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In 2020, plastics output surpassed 367 million metric tonnes globally, with packing accounting for over 40% of that total. Packing material is made up of a variety of polymers including compounds, as well as other elements like glue and varnishes. Wrapping can also contain leftovers from compounds employed during the production process, including such solvents, as well as "non-intentionally added substances (NIAS)", including contaminants, oligomers, and decomposition products (Walker et al. 2021). A detailed study across all chemicals used for plastic packaging is required to characterize hazards from chemicals possibly released during container production, usage, removal, and/or regeneration. Furthermore, as plastic pollution is now a common environmental hazard, the source of the pollution must be well recognized.
(Source: Statista.com, 2020)
Plastic is often regarded as an essential packaging component in the food processing business. Plastic remains lightweight, versatile, and affordable when compared to other sources such as paper, canisters, or glassware. Well over 20 billion kilograms of polypropylene are being used for wrapping in Europe, with an average of 8.2 billion kilograms of that utilized for packaged foods. Plastic containers have a comparatively short useful lifetime and are typically discarded after one usage, despite the fact that their use is increasing (Think.ing.com, 2019). As a result, plastic wrapping is responsible for a significant amount of overall plastic waste throughout the food manufacturing industry.
Beverage and food makers are continuously seeking methods to improve their procedures and increase value as the world's demography and rise in customer goods grow. Massive distance and various mediators are common in food supply systems and each phase of the global food supply has an effect on people and the ecology, encompassing extraction, preparation, retailing, and consumption (Bpf.co.uk, 2022). The packaging process assist food items to travel securely and therefore has an important role throughout the food industry. Food manufacturers must also guarantee that perhaps the food items are well till reaches the point of distribution by using proper wrapping. Even though there is also a range of resources and options for food containers, plastic food containers have traditionally become the most popular (Bpf.co.uk, 2022). Because of its versatility and sturdiness, plastic has maintained its appeal over time.
Plastic containers, according to Ciriminna & Pagliaro (2020), are indeed particularly capable of adapting the form of wrapping that allows producers to tailor their form, texture, and design to meet the needs of their clients. As a result, plastic packing is a very lightweight preservation alternative that also doesn't occupy so much room. They are indeed very convenient to carry because they don't occupy significant storage space, minimizing the carbon emissions during transit. Walker et al. (2021) stated that plastic wrapping can withstand harsh circumstances and does not disintegrate readily in warm or cold conditions, maintaining the foods inside. This also guards the food items against external factors such as moisture, air, dirt, sunlight, and smells.
(Source: Bpf.co.uk, 2022)
Producers can assure that their item is those well moments because plastic is incredibly robust and impervious to external impacts. Such, in effect, enables the business to reduce costs due to stock waste while also ensuring continuity in delivering the product, thereby improving brand image. Plastic's high adaptability, according to Oloyede & Lignou (2021), makes it easy to repurpose. In addition, companies are now developing specialist plastic bag production machinery to assist food manufacturers in optimizing plastic recycled content. Plastic packaging's sturdiness also enables producers to produce eye-catching, high-quality innovative styles, improving product exposure in such a dynamic shopping environment.
Plastic containers, as per research, require 40% less fuel to manufacture and create 80 percent lesser waste products than recycled paper. A kilogram of plastics takes 91 percent less energy for recycling than a kilogram of paper, according to the research. Plastic containers are very cost- effective and may be utilized by any industry, regardless of their size (Kaewunruen & Rungskunroch, 2019). Plastic packaged foods are particularly cost-effective for relatively small makers, as it enables them to acquire standardized packaging alternatives despite their limited budgets. Plastic containers, as previously stated, are completely recyclable and take fewer resources to manufacture than other packaging choices.
The majority of food items that people purchase on a daily basis are packaged in plastic packaging, canisters, sheets, or vials. By an international Survey conducted by ING, Europeans throw away 3 sets of plastic pollution per day in aggregate. Notwithstanding the practical advantages, people are aware of the drawbacks of using polyethylene. In the study, one-third of Europeans (34%) named plastic trash as the most serious environmental issue, putting it on the level with global warming (Think.ing.com, 2019). Plastic garbage is indeed a very real ecological disaster that individuals are confronted with every day. Nevertheless, changing demographics, consumption habits, and container tendencies are all leading to an increment in the need for plastic wrapping.
(Source: Think.ing.com, 2019)
Plastic containers have a huge ecological impact since they need longer time for degradation. Also, plastic containers degrade through the heat, toxic compounds are spread in the earth, and yet whenever such containers are incinerated, hazardous chemicals are apread into the atmosphere, creating poor air quality. As per Beaumont et al. (2019), the utilization of plastic containers may allow incursions into malignant issue as a result of the uncontrolled development of carcinogenic agents. Containers are disposed unethically into landfills all over the planet, taking up thousands of acres of land as well as emitting harmful gas emissions, along with extremely toxic industrial effluents, as such waste decompose.
