Plastic packaging and climate protection – is zero waste the solution?
Plastic packaging and climate protection – is zero waste the solution?
| Author: Patrick Semadeni
Plastic packaging has been coming under heavy criticism, with the call to stop using it or replace it with other materials growing loud. Major food companies and retail groups have already announced their intentions to reduce plastic packaging. How should this be assessed in light of the most pressing environmental problem – climate change?
The carbon footprint of food manufacturing: the examples of meat and milk
Meat
Somewhere between 5 and 20 kg of animal feed has to be produced and fed to livestock in order to produce one kilo of beef. In this process, the equivalent (eq.) of 15.4 kg of carbon dioxide is emitted.1 A study on beef at the Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung Heidelberg (Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, or ifeu2) has come to a similar conclusion, and is also researching other types of meat:
- Beef 13-15 kg carbon dioxide eq. /kg
- Pork approx. 5 kg carbon dioxide eq. /kg
The majority of greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to the breeding stage.
Milk and milk products
The following figures were determined here:4
- Drinking milk 1.4 kg carbon dioxide eq. /kg
- Yogurt 2.5 kg carbon dioxide eq. /kg
- Cheese 5.7 kg carbon dioxide eq./ kg
Fruits and vegetables
A 2016 study from ETH Zurich reveals the following numbers:7
- Green asparagus (CH) 0.8 kg carbon dioxide eq. /kg
- Citrus fruit (Spain) 0.29 kg carbon dioxide eq. /kg
- Apples (CH) 0.12 kg carbon dioxide eq. /kg
- Pears (CH) 0.11 kg carbon dioxide eq. /kg
- Bananas (Ecuador) 0.4 carbon dioxide eq. /kg
- Lettuce (CH) 0.14 kg carbon dioxide eq. /kg
- Cucumbers (Turkey) 0.37 kg carbon dioxide eq. /kg
- Cucumbers (CH) 0.07 kg carbon dioxide eq. /kg
In what proportion is packaging responsible for carbon footprint?
Having looked at the greenhouse gas emissions of food products listed above, the question remains of how this looks with plastic packaging:5
- Beef 330 g: Packaging 0.07 kg carbon dioxide eq. Compared with approx. 5 kg carbon dioxide eq. for contents
- Cheese 150 g: Packaging 0.046 kg carbon dioxide eq. compared with approx. 0.86 kg carbon dioxide eq. for contents
- Yogurt 150 g: Packaging 0.008 kg carbon dioxide eq. compared with approx. 0.375 kg carbon dioxide eq. for contents8
The average European is responsible for approx. 15 tons of carbon dioxide eq. greenhouse gases per year. 6Of this, only 230-300 kg per year is attributed to packaging use.5
Conclusion: packaging only makes up a small fraction of a product’s carbon footprint! A single flight to Singapore causes the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions per person as 30 years of packaging consumption!
The main problem with climate protection is our consumption and traffic, not packaging.
Food waste – a huge problem
Between 25 and 30% of food produced ends up as food waste!3 That’s 1.3 billion tons!9 That’s extremely concerning from the standpoint of global food security and climate protection.
Plastic packaging prolongs the shelf life of food products. Unfortunately this fact is often questioned, but it’s the truth. In its basic state, oxygen exists as a reactive radical. It reacts with components in the food and causes changes in color, flavor, and nutritional value.10 This is called “oxidation.” That’s why many products prone to oxidation, such as meat and cheese, are wrapped in air-tight packaging (shrink sleeves) or packed in protected atmospheres. There, the air is replaced with nitrogen (nitrogen is a major component, almost 80%, of the air we breathe).
