tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/food-packaging-9069/articlesFood packaging – The Conversation2023-11-09T13:32:53Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2152152023-11-09T13:32:53Z2023-11-09T13:32:53ZWhy more food, toiletry and beauty companies are switching to minimalist package designs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557927/original/file-20231107-21-bfmyl4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C611%2C4167%2C2840&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Siggi's Dairy keeps its yogurts simple with white packaging, black text and a dab of color to indicate the flavor.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/siggis-yogurt-is-seen-on-during-day-1-of-the-new-york-news-photo/482897027?adppopup=true">Neilson Barnard/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For decades, marketers of consumer goods designed highly adorned packages, deploying bold colors, snazzy text, cartoons and illustrations <a href="https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.68.4.60.42736">to seize the attention of shoppers</a>. Conventional wisdom held that with thousands of products competing against one another in the aisles of big box stores and supermarkets, companies needed to do everything in their power to make their products stand out.</p>
<p>But recently, there’s been a move toward simplicity. The stripped-down packaging you’ll often see is reminiscent of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/504138">the minimalist art</a> that flourished in the 1960s. A reaction against overly complex, representative works, the art that emerged in this period was characterized by spareness and abstraction. Any elements deemed unnecessary were removed.</p>
<p>What’s behind the move toward elegant but uncluttered packaging designs? <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429231192049">Recent research</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=m9Q0XUIAAAAJ&hl=en">I conducted</a> with marketing professors <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=uwoILXsAAAAJ&hl=en">Rosanna K. Smith</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=pjmIeGMAAAAJ&hl=en">Julio Sevilla</a> explored whether shoppers actually prefer this packaging – and, if so, why.</p>
<h2>When less is more</h2>
<p>First, we wanted to see if shoppers were willing to pay more for products in these packages. So we analyzed over 1,000 consumer goods, such as shampoo, deodorant, crackers and cereal, from the largest supermarket chain in the U.S.</p>
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<img alt="A shopping cart filled with colorfully packaged food products." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558085/original/file-20231107-17-uxqwi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558085/original/file-20231107-17-uxqwi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558085/original/file-20231107-17-uxqwi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558085/original/file-20231107-17-uxqwi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558085/original/file-20231107-17-uxqwi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=687&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558085/original/file-20231107-17-uxqwi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=687&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558085/original/file-20231107-17-uxqwi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=687&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">For decades, eye-popping packaging was the modus operandi for food brands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/1960s-grocery-shopping-cart-full-of-groceries-news-photo/658540867?adppopup=true">H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>We had two research assistants code for the extent to which the packaging design was simple or complex. We then averaged their ratings to create a measure of packaging design simplicity. From this data, we found that products in simple packaging generally had higher retail prices than similar products that didn’t. The higher retail prices indicate that shoppers are <a href="https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/willingness-to-pay">willing to pay more</a> for products in this packaging.</p>
<p>Next, across a series of experiments, we recruited students from a public university. We asked them to look at different packaged products, tell us how much they were willing to pay for those products, how many ingredients they thought the products might have, and how pure they perceived the products to be. </p>
<p>We found that the preference for simple packaging was due to the fact that pared-down designs sent a subtle yet powerful signal: purity. This happened because the simplicity of the product package made participants more likely to assume that the product contained fewer ingredients, along with fewer preservatives, added colors or artificial flavors.</p>
<p>People will pay a premium for products that don’t have additives or chemicals, <a href="https://foodinsight.org/ific-survey-from-chemical-sounding-to-clean-consumer-perspectives-on-food-ingredients/">whether it’s food</a>, <a href="https://www.insider.com/guides/home/natural-cleaning-brands">cleaning supplies or soaps</a>. And this may explain why the study’s participants were willing to fork over more cash for products that appear in simple packages – regardless of whether they actually contain fewer ingredients. </p>
<p>Several brands illustrate the ability of simple packaging to attract shoppers. </p>