Plastic bag trash constitutes a serious threat to animals along with human health in the ecosystem. Plastic containers can cause pollution by producing trash and clogging rainwater drains when they're not easy to dispose of away (Sheldon & Norton, 2020). Thus society can get waterlogged which might disrupt the economy of a country at a regional level. Further, the water contained in such waste plastics also creates the birth ground for mosquitoes and other insects that can cause disease and harm society significantly. Furthermore, animals frequently mistake the pouches for food and they, therefore, eat them, obstructing their intestinal motility (Beaumont et al. 2019). Starvation, bleeding, suffocation, illness, detrimental reproductive fitness, and death can all occur when animals become entangled in marine detritus, especially plastic bags.
Plastic debris in aquatic habitats has only lately been recognized as a key concern, despite the fact that it has already been recognized as a dilemma in the aquatic organisms since the 1970s. The prevalence of plastic particles presents numerous issues that impact economic growth (Ibanet.org, 2022). Plastic containers disposed along beaches provide an ecological disaster that seems to have a negative consequence on tourism. Reduced tourism revenues, adverse effects on tourism destinations, and damage to the marine sector are all associated with the economic damages. Plastic that has accumulated along the beach does have a negative effect on shipping facilities, power generation, fisheries, and wildlife (Ibanet.org, 2022). When examining the negative influence of plastic on the marine environment, it's also important to consider the severity of leaking from plastic debris.
Not just do plastic containers threatening aquatic life, but they also endanger farmland. Plastic containers are to blame for the deterioration of the environment and farming land, as well as the unintended depletion of important natural resources, particularly oil. This has now become a huge industrial and ecological productivity concern. Disposed plastic wrappers which have already found their way through into the ground are nonetheless inconvenient for farmers, but also dangerous. The so-called highly developed society's ecology would deteriorate as a result of this (Sheldon & Norton, 2020). Unfortunately, despite the fact that carrier bags have also been shown to reduce agricultural yield around the planet, however, there has been insufficient meaningful consciousness to take better, efficient, and tangible prompt measures.
The primary stakeholders of the food industry are the raw material producers who are the farmers, and the other parties are manufacturing companies, supply chain providers, retail organizations, and the customers. It has been found that plastic debris is significantly harming the agricultural lands that are making them infertile. According to the data by Alabi et al. (2019), chlorinated polyethylene can leach hazardous substances into the environment, which could then leak into aquifers or other nearby water resources, harming both the environment and the environment. This can have a variety of negative consequences for the creatures that consume the water. As a result, the overall crop productivity is reducing however, on the other hand, the demand for food is increasing due to population growth (Ibanet.org, 2022). Hence, the farmers are against plastic usage but as they have no such influence on the food industry, therefore, their perspective is not being concerned with the overall food industry.
(Source: Bpf.co.uk, 2022)
The food manufacturer and the distributor of the food industry are on the other hand quite inclined toward plastic usage. Since polymers protect fragile goods from harm while in transportation, as well as infection or deterioration from humidity, dampness, fumes, microbes, pests, and radiation, it lowers the cost of production and reduces transit waste (Bpf.co.uk, 2022). It also preserves things for longer, minimizing losses by providing employees more opportunities to use or ingest them and therefore lengthening the product life cycle. Indeed, plastic packaging enables long-distance shipment, allowing us to acquire a diverse range of non-local goods, which fosters trade. It also frees up space by stacking goods, allowing for more efficient transportation (Bpf.co.uk, 2022). However, since customers are becoming more environmentally conscious gradually these are creating pressures on the manufacturers to use sustainable alternatives to plastic or use the plastic in an eco-friendly way.
According to the global study, if nothing is done, double as much virgin polyester will be produced as well as four times extra plastic would enter the seas by 2040 (Unilever.com, 2022). Companies are responsible for the plastics they make, and therefore it is evident that they should limit the quantity of new plastic they utilize and entirely reconsider their packaging strategy. As a consequence, numerous companies have devised recommendations to keep polyethylene used across a circular circuit for as long as necessary. Unilever, for instance, has made sure that all of its plastic containers are totally recyclable, reusable, or biodegradable (Unilever.com, 2022). It means they're putting in place much stronger systems for collecting, processing, and reusing plastics.
Nestle has made it a goal to decrease the utilization of single-use polymers by adopting recyclable containers, new distribution technologies, and creative business strategies worldwide it does business (Nestle.com, 2022). Cooperation and collaborative engagement, according to Beaumont et al. (2019), are critical for reforming how packing is handled at end-of-life, especially if indeed the food sectors are to progress the initiative of the circular economy. Nestle recognized this and established the "Institute of Packaging Sciences" in 2019 to help them speed their attempts to achieve practical, secure, and more ecological packaging products to market while also tackling the global issue of plastic-generated waste.
