Abstract
The increasing amount of plastic waste generated each year, fuelled by the growing consumption of single-use plastics in food packaging applications, threatens the integrity of our ecosystems while creating an unprecedented waste management crisis. The biodegradable properties of some bioplastics have been identified as a promising solution to divert food and food packaging waste from landfill while avoiding plastic leaking into the environment. However, such bio-based biodegradable alternatives may not necessarily provide an improvement in overall environmental impact, especially when considering their efficacy at preventing food waste. This is the first systematic review to investigate the relationship between food packaging and food waste, based on conventional and biodegradable plastic food packaging life-cycle assessments (LCAs). It focuses on the trade-offs that may occur between food packaging production, end-of-life management and food waste prevention across the entire food packaging life-cycle. Following a review of 111 papers, 19 were identified for further investigation and data extraction. Quantitative analysis for five LCA impact categories, as well as hotspot analysis and end-of-life scenario analysis for global warming potential were conducted. The resulting picture is conflicting and suggests that though bioplastics display environmental benefits for global warming potential and non-renewable energy use, these are often negated by the agricultural inputs required for bioplastics raw material production. While the LCAs included in this study do not provide enough evidence to state which polymer is best at reducing food waste, they emphasise the environmental footprint associated with food production and food waste, and highlight the importance of including the food itself in food packaging LCAs. Therefore, focusing on food packaging performance in food waste minimisation is critical. We found that bioplastics provide the benefit of diverting biodegradable waste from landfill or incineration to ‘greener’ streams such as anaerobic digestion and composting, contributing to a circular economy. Encouraging biodegradable bioplastics should target plastic packaging where effective recycling measures are failing due to the challenges that remain for treating and recycling materials made of multiple, highly food-contaminated layers. The bioplastic industry is still young and optimising both the manufacturing process and material biophysical properties would contribute towards improving the overall environmental profiles of bioplastics.
Highlights
In light of globalisation and consumerism, the shift to a ‘throwaway’ society has placed considerable strain on the planet’s raw materials and resources
The following research question was formulated: How do life-cycle assessments of biodegradable bioplastic and conventional plastics food packaging vary in their environmental impacts and how is food waste considered within the system boundaries? The Web of Science Core Collection was chosen as the citation index service, as it provides access to multiple databases that reference cross-disciplinary research and is regarded as a standard in academia
When doing a comparative analysis of conventional plastics and Biodegradable bio-based plastic (BBP), only if the alternative biodegradable packaging materials are associated with equal amount of food waste and food losses throughout the supply chain may the food and food waste aspects be excluded from the Life-cycle assessment (LCA) (Flanigan et al, 2013)
Summary
In light of globalisation and consumerism, the shift to a ‘throwaway’ society has placed considerable strain on the planet’s raw materials and resources. With over half of the world population living in cities, with projections reaching 68% by 2050 (UN, 2018), packaging ensures food quality is preserved throughout more complex and extended supply chains, from production to consumption (Advisory Committee on Packaging, 2008). Food waste and its environmental impact on the food supply chain. One of the potential solutions to this dilemma is enhanced efficiency and waste reduction across the food supply chain (Verghese et al, 2013). Households are throwing substantial amounts of edible food; globally 1.3 billion tonnes are wasted each year (FAO, 2011). The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by food waste globally represent the third largest emitter in the world, outstripped only by the US and China (FAO, 2019). In the United Kingdom (UK) alone, some 10.2 million tonnes (Mt) per year of post-farm gate food waste have been estimated, with about 70% lost at the consumer level (Gillick and Quested, 2018)
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