Something less widely understood is that this same food packaging, from the additives like phthalates which give plastics their pliability or perfluorinated chemicals that allow cardboard to contain liquids, all the way to the bisphenol linings that coat our aluminum cans, much of our food packaging is extremely dangerous to our health. Plastic containers are easily stacked, and sometimes the lids can be stored inside one container. Similar to other plastics, bioplastics are not currently recyclable, but they do break down much quicker than regular plastics, provided they are properly composted at in-home compost heaps or in extensive industrial compost facilities. The recycling process for plastic is expensive. You could choose healthier options such as glass or toxic-free materials for cookware or utensils or water bottles and try your level best to avoid single-use plastic. If yes, how?Humans widely used plastic every single day for a multipurpose. In 2018 the American Academy of Pediatrics assessed the risks to childrens health posed by several chemical classes found in food, either added as part of processing or having entered the food through transmission from food packaging.30 They found that three of the top six chemical classes of concern bisphenols, including BPA and BPB; phthalates; and per- and polyfluoroalkyls (also known as PFAS) are leaching into our food from food packaging.3132, These three chemical classes are all endocrine disruptors, which means that they interfere with the hormones that regulate vital body functions, including metabolism, growth and development, sexual function, sleep and mood. Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh. Consider alternatives to plastic storage and plastic wrap, like beeswax wrappers, glassware with silicone lids, canning jars or simply a kitchen bowl with a plate placed on top. A BPA-free label is not enough for safety. If you are purchasing an item that is packaged in plastic, check the bottom of the product youre considering purchasing. A benefit of this plastic is that it is recyclable. Generally its considered safe for single use, although there have been concerns that at higher temperatures water bottles leach chemicals into the contents. Even with BPA-free plastic items (e.g. LDPE plastic is used for such items as frozen food bags, sandwich wraps, squeezable ketchup, honey, water, and mustard bottles. Sprite Ditches Green Bottle in Favor of Greener Option, Environmentalists Call Greenwashing, To Reduce Harmful Algal Blooms and Dead Zones, the U.S. Takeout cartons, shelf-stable wrapping, those water bottles, even canned goods can be the culprit. Which bins do you place each part in when youre done? Use Less Plastic While Grocery Shopping: Bring reusable or cloth bags. Tip: Most plastics have a triangle identifier on them that identifies the plastic type. Glass containers also wont break in colder temperatures or leach chemicals into the food, even when frozen for longer periods. None are oven-safe. Is that bowl still compostable if it goes in the corner trash can? No matter how hard we try it's difficult to completely eliminate the use of plastic from our lives. Reduce, refuse and reuse are three ways that we can reduce plastics in our environment, with reducing being the most important one for a zero-plastic future. If you see #6, thats polystyrene. For more about Forsythia, see: https://www.forsythiafdn.org. At the end of the day, it all depends on what you are shipping and how heavy the content is. No matter what the compounds are, none have yet been proven safe for human consumption, and consume them is what we end up doing when we use plastic containers. Plastic is lighter to carry, without the worry of breakage. This report is written by FoodPrint and based on a March, 2019 report, Safer Materials in Food Packaging, by Safer Made. Packaging tape plays an important role when it comes to sealing your parcels ready for shipping. The search for alternatives to PFAS coatings and additives for fiber-based food contact packaging is intensifying. Privacy Policy|Disclaimer. Can be used to build furniture, and safety coating on wires ,bottles and pipes. Sign up for our email newsletter! While utilizing plastic in small amounts has its own set of advantages, prolonged usage of plastic can prove to be disadvantageous for us and the environment. The service was piloted in Paris and New York in 2019, and if its successful, its likely that well see other companies following suit.71. Tracey holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the Manchester College of Communications and a diploma in business management from London Business School. Forty percent of the demand for plastic is generated by single-use plastic products.1 Single-use (or disposable) plastics like the cup, lid and straw for your iced coffee, or your water bottle, or the plastic container your cherry tomatoes come in are all designed to be used only once before being thrown away or recycled, with no obvious plan or pathway for reuse. Do you know what the milk carton is made of? Several cities, from New York and Seattle to Freeport, Maine, and Encinitas, California, have similar legislation in place. It is important to understand the difference between compostable, recyclable and biodegradable materials. This also means they cannot be used as protective barrier for furnaces. The short answer is no. Some manufacturers prefer the lighter PP plastic over HDPE for dairy and deli packaging because it costs less to produce and transport. On an individual level, care must be taken to avoid extreme usage of plastic. There are two tasks at hand for consumers when it comes to addressing the problems of food packaging: to make meaningful personal changes and to push companies and legislatures to make