(Source: Think.ing.com, 2019)
Customers, the most influential stakeholders of the food industry are also against plastic packaging since they have become aware of the detrimental effect imposed by plastic on the environment. A significant amount of customer has been found to consider product purchase from a brand by knowing whether that brand is making a contribution toward environmental sustainability (Walker et al. 2021). However, it is evident that research on the alternative to plastic is not only difficult but also time-consuming thus, the mainstream retail companies of the manufacturing industry are still depending on the plastic tough the customer demands are not being met. In fact, the health impact is also a big concern for the customer due to the use of plastics for food packaging since it can spread carcinogenic toxins in the human body (Oloyede
& Lignou, 2021). Further, some of the customers have also stated that the flavor and smell of the food are being absorbed by the plastics that have deteriorated the food quality. Including all such evidence, it is evident that customers are also demanding sustainability in the food sector.
The alternatives to plastic packaging that can be used in the food industry are related to eco- friendly packaging systems which help in increasing the efficiency of sustainability. Various alternatives have been taken by the food industry for managing the alternative of plastic packaging is related to “Bagasse” this packaging system is mainly made by the use of sugarcane extract where it can be easily moulded into the biodegradable food processing industry by making of the eco-friendly disposable cutlery in India. On the other hand, Khalil et al. (2019) said that the effective use of sustainable packaging is important for increasing the efficiency of lowering environmental waste by which sustainability can be developed. The data from the We Forum has provided information about the fact that the effective development of 141 million tonnes of waste takes place from the area of plastic packaging (We Forum, 2020). This increase in the level of waste can be managed by the effective use of sustainable packaging methods which also help in increasing the environmental benefit.
(Source: We Forum, 2020)
The use of cardboard can act as an effective option that can be used by the food industry by replacing the plastic packaging method. Waxed cardboard contains 20% plastic and 80% of paper which can be effectively managed for lowering the rate of using plastic within the area of food packaging. The use of platinum silicon is another better option that can be used by the food packaging industry instead of plastic for the development of a sustainable world. In contrast, Hao et al. (2019) said that effective development of the environmental facility by using biopolymers, cellulose, and proteins for the food packaging creates an impact on managing sustainability. The market for platinum silicone for food packaging has increased by 8.5% and this packaging is heat tolerant and without plastic fibre (Market and Market, 2020).
(Source: Market and Market, 2020)
The effective use of this food packaging system creates helps in increasing the efficiency of managing sustainability. The effectiveness of lowering the use of plastic packaging systems by the food industry for managing waste has been possible by using eco-friendly non-plastic packaging. The other alternatives that can be used in this case are wood, Beeswax fibre, and Natural fibre clothing; these all can be effectively used for managing the efficiency of plastic packaging within the food industry by which a resilient, prosperous and sustainable world can be developed.
The effective development of the Government policies has been done by the Environmental agencies and the Food Government of the country by which effective awareness initiatives can be taken for lowering the use of plastic. The ministry of the Government in the UK has taken an initiative where the plastic waste management amendment rule has been set by the Government of the country in 2021. If the plastic is needed to be used for the food packaging, then the thickness should be increased from 50-75 microns to 120 microns in 2020 (Ministry of Environment, 2020). This increase in the thickness level of the plastic along with the development of amendment policy creates helps in developing the awareness that can be taken by the food industry to curb the use of plastic.
The engagement of the workshops for the people where the idea about the harmful effects of plastic packaging in the food industry can be provided to the people. Based on this statement Sharma & Ghoshal (2018) said that development in the level of awareness among the people is important for lowering the use of plastic. The analysis and providing the understanding of the importance of sustainability and the toxic chemicals that can be transferred on the food from plastic packaging is needed to make understanding among the people which result in taking the initiative to curb the use of plastic by the people.
Another initiative that can be used by the food industry in managing the use of plastic is related to increasing the use of eco-friendly packaging systems for food. The USD of the eco-friendly food packaging market has increased from 147.7 billion USD to 249.5 billion USD (Market and Market, 2020). Effective development of this eco-friendly packaging industry has provided an idea that the use of plastic in the food industry is lowering. Therefore, taking this initiative of using an eco-friendly packaging system may help to curb the use of plastic along with managing the level of sustainability and waste management has also been possible.
Figure 8
Increase in the use of Eco-friendly Packaging
(Source: Market and Market, 2020)
The development of the awareness among the people by the food industry by taking the initiative about green packaging creates an impact on managing sustainability along with lowering the use of plastic. Effective management and taking off the above-described initiatives by the Food industry create help in lowering the use of plastic.
Conclusion
From the above study, it can be concluded that the effective use of plastic packaging in the food industry creates problems in managing the sustainability of the environment and the waste level is also increased. The effective problem in the area of the social, ecological, and economic context of the environment and the country is also affected by the use of plastic packaging in the food industry. The analysis of understanding the risks associated with the use of plastic packaging in the food industry has also been provided in this study. A detailed analysis of understanding the alternative products that can be used for increasing the sustainability of the food industry has been provided. The effectiveness of developing awareness that can be taken by the food industry for lowering the use of plastic has also been evaluated in this study.
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