<p>Kashi’s cereal boxes employ a muted color scheme and avoid overloading the package with claims or extensive product descriptions. <a href="https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1623175502-51dmC1s4bL._SL500_.jpg?crop=0.976xw:1.00xh;0.0100xw,0&resize=980:*">Siggi’s yogurt containers</a> embrace white spaces, muted colors and straightforward imagery, highlighting only the crucial product details. </p>
<p><a href="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/W.ITDLpkkRQz9sPVOfXx2A--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD02OTI-/https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2020-03/3956a6c0-6166-11ea-a77e-77ee9a27b3d3">Native deodorant</a> <a href="https://www.nativecos.com/cdn/shop/products/Classic_BW18_C_M_prod_02_f8125d26-5e2f-48c2-b5bc-e5a558f64747_600x.jpg?v=1639156861">and body wash packaging</a> stands out with its clear background paired with concise typography. And hair care brands <a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/view-of-ouai-products-during-celebrity-hair-stylist-jen-news-photo/623051656?adppopup=true">such as OUAI</a> <a href="https://cloudinary.forhims.com/image/upload/Hims/hair/power-pack/Hims-HairPowerPack-Share">and Hims</a> often use muted colors and simplistic typography to succinctly present information about their products.</p>
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<img alt="A row of silver bottles of hair spray with a white label and black text." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558080/original/file-20231107-20-s6vdjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558080/original/file-20231107-20-s6vdjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558080/original/file-20231107-20-s6vdjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558080/original/file-20231107-20-s6vdjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558080/original/file-20231107-20-s6vdjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558080/original/file-20231107-20-s6vdjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558080/original/file-20231107-20-s6vdjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">OUAI hair spray bottles feature a minimalist design.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/view-of-ouai-products-during-celebrity-hair-stylist-jen-news-photo/623051656?adppopup=true">Rachel Murray/Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>When less is less</h2>
<p>However, simple packaging design is not always effective. We found that products from <a href="https://thedinnerdaily.com/generic-vs-name-brand-foods-is-there-really-a-difference/">generic brands</a> fail to reap the same premiums from minimalist packaging. A product from a generic brand is one that does not have a brand name and is typically sold at a lower price than name brand equivalents. </p>
<p>In the case of these products, the simplicity of the packaging seems to align with <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/generic-brand.asp#:%7E:text=The%20term%20generic%20brand%20refers,of%20a%20good%20or%20service.">customers’ beliefs</a> that generic brands invest less in the quality of their products. So it’s possible that the simplicity of generic product packaging signals a lack of investment in the product rather than fewer chemicals or food additives.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3_BZVHjce_Q?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A 1981 TV advertisement for generic brands at Jewel, a regional supermarket chain in the Chicago area.</span></figcaption>
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<p>The desires of shoppers can also influence the preference for simple packaging. When people seek healthier options, we found that they’ll pay more for products with simple packaging. However, when consumers want to indulge in junk food, they’ll be more inclined to purchase products with complex packaging, which signals many ingredients and lower purity – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.70.4.170">qualities associated with more flavor</a>.</p>
<p>So when it comes to minimalist aesthetics, less can often be more. But in some cases, less is simply less.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215215/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lan Anh Nu Ton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Pared-down packaging designs send a subtle yet powerful message of purity to shoppers – and they’re willing to fork over more cash for these goods, regardless of the actual number of additives.Lan Anh Nu Ton, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Texas Christian UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2106972023-08-07T20:02:11Z2023-08-07T20:02:11ZControversial ‘forever chemicals’ could be phased out in Australia under new restrictions. Here’s what you need to know<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541416/original/file-20230807-20-siq78h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C30%2C6659%2C4436&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tasty-food-containers-wooden-knife-fork-2320021427">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s growing global concern about potential risks to human health and the environment from a group of industrial chemicals commonly known as PFAS, or “forever chemicals”.</p>
<p>While the full extent of harm from PFAS is still emerging, the fact these chemicals persist in the environment and accumulate in the body is alarming enough. Some scientists believe they will <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.2c02765">never break down</a>.</p>
<p>Until now, Australia has not restricted the trade or use of most PFAS chemicals. But that’s about to change. </p>