change on a larger scale. If consumers are able to afford alternatives, we feel confident that people can transition to reusable materials. Innovations in packaging are needed, and researchers, companies and entrepreneurs are stepping up. If you forget your reusable cup and have to use a disposable one, skip the stirrer and recycle the lid (or skip the lid entirely). So, are paper and cardboard really more eco-friendly than plastic? Eating out of plastic containers may expose us to a variety of health disorders. If youre wedded to canned goods, look for Eden Foods, which has provided Bisphenol-free cans for a couple of decades. Additionally, polythene bags are easily carried by wind, something that makes them almost impossible to collect for recycling. Plastics have been found deep in ocean waters, too, including in the Mariana Trench, the deepest known part of the worlds oceans.11, Much of the research about plastic pollution has focused on the marine environment. What if plastics could be used over and over? For decades, the US sent the bulk of our recycling, including plastics, to China.68 However, in 2018, China stopped accepting some recyclables, including most plastics. The particles could release phthalates into the body, which interfere with hormones and can reduce fertility in both men and women. Please note, comments must be approved before they are published. Say no to receipts. It is unhealthy for both humans and the environment. Most of us store food on a regular basis, whether its leftovers, packed lunches for school and work, or meals cooked ahead of time for the coming week. A New Plastics Economy Innovation Prize launched in 2017 invites designers, entrepreneurs, academics, scientists and others to rethink the kinds of plastic packaging, like single-use plastics, that are most likely to end up in landfill or in the environment. Despite all of this concern, PFAS remains in so much of our food packaging, including some products that had not been widely known to contain them, like molded fiber bowls used at various takeout fast casual stores and touted as compostable. However, as discussed stacking difficulties may occur, particularly if the box cannot handle the weight of the content. Uncoated paper products, and products made from materials other than paper, including bamboo, are good alternatives. Some contain toxic chemicals that can leach into your food and create health issues. In addition, many recycling facilities do not accept them, because they clog up the machinery. Plastics are everywhere in the food system, found at every step in our foods journey to our plates. However, you can use LDPE. There are cans of beans, cartons of milk, plastic containers of yogurt, bags of chips and plastic-wrapped meat on foam trays. Designing better systems may help end, or at least greatly reduce, plastic waste. This means only some of the plastic you use and discard can be placed into household/curbside recycling bins. It leaches a harmful chemical into food called styrene thats considered a carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Plastics generally have a short useful life compared to metals. Press the space key then arrow keys to make a selection. Whether you need help solving quadratic equations, inspiration for the upcoming science fair or the latest update on a major storm, Sciencing is here to help. If you need a straw, request a paper straw or bring a reusable metal straw with you. From paper tapes, to paper void fill and cartons, we stock everything you need to protect your products. plastic bags to safely store frozen food for its recommended storage time. UK Supermarket Chain Scraps Best-Before Dates to Reduce Food Waste, Scientists Develop New Material to Clean Up Forever Chemicals, Flood Maps Show U.S. If you havent given much thought to the plastic and glass containers youre using for food storage, heres some information to help you with your choices. Higher temperatures result in the release of toxins. Given all we know about the environmental and health concerns regarding single-use food packaging, and given how much of it cannot be or simply is not recycled, reusing food and drink containers is an important part of the solution. The use of plastic products has increased significantly in the recent past, with many enterprises joining the industry and many more varieties of plastics being made. Your best bet is generally to look for glass alternatives or TetraPaks (multilayered cardboard packaging), where available. Plastic straws are generally made from #5 (polypropylene), which is technically able to be recycled, but people often forget to recycle them because they are so small. Plastics are made from fossil fuels which is clearly a non-renewable source. Easily stained and retains odors. A new generation of consumers appreciates the importance of food storage as a means to reduce food waste, and are making environmentally-friendly and health-conscious decisions. