Fresh Produce Packaging

By Ryan Baker and Rachel LaLumiere

OVERVIEW

Fresh produce packaging has become a problem within plastics waste as it is a one time use of plastic. Loose produce is sold wrapped in plastic film in order to make it last longer on the shelf and after it is purchased. Most shrink wraps are made of LDPE, while some others are made of PVC or PP. There are alternatives that can be used instead of plastic that our society can transition to, as well as societal pros and cons to be considered when it comes to fresh produce packaging.

ALTERNATIVES TO PLASTIC

Transitioning to other materials rather than plastic would help our environment by eliminating plastic waste.

Glass

The pros to replacing plastics with glass are that glass is reusable and recyclable. The cons are glass is expensive to manufacture and much heavier than plastic, and therefore more expensive to transport. As a result of this, glass has a larger carbon footprint than commonly used plastics.

Bioplastic film

Bioplastics are sometimes available that can completely break down in a composting environment. Other supposedly biodegradable plastics such as Reverte’s Biolefin claim that they begins to naturally degrade after 18 months. Reverte claims that their additive helps polymer chains break into much smaller chains that can be decomposed by bacteria in the environment naturally. The FDA approved this material for direct food contact, and it is about twice as expensive as typical polyolefin films. However, there is controversy about these claims and many do not advocate this as a sustainable alternative.

No Packaging

The pros of replacing plastic packaging with nothing is that without packaging, there is no waste or CO2 emissions from manufacture. This would help to combat climate change by drastically reducing CO2 emissions that cause it. The cons of replacing plastic packaging with nothing includes that it would greatly reduce the produce shelf life, and without packaging, the product is not protected and is more likely to be damaged or wasted.

Wax Coating

While not common, some research has been done into replacing plastic films with a coating of natural wax. The initial findings show that the wax provides a comparable barrier to the plastic. More research into barrier properties is needed to determine whether this is a viable option or not.

PROS

There are societal pros to using plastic to preserve fresh produce making it difficult for people as well as companies to branch away from plastic (Sharma).

● Proper packaging keeps produce fresh longer: Many produce items will go bad quickly without plastic packaging. Inside the vacuum sealed wrapping, the produce stays fresher for longer.

● Plastic packaging provides protection of the produce: While the produce is being shipped, stocked, bought, and brought home it is well protected by the plastic as it travels through its transportation stage from the packaging all the way to the consumers home.

● Plastic produce packaging is convenient: The very thin plastic can be easily removed off of produce and be recycled. It is not heavy and it does not take up space.

● Plastic produce packaging helps with disease: Throughout the various steps a product goes through, including packaging, stocking, and customers, as produce is transported it is handled by many people. So when the consumer purchases the vacuum sealed produce, people have only touched the packaging reducing direct contact.

● Plastics are lightweight, durable, and inexpensive: With these key traits produce plastic packaging is convenient for both the producer and consumer.

CONS

There are societal cons to using plastic to preserve fresh produce causing people to drift away from using plastic in packaging fresh produce and moving towards using other materials (Supply Chain Solution Center)

● Plastic packaging is extremely wasteful and impacts earth’s ecosystems: The majority of plastic waste is sent to landfills or disposed of into the environment

● Few plastics are biodegradable: Almost every piece of plastic that has ever been made is still on this planet. Whether it can break down into microplastics or not, plastic is dumped or washed into the oceans for marine life to consume

● Companies are a big part of one-time use plastics: The majority of produce packaging is one time use meaning it is just recycled or thrown away by consumers Single Use Plastic Waste Do Countries Generate

CONCLUSION

Fresh produce packaging is becoming an issue when it comes to plastic waste in our environment. It is a great example of a common one-time use plastic, serving no purpose other than the protection of produce. As a society, we need to start using other materials rather than plastics for our one-time use food packaging. There are many alternatives to plastic that will benefit our society and reduce waste. However, the cons of using plastics are offset slightly by some pros. As a society we need to transition to a new cheap and eco-friendly material as it will only benefit our waste production, marine life, and climate, while also lowering the quantity of single use plastic packaging produced.