On April 10, 2018, the non-profit organizations Friends of the Earth Europe and Zero Waste Europe, on behalf of the Rethink Plastic Alliance, published a new report entitled “Unwrapped: How throwaway plastic is failing to solve Europe’s food waste problem (and what we need to do instead).” The organizations claim that “plastic food packaging is failing to reduce Europe’s growing food waste problem, and in some cases may even be fueling it.”
Friends of the Earth Europe and Zero Waste Europe reviewed available data on plastic packaging and food waste, finding that the use of the former has increased simultaneously with levels of the latter since the 1950s. Their study further shows that big European retailers are driving both food and plastic packaging waste with practices such as food grading standards and packaging food in multipacks or small-format packs. The organizations also highlight that assessments of food packaging (mainly done by Life Cycle Assessment, LCA) do not account for all impacts of plastics and therefore “justify” their use based on incomplete data. For example, the health risks posed by chemical migration from food contact materials (FCMs), including plastics, are often not considered in LCA studies.
The organizations make the following recommendations for actions: i) Developing a holistic, evidence-based approach to plastic packaging and food waste, ii) reviewing existing legislation to assess and address gaps, iii) using market-based instruments to promote behavioral change (e.g., deposit refund schemes, taxation), and iv) providing greater investment and funding to support infrastructure for waste prevention systems (e.g., zero packaging and reusable packaging systems).
Along with the report, the organizations published three short fact sheets on over-packaging, packaging-free retail, and short food supply chains, as well as a document illustrating the shortcomings of LCAs for food packaging.
Read more
Friends of the Earth (April 10, 2018). “Plastic packaging failing to prevent food waste crisis, new study finds.”
Sam Morgan (April 12, 2018). “Plastic packaging fails to reduce food waste, study warns.” Euractiv
Plastics News Europe (April 13, 2018). “New study claims plastic packaging failing to prevent food waste.”
References
Schweitzer, J.-P., et al. (2018). “Unwrapped: How throwaway plastic is failing to solve Europe’s food waste problem (and what we need to do instead).” Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), Zero Waste Europe, Friends of the Earth Europe, and Rethink Plastic Alliance
Schweitzer, J.-P., and Janssens, C. (2018). “Overpackaging.” Briefing for the report: Unwrapped: How throwaway plastic is failing to solve Europe’s food waste problem (and what we need to do instead). Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), Zero Waste Europe, Friends of the Earth Europe, and Rethink Plastic Alliance
Schweitzer, J.-P., and Janssens, C. (2018). “Package-free retail.” Briefing for the report: Unwrapped: How throwaway plastic is failing to solve Europe’s food waste problem (and what we need to do instead). Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), Zero Waste Europe, Friends of the Earth Europe, and Rethink Plastic Alliance
Mottershead, D., and Schweitzer, J.-P. (2018). “Short food supply chains.” Briefing for the report: Unwrapped: How throwaway plastic is failing to solve Europe’s food waste problem (and what we need to do instead). Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), Zero Waste Europe, Friends of the Earth Europe, and Rethink Plastic Alliance
Schweitzer, J.-P., et al. (2018). “Justifying plastic pollution: How Life Cycle Assessments are misused in food packaging policy.” Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), Zero Waste Europe, Friends of the Earth Europe, and Rethink Plastic Alliance