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of plastic?Advantages of plastic are: Advantages of plastic Disadvantages of plastic. In fact, we could be ingesting more than 200 particles a week, just from our plastic food storage units. Recent research indicates that the answer is Yes.12 Microplastics can make their way into soil through flooding, littering and by being deposited through the atmosphere (e.g., by wind).13 They can also be deposited on soil through compost applications or through sewage sludge, which is sometimes used as a fertilizer on farmland.14 A recent study indicates that microplastics affect the ability of soil to hold water, and have other impacts on soil structure.15, Its not just a matter of where plastics end up that affects the environment. For safety reasons damaged plastic containers should be thrown out. Plastic straw bans have also begun to gain popularity. As the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) industry has boomed, so has the availability of cheap plastic, thanks to a fracking byproduct, called ethane, used extensively in plastic production. The fact remains the reusable containers cannot be the complete solution to our food packaging problems. Choose glass containers with a tight seal that are fridge- and freezer-safe. ThermoplasticsThis type of plastic is called Thermoplastic polymer. (855) 358-1496 TOLL FREEFAX: (214) 247-1162Email: service@cwservicesinc.com, 2022 C&W Services Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Regardless of whether materials go the route of recycling or composting at end of life, it is critical that we use safer materials and chemical building blocks, otherwise we may contaminate compost and recycling streams.6465, While you might think that the solution to plastic waste is recycling, the hard truth is that the majority of plastics do not go into the recycling system. Studies have found that recycling can introduce hazardous chemicals into other materials, meaning our best option is to stop producing plastic containers. Once they take the shape of a particular object, it must be used as it is. Perfluorinated chemicals (PFAS), in use since the 1940s, are a class of synthetic chemicals used primarily on fiber-based food packaging, including on paper plates, bowls, cardboard clamshells and other kinds of food packaging to make them water and oil-resistant. How does it benefit the economy?Plastic is water-resistant, chemical and even rust-resistant. Some of these include: At Swiftpak, we have a range of corrugated cartons that you can use instead of plastic. Some states have taken action; for a list of states with restrictions on BPA, visit the National Conference State Legislatures policy page.6162 More recently, entire chemical classes have been included in chemical management policies, such as phthalates or fluorinated compounds (PFAS). While we know that plastics have carbon-intense life cycles, we do not yet have a full understanding of how their production, in addition to their use and disposal, is contributing to the global climate crisis. . The problem is that most fiber food packaging provides good physical and UV/light barriers, but isnt a good enough barrier for liquids on its own, and so requires plastic coatings or other additives, like perfluorinated chemicals (PFAS), which can render them unable to be recycled (in the case of a plastic lining) or might be detrimental to our health (in the case of PFAS). Additionally, plastics fabrication involves the use of potentially dangerous chemicals, which are added as stabilizers or colorants. But, while BPA in these types of plastic items are on the wane, BPA is still used to line metal food packaging like cans. Scientists at the US Department of Energys Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have designed a plastic they believe can be manufactured, used, recycled and used repeatedly without losing value.72 They are calling it polydiketoenamine, or PDK. Since plastic came into common use in the 1950s, we have produced more than 8 billion tons of it. Youve gotten your salad in a compostable bowl with a recyclable lid. If a compostable item ends up in the trash, it will simply go to landfill. Can All Types of Food Packaging Be Recycled or Composted? . Assure their suppliers disclose more detail about chemicals, materials, products and their packaging. Bioplastics are usually much more efficient and eco-friendly than normal plastics and help contribute to the reducing of pollution. Consumers also consider plastics lighter, compared to other packaging materials. Aluminum production is the result of mined bauxite that is smelted into alumina27 and, as with any industrial production, the purification of aluminum requires a lot of energy.28 In addition, aluminum production creates byproducts such as greenhouses gases, sulfur dioxide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.29. Firms consider plastics easier and cheaper to manufacture as compared to other materials -- such as metals and stones -- because they're produced from byproducts of crude oil and can be recycled. California became the first state to restrict the use of plastic straws, barring their use in full service restaurants (although they are available upon request).78 Other states and a growing number of cities have followed suit. Click here to view a larger version of this graphic, once predominantly made from crude oil, but now increasingly from natural gas, four strategies for reducing the carbon footprint of plastic, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Many municipalities have deemed recycling polystyrene too challenging and costly to make it worth their while, including some products that had not been widely known to contain them, Purchasing Safer Compostable Food Service Ware, Avoiding Hidden Hazards: A Purchasers Guide to Safer Foodware, although there is now evidence that BPI-certified molded fiber bowls may contain PFAS, National Conference State Legislatures policy page, state lawmakers have introduced nearly 100 bills related to plastic bags. Paper void fill helps to protect your items during transit in a similar way to foam chips by filling up the remaining space, providing products with protective cushioning they need. Many studies have shown that plastic containers leach into the food and liquid they hold, and it gets worse as time and temperature increase.2425, Polystyrene, especially in its puffed form, is bad for the environment. Invest in materials that are truly biodegradable or compostable. Grocery shoppers often brought their own containers to the dry grocer to stock up from bulk