<p>The federal government intends to stop the import, manufacture and use of some types of PFAS within two years. We want to raise awareness and encourage industry to be proactive about finding alternatives. The sooner industry acts on this, the faster we can eliminate PFAS from the products we use and our waste. With untold benefits for people and our planet.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pfas-might-be-everywhere-including-toilet-paper-but-lets-keep-the-health-risks-in-context-201785">PFAS might be everywhere – including toilet paper – but let's keep the health risks in context</a>
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<h2>Hang on, what is PFAS again?</h2>
<p>PFAS (or per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) are a group of around <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-pfas-the-forever-chemicals-showing-up-in-drinking-water-an-environmental-health-scientist-explains-185015">9,000</a> individual chemical compounds found in many everyday products. </p>
<p>These complex substances are made by joining carbon and fluorine atoms, creating one of the strongest bonds in organic chemistry. As a result, they are stain-resistant, water-resistant, grease-resistant and heat-resistant. That makes them enormously useful in products such as food packaging, non-stick cookware, semiconductors and other electronics, refrigerants, stain or waterproof textiles and cosmetics. PFAS has even been found in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/13/toxic-forever-chemicals-pfas-toilet-paper">toilet paper</a>. </p>
<p>But PFAS chemicals also appear to be toxic. They have been linked to a range of <a href="https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/etc.4890">human</a> and <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/10/2/44">environmental health problems</a>. </p>
<p>The use of potentially hazardous chemicals such as PFAS also undermines recycling and the <a href="https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview">circular economy</a>. Compost made from food and garden organics may be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666765722000102">contaminated</a> through packaging and other sources. PFAS in sewage also challenges the use of <a href="https://theconversation.com/forever-chemicals-have-made-their-way-to-farms-for-now-levels-in-your-food-are-low-but-theres-no-time-to-waste-192402">biosolids</a> as fertiliser on farms. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/forever-chemicals-have-made-their-way-to-farms-for-now-levels-in-your-food-are-low-but-theres-no-time-to-waste-192402">'Forever chemicals' have made their way to farms. For now, levels in your food are low – but there's no time to waste</a>
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<h2>What is changing and what will this mean?</h2>
<p>The federal government recently reviewed the industrial chemical regulatory frameworks protecting human and environmental health. As a result, the federal, state and territory governments established the new Australian <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/chemicals-management/national-standard">Industrial Chemical Environmental Management Standard</a> in 2021. </p>
<p>Chemicals with industrial applications are placed into <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/chemicals-management/national-standard/roadmap">one of seven categories</a> or “schedules”, according to the level of environmental risk they represent. The standard sets out the measures required to manage such risks.</p>
<p>Schedule 7 is reserved for industrial chemicals likely to cause serious or irreversible harm to the environment. </p>
<p>Last month, the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water announced its <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/about/news/consultation-open-pfas-pecb-management-standards">intention</a> to regulate three groups of PFAS chemicals and pentachlorobenzene (PeCB) under Schedule 7.</p>
<p>This means businesses will have to stop importing, manufacturing or using these PFAS groups, either as bulk chemicals or in consumer products. </p>
<p>Schedule 7 also states “<a href="https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%201522/volume-1522-i-26369-english.pdf">no essential uses</a>”. This means the chemicals cannot be used, even when it is necessary for the health, safety or functioning of society, or when there are no other available alternatives. </p>
<p>The timing of the proposed Australian restrictions aligns with the <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32019R1021">EU phase-out</a>. The <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/14/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-takes-new-action-to-protect-communities-from-pfas-pollution/">United States</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/canada-takes-first-step-to-regulate-toxic-forever-chemicals-but-is-it-enough-207288">Canada</a> are also pursuing similar action. </p>
<p>Increasingly, countries are pursuing coordinated regulatory actions that will shift market standards around industrial chemical use and management.</p>
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<h2>What should business do?</h2>
<p>At this stage, <a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/sites/default/files/2021-04/UTS_Chemical_Sustainability_report_2020_WEB.pdf">research indicates</a> low levels of industry awareness and action globally. Industry risks being caught short, facing the economic and administrative consequences of compliance when new rules come into effect. </p>
