culture of environmental awareness every time they make a purchase with packaging or without.
Contamination and Wastage Prevention
Food decay and spoilage are significant causes of global consumer food wastage, particularly in developed countries. Biodegradable packaging solutions exist for two purposes. They reduce the overall environmental impact of the product. More importantly, they also act as protective barriers against contamination and spoilage.
These packaging can protect unused portions and keep produce fresh until final consumption. It also helps these packages decompose naturally and not have to be transported to landfills, where they clog the earth and emit methane.
Public Health and Planetary Safety
Undoubtedly, plastics caused by packaging have contributed their fair share to environmental pollution. Indeed, the trend in the last decade has been to advocate against the use of plastics in packages for public health and safety. However, that is what makes sustainable packaging so fantastic.
Packaging of this sort gives the best of both worlds by optimizing the public’s health while preventing contamination and environmental degradation. Innovative solutions like microbial biodegradable polymers that can be decomposed as fossils for crop planting after use are one way to avoid the contamination of health and the planet. Eco-friendly packaging brings all to the table, affording the world a better place to live and a better body to thrive.
Bottom Line
Food waste is one of the world’s biggest concerns regarding environmental impact. Unfortunately, the ease and privacy accompanying this waste make it a vast ocean to cross. Sustainable packaging is a much-needed bridge. It is a great way to encourage long-term storage and consumption of food while protecting public health from contamination. The world needs to jump on the bridge and pool resources to promote innovations and the wide use of biodegradable and sustainable packaging. We owe this to our planet and ourselves.