bins. Some single-use items are essential and have made things not only convenient but safer. Climate change and consumer demand is continuing to push packaging sustainability high up on the agenda. What Does the Manchin-Schumer Deal Mean for Clean Energy? All industries globally use plastic materials in one or other ways.Due to the uncontrolled use of plastic, its disposal has become a huge problem in major cities and towns alike. The site also provides information about where to buy in bulk. Its not just plastic bottles were using once and tossing. What are the different uses of plastic?Plastic has become an indispensable part of everything we do. Both chemicals are easily absorbed through the skin and into the bloodstream, where they act like hormones. Not only that, but there is a 200 a tonne tax coming into force in 2022on any plastic packaging containing less than 30% recycled content, which further pushes businesses to reduce the amount of plastic they use. HDPE is a long-lasting, nontransparent sturdy plastic, and is considered the best of the safe food plastics. These containers are bad for the environment. There are plastic gyres in all of the worlds major oceans, including the infamous Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP)10, an accumulation zone of plastics in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii that is estimated to contain at least 79,000 tons of plastic floating in an area of 1.6M km. If dining out and planning on taking leftovers home, consider bringing your own container. State and citywide Styrofoam bans are also gaining momentum. PVC or Polyvinyl chloride, polythene are good examples of such plastic. Much of the metal food packaging in use in the US is made from aluminum. 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Different sizes are available for sandwiches, vegetables, etc., making it easier to organize lunch bags for work and the kids. Its therefore both microwave and dishwasher safe, and is the best plastic for storing foods such as vegetable oil and tomato sauce. Since it was first introduced, plastic quickly became a vital part of the American food system. However, switching to paper also has its environmental issues. To solve this, multi-material or multi-layered packaging is often used, like a paper takeout container lined with plastic. This vulnerability requires the addition of a plastic coating, often epoxies containing bisphenols, most of which contain harmful chemicals, as well go into more, below. In our household, common items such as switchboards, jug handles are made from thermosetting plastic. PVC is used in food-related products such as plastic plates, cling wrap, cooking oil bottles, sandwich bags, and squeeze bottles. In the next section, we delve into the health and environmental issues with food packaging, primarily focusing on plastic, metal and paper packaging. Scientists have found that microplastics can cross the hardy membrane that protects the brain from foreign bodies in the bloodstream, at least in animals. Now based in Toronto, Sandra Tracey began writing career-related articles while living in London in 2003. They can be moulded into any desired shape with the help of heat and be reused multiple times. They clog waterways and float on reservoirs, polluting and making them unsightly. Both Paper and cardboard are seen by many brands as the quick solution to help them achieve their plastic reduction targets. What are the different types of plastics?Plastics can be classified into two main types.1. Home Blog Plastic vs. Glass Storage Containers. Due to its being lightweight, recycling polystyrene in traditional systems is difficult, expensive and in some cases impossible, which makes it even more likely to end up as litter or in landfills. When you walk the aisles of your grocery store, you find an array of packaging types on the shelves. They dont just make their way through our system and out of our bodies. One example is polycarbonate, a common #7 plastic found in reusable water bottles or baby bottles. Here are some examples of organizations that are rethinking everything from materials to processes to distribution. Theyre launching the Loop box, which will enable consumers to recycle packaging of products they receive via home delivery. Can lose their shape, crack, chip, peel, and melt under high temperatures. Check with your local recycler to find out what plastics can and cannot be recycled in your community. One of the challenges of sustainable packaging design is that materials designed for certain functions, such as blocking light, may not work for other needs, like keeping packaging waterproof. PETE is one of the most popular plastics. A lot of this comes from our takeout containers. Shouldnt our food packaging be just as good for our health and the planet as the actual food? If cans are your only option, look for products that say BPA-free (but understand that they may contain other equally harmful bisphenols, like BPS and PFB, that havent received the negative attention BPA has). Although some of the plastics are recycled, most remain uncollected in dump sites and pollute the environment. Avoid putting produce in the plastic bags provided by the grocery. juice and food containers, sports bottles) keep them out of direct sunlight, and dont heat them. One example is phthalates, which are used in the manufacture of PVC. At Swiftpak, we would recommend trying our polylactic acid (PLA) packaging as it is made from the renewable source, cornstarch, and so decomposes well in the presence of acids. The grease-resistant paper wrapped around your burger, your pizza boxes, rotisserie chicken bag, bakery wrapper and hot bar takeout box: they all are likely to contain PFAS. Tip: In general, heating food in plastic should be avoided.