Oxygen also facilitates the growth of micro-organisms and germs, such as mildew.10
Plastic packaging helps prevent food waste
Thanks to plastic packaging, the negative effects of oxidation and other environmental influences such as light and micro-organisms can be kept away from the contents and the food remains shelf-stable for longer. A study from the environmental consultant Denkstatt, Vienna, revealed the following reductions in food waste when optimal plastic packaging was used:11
- Steak: Reduces food waste by 75%
- Cheese: Reduces by 97%
- Bread rolls: Reduces food waste by 93%
- Chicken: Reduces food waste by 65%
- Cucumbers: Reduces food waste by 50%
An American study quantifies the extended shelf life:12
- Steak: 11 more days
- Banana: 21 more days
- Cucumbers: 26 more days
It’s important to note in this context that shelf life refers not just to the time after which the product has been purchased, but the entire timespan following production, meaning storage, warehousing, transport, etc. Those who argue that they only leave the food they've bought open if they intend to eat it right away fail to recognize that the food was produced some time before they purchased it.
Getting rid of plastic packaging is the wrong decision from the standpoint of global food security and climate protection. The new production of spoiled food products causes much higher greenhouse gas emissions than packaging does.
Optimized packaging helps save 280 g of carbon dioxide per kg. of food!11
What do opponents of plastic packaging say?
Zero Waste Switzerland has raised various arguments against packaging, but has not contested the longer shelf life of food products afforded by packaging:13
- packaging can increase food waste when consumers buy more than they need, because the packaging sizes available are too big
- Low recycling rate
- Health risks due to migration of substances
The first argument is true. Here, brand owners and retailers are required to offer packaging sizes that meet demand, which is primarily based on demographic shifts – multicultural society, smaller households, etc. Over-packaging also falls under this subject matter. It should be avoided, and only as much plastic as is necessary to protect the contents should be used.
The second argument is partially true. Yes, the material recycling rate is too low. The exception is PET bottles, for which we have a collecting system in Switzerland – the PET Recycling Switzerland PRS system – that works very well. The recycling rates have reached just under 90%. It is correct, however, that collecting and sorting systems for other plastic packaging should be improved and expanded. On a positive note, Coop and Migros have initiatives in place to collect certain, frequently used types of plastic packaging for recycling. Chemical recycling is a solution for packaging made from materials that are hard to recycle, and will be addressed further in another blog post.
The third argument is incorrect. Plastic objects that come into contact with food products are highly regulated. Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011 and the Swiss plastic ordinance (KsV) establish specific migration values that cannot be exceeded for substances that can cause negative impacts on health. Anyone who brings packaging for food products onto the market has to confirm its compliance with these regulations, which requires appropriate lab testing generally performed by independent service laboratories.
Therefore the solution must be to use as little plastic as necessary, but when it is needed it should be given a chance, and when it comes to food products that is essentially the case since packaging keeps it stable for longer.
Unnecessary packaging components and over-packaging should be avoided.
1WWF Switzerland, Website “Meat and Milk Products,” Zurich, 2019
2Carbon footprint and life cycle assessment of meat from Baden-Württemberg, ifeu, Heidelberg, 2013
3Special Report on Climate Change, Summary for Policymakers, IPCC, 2019
4Life cycle assessment of milk and dairy products, ifeu, Heidelberg, 2014
5Use of packaging: “Using packaging – from an environmental standpoint,” Denkstatt, Vienna, 2018
6Carbon Footprint of Nations - A global, trade-linked analysis, Hertwich & Peters, 2009
7Zhiyenbeck et al., Life cycle analysis of fruit and vegetable production, ETH, Zurich, 2016
8own deduction, Basis our world in data, England/Wales 2019, Plastics and Climate, CIEL, 2019, packaging weight of a cup of yogurt 4.5 g
9FAO (UN), Food Loss and Food Waste, Website, Rom, 2019
10Sandmeier, What are the effects of oxygen on food? Fraunhofer IVV, Freising, 2003
11How Packaging Contributes to Food Waste Prevention, Denkstatt, Vienna, 2017
12Reducing Food Waste through Packaging, American Chemistry Council ACC, Washington, 2018
13Does plastic packaging reduce food waste?, Zero Waste Switzerland, 2019