<p>Phasing out potentially hazardous chemicals such as PFAS will require careful consideration of both risk and technical function. In many cases, products have been designed around these chemicals. This means substitutions will need to be found. However, businesses also need to be aware of the potential for “regrettable substitution”, where a potentially hazardous chemical is replaced by a similar, but lesser-known chemical that also threatens human health and the environment. </p>
<p>There are some tools available to help find safe alternatives. For example, the European non-government organisation ChemSec has compiled a <a href="https://sinlist.chemsec.org/">database</a> of hazardous chemicals that are likely to be regulated in future, if not already, and a <a href="https://marketplace.chemsec.org/">marketplace</a> for safe substitutions.</p>
<p>In some cases, avoiding regrettable substitution will necessitate rethinking how the function of a product can be delivered in an entirely new way. </p>
<p>Market-leading businesses are experimenting with recent advances in engineering, material sciences, and technology to redesign products without hazardous chemicals. </p>
<p>For example, outdoor-wear companies have redesigned textiles to deliver waterproof products without PFAS chemicals. The North Face has started using an advanced material called “<a href="https://thenorthface.com.au/explore-technologies/technologies-futurelight.html">FUTURELIGHT</a>”, which uses nanotechnology to create a waterproof nano-fibre structure. Helly Hansen introduced “<a href="https://hellyhansen.com.au/pages/lifa-infinity-pro%E2%84%A2">Lifa Infinity Pro</a>” that uses advanced textile engineering to create a hydrophobic (water-hating) material, without having to add chemicals.</p>
<p>Emerging new services design-out problematic products entirely. For example, <a href="https://theconversation.com/recycling-plastic-bottles-is-good-but-reusing-them-is-better-126339">reusable food packaging services</a>, intended to address the environmental impacts of single-use-packaging, generally use reusable materials such as stainless steel that do not require hazardous chemicals to function. </p>
<p>In support of industry action, governments industry, universities and non-governmental organisations are helping support better chemical management.
For example, ChemSec has convened an <a href="https://chemsec.org/knowledge/iihc/">Investor Initiative on Hazardous Chemicals</a> to help reduce the impacts of hazardous chemicals, while also reducing financial risks to investors. Or in Australia, the <a href="https://stewardshipexcellence.com.au/">Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence</a> is providing <a href="https://stewardshipexcellence.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/WHITEPAPER_Chemicals-of-concern_FINAL-1.pdf">tools</a> for business and government to ensure safe, clean supply chains. </p>
<p>Governments also have a role to play in helping business transition away from hazardous chemicals. They can encourage business to take a whole-of-system approach to reducing chemicals across supply chains. This might involve tracking and tracing mechanisms, certification and labelling, or supporting research into <a href="https://www.turi.org/">safer alternatives</a>.</p>
<p>The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is inviting <a href="https://consult.dcceew.gov.au/ichems-s17-proposed-decisions">feedback on the proposed scheduling decisions</a> before submissions close on September 1 this year. The government says feedback will help Australian governments and businesses to better manage the environmental risks of these chemicals.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/youve-read-the-scary-headlines-but-rest-assured-your-cookware-is-safe-199967">You've read the scary headlines – but rest assured, your cookware is safe</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210697/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachael Wakefield-Rann receives research funding from various government and non-government organisations. She does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would financially benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond her academic appointment.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Wilson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New restrictions on PFAS and other potentially hazardous chemicals in Australia present an opportunity for industry to develop alternatives for new, safe and clean products.Sarah Wilson, PhD Candidate in Nanotechnology & Innovation Governance, University of Technology SydneyRachael Wakefield-Rann, Senior Research Consultant, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1896862022-09-18T20:15:10Z2022-09-18T20:15:10ZWhy ‘best before’ food labelling is not best for the planet or your budget<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482006/original/file-20220831-14-2yr78a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6720%2C4476&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Karolina Grabowska/Pexels</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>UK supermarkets have <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2022/08/03/which-supermarkets-are-scrapping-best-before-dates-and-why-17117556/">removed “best before” dates</a> on thousands of fresh food products in an effort to reduce food waste. </p>
<p>One of the major supermarket chains, Sainsbury’s, is replacing these labels with product messaging that says “<a href="https://www.fruitnet.com/fresh-produce-journal/sainsburys-axes-best-before-dates-on-more-fruit-and-veg/247057.article">no date helps reduce waste</a>”.</p>
<p>Apples, bananas, potatoes, cucumbers and broccoli are among the most wasted foods. Removing “best before” labels from these foods alone will reduce waste by an estimated <a href="https://wrap.org.uk/taking-action/food-drink/initiatives/food-waste-reduction-roadmap">50,000 tonnes a year</a>. </p>
<p>In Australia we produce <a href="https://www.fial.com.au/sharing-knowledge/food-waste">7.6 million tonnes of food waste every year</a> – about 300kg per person. <a href="https://workdrive.zohopublic.com.au/external/ba011474a921ef40d77287a482fc9b257083a646708e3b38b6debeea81cdf81b">About 70%</a> of what we throw out is still edible. Why aren’t we following the UK’s example?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/scrapping-use-by-dates-could-prevent-huge-amounts-of-food-waste-heres-what-else-could-help-188085">Scrapping use-by dates could prevent huge amounts of food waste – here's what else could help</a>
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<p>Some might worry about food safety. But two types of date labels – “best before” and “use by” – are used in Australia. “Use by” labels would still alert us to when food can no longer be regarded as safe to eat. </p>
<p>And consumers will still be able to assess the state of fresh produce for themselves.</p>
<h2>Food waste has huge impacts</h2>
<p>Food waste costs Australia <a href="https://workdrive.zohopublic.com.au/external/ba011474a921ef40d77287a482fc9b257083a646708e3b38b6debeea81cdf81b">A$36.6 billion a year</a>. </p>
<p>This waste occurs right across the supply chain, including primary production, manufacturing, distribution, retail and hospitality. However, households produce more than half of the waste, at an average cost per household of A$2,000 to $2,500 a year.</p>
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<p>In 2017, the Australian government <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/food-waste?state=tas#national-food-waste-strategy">pledged to halve food waste</a> by 2030 when it launched the <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/publications/national-food-waste-strategy">National Food Waste Strategy</a>. </p>
<p>This is a complex issue, but one simple solution could be to follow the UK and remove “best before” dates. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-reduce-your-food-waste-at-home-here-are-the-6-best-evidence-based-ways-to-do-it-168561">Want to reduce your food waste at home? Here are the 6 best evidence-based ways to do it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How will you know if food is still safe?</h2>
<p>Our labelling system is fairly straightforward, but many consumers don’t understand the difference between “best before” and “use by”. This confusion leads them to throw away tonnes of food that’s still suitable for eating. </p>
<p>In Australia, the regulatory authority <a href="https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/labelling/dates/Pages/default.aspx">Food Standards</a> provides guidance for manufacturers, retailers and consumers on using dates on product labels. These dates indicate how long food products can be sold, and kept, before they deteriorate or become unsafe to eat. </p>
<p>Food with a “best before” date can be legally sold and consumed after that date. These products should be safe, but may have lost some of their quality. </p>
<p>Products past their “use by date” are considered not safe. </p>
<p>The food supplier is responsible for placing date labels on the product. </p>
<p>Differences in packaging and date labelling can be subtle. For example, lettuce sold loose or in an open plastic sleeve does not have a “best before” date. The same lettuce packaged in a sealed bag does.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484515/original/file-20220914-13-hyzs32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484515/original/file-20220914-13-hyzs32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=248&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484515/original/file-20220914-13-hyzs32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=248&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484515/original/file-20220914-13-hyzs32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=248&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484515/original/file-20220914-13-hyzs32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484515/original/file-20220914-13-hyzs32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484515/original/file-20220914-13-hyzs32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Best before’ assessments can be highly subjective.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Bread is the only fresh food that uses a different system with “baked on” or “baked for” date labels. </p>
<p>Some foods, such as canned goods and food with a shelf life of two years or more, don’t have to be labelled with “best before” dates because they usually retain their quality for many years. They are typically eaten well before they deteriorate.</p>
<p>Food producers and retailers are keen to keep the labelling status quo, because it makes it easier to <a href="https://www.vox.com/22559293/food-waste-expiration-label-best-before">manage stock</a> and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1509/jppm.14.095">encourages turnover</a>. </p>
<h2>The case for packaging</h2>
<p>Some packaging is used to separate branded products such as fruit varieties protected by <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-case-of-the-pirated-blueberries-courts-flex-new-muscle-to-protect-plant-breeders-intellectual-property-126763">plant breeders’ rights</a>, organic products and imperfect vegetable ranges. Once packaged, these products require a “best before” date.</p>
<p>Plastic packaging can greatly increase the shelf life of some vegetables. In these cases, it effectively reduces food waste. A striking example is cucumbers. Plastic wrap can extend their shelf life from a <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-some-plastic-packaging-is-necessary-to-prevent-food-waste-and-protect-the-environment-117479">few days to two weeks</a>.</p>
<p>Vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower contain beneficial anti-cancer compounds called <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2016.00024/full">glucosinolates</a>. Plastic packaging that seals in <a href="https://www.food-safety.com/articles/1324-naturally-preserving-food-with-gases">specialty gas</a> preserves these longer. However, overcooking quickly erases this packaging benefit. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="box full of plastic-wrapped cucumbers" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484733/original/file-20220914-9158-b81xvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484733/original/file-20220914-9158-b81xvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484733/original/file-20220914-9158-b81xvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484733/original/file-20220914-9158-b81xvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484733/original/file-20220914-9158-b81xvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484733/original/file-20220914-9158-b81xvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484733/original/file-20220914-9158-b81xvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plastic wrap greatly increases the shelf life of cucumbers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-some-plastic-packaging-is-necessary-to-prevent-food-waste-and-protect-the-environment-117479">Why some plastic packaging is necessary to prevent food waste and protect the environment</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Dead or alive?</h2>
<p>The chemistry of a fruit or vegetable starts changing the moment it is picked. Some types of produce, such as bananas and pears, are picked early so they ripen in the shop and at home. Other produce, such as sweet corn and peas, rapidly decline in the quality and quantity of flavours and nutrients once they’re picked. Snap freezing is an excellent way to preserve this produce. </p>
<p>Fresh fruits and vegetables are still alive. Their cells remain full of chemical reactions and enzymatic activity. </p>
<p>This is why a cut apple turns brown. It’s also why ethylene gas released from bananas and other fruits can shorten the life of their neighbours in the fruit bowl. </p>
<p>Potatoes, one of the most wasted products, are sold with “best before” dates when packaged in plastic bags. But if stored correctly in low light and in a “breathable” bag (paper or hessian), potatoes stay “alive” and edible for months. Just make sure you cut away any green parts, which <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-you-really-be-poisoned-by-green-or-sprouting-potatoes-63437">contain toxic solanine</a>. </p>
<p>As well as fresh produce’s own cellular activity, there is microbial activity in the form of bacteria and fungi. </p>
<p>Fortunately, we come equipped with a number of evolved chemical sensors. We can <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-avoid-food-borne-illness-a-nutritionist-explains-153185">feel, see, sniff and taste</a> the state of fruits, vegetables and other products. Trust (and train) your instincts.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/food-expiration-dates-dont-have-much-science-behind-them-a-food-safety-researcher-explains-another-way-to-know-whats-too-old-to-eat-186622">Food expiration dates don't have much science behind them – a food safety researcher explains another way to know what's too old to eat</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Questions to ask yourself</h2>
<p>To reduce food waste, we need a combination of approaches, including appropriate packaging, sensible labelling and consumer awareness. </p>
<p>Ideally, the <a href="https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/code/pages/default.aspx">Australian and New Zealand Food Standards Code</a> would be updated to reflect a more nuanced view of packaged fresh foods.</p>
<p>In the short term, consumer awareness and buying power are the best drivers of change. Ask yourself questions like: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Do I need a packaged product?</p></li>
<li><p>Does the packaging enhance shelf life?</p></li>
<li><p>Would I buy less if it wasn’t packaged?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Thinking about these questions will help us reduce the impacts of food waste.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189686/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>UK supermarket chains have dropped the use of “best before” date labels to reduce the amount of food being thrown out when it’s still perfectly edible. It’s just as big a problem in Australia.Louise Grimmer, Senior Lecturer in Retail Marketing, University of TasmaniaNathan Kilah, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1845912022-06-27T14:01:49Z2022-06-27T14:01:49ZPlastic pollution in Nigeria is poorly studied but enough is known to urge action<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469802/original/file-20220620-24-nai1fx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C0%2C4780%2C3198&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Plastic waste from land based sources pollute the beaches and other water bodies. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/volunteers-collect-plastic-debris-into-rubbish-bags-at-news-photo/1231999260">Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via GettyImages</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In recent years, the amount of <a href="https://www.unep.org/interactives/beat-plastic-pollution/">plastic in the environment</a> has become a global concern. With the world population <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/">approaching eight billion</a>, more and more plastic and plastic-derived products are being used and discarded. An estimated <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/282732/global-production-of-plastics-since-1950/">367 million tonnes</a> (367 billion kg) of plastic were produced in 2020 alone – about 12 tonnes (12,000kg) of plastic waste produced every second that year.</p>
<p>With about 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, Nigeria ranks ninth globally among countries with the <a href="https://avestia.com/MCM2021_Proceedings/files/paper/HTFF/HTFF_135.pdf">highest contributions</a> to plastic pollution. Unfortunately, over 88% of the plastic waste generated in Nigeria <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6239059/">is not recycled</a>. Instead, much of it ends up in water bodies – rivers, lakes, drains, lagoons and the ocean.</p>
<p>Waste comes in sizes ranging from macroplastic (pieces larger than 25 millimetres in diameter) to nanoplastic (less than 1,000 nanometers). It takes various forms, such as polyethylene terephthalate (used for food packaging, beverages, and personal care products), polyvinyl chloride (used in plumbing pipes, flooring, and clothing) and polystyrene (used for food packaging, laboratory materials, toys and computer housing).</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969717331613">Studies</a> globally have demonstrated the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304389421027849">adverse impacts</a> of plastic waste on the environment. For example, it can cause intestinal damage when ingested by <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969717331613">fishes</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025326X17302746?via%3Dihub">turtles</a>. </p>
<p>Microplastic particles (less than 5mm long) have been shown to be potential vectors of <a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2022/en/d2en00019a?casa_token=bvVKnrpanrkAAAAA:j9ysuRY8SptbXn0oCfJEWslAff8qUNxTmm2lff52fsWLInN4ZdJbv0yxqr-qM5x9MVc9zSW_vKJv5Q">disease agents</a>. Plastic has been reported in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0045653522007603">cooking salt</a>, <a href="https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/full/10.7326/M19-0618?casa_token=iYL5uPa4_qYAAAAA%3A3icOkoK_C0L_Ao49Ft29DTcl6gfN9d0H8mroDIArphXlps4WZMfBuCJBm6UYE5RUWBa9oVpPCfQQrw">stool</a> and <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fchem.2018.00407/full">drinking water</a> (tap, bottled, and sachet), with potential risks to human health.</p>
<p><a href="https://ir.unilag.edu.ng/bitstream/handle/123456789/9128/Sogbanmu%20-%20EUEPiN%20Poliy-Brief-No.-1-2020.pdf?sequence=1">Sustaining life</a> in water and on land is among the United Nations <a href="https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/about-unodc/sustainable-development-goals/sdg14-and-15.html">Sustainable Development Goals</a>. This makes it necessary to have a clear idea of where the plastic pollution is coming from, what harm it is causing and what the authorities can do about it. </p>
<h2>Plastic waste in Nigeria</h2>
<p>We conducted a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227622001272">systematic review</a> of academic studies on plastic pollution in the environment in Nigeria. There were relatively few. As at 30 May 2021 there were only 26 such studies in Nigeria, compared to 62 peer-reviewed studies on the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-022-00279-8">Arctic Ocean</a>. Between 1987 and September 2020, there were 59 studies on the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-020-11736-6">African aquatic environment</a>. </p>
<p>We looked for the main sources and types of plastic waste in Nigeria and their biological effects. We identified big research gaps but were able to make some recommendations. </p>
<p>The studies indicate that water sachets and shopping bags are the major constituents of plastic waste in Nigeria. Educational institutions, markets and households are among the major routes. They are indirect routes of entry of plastic waste, particularly into water bodies in Nigeria. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lagos-beaches-have-a-microplastic-pollution-problem-128133">Lagos beaches have a microplastic pollution problem</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470011/original/file-20220621-15-31la3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Shops in a busy market area" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470011/original/file-20220621-15-31la3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470011/original/file-20220621-15-31la3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470011/original/file-20220621-15-31la3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470011/original/file-20220621-15-31la3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470011/original/file-20220621-15-31la3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470011/original/file-20220621-15-31la3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470011/original/file-20220621-15-31la3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Markets are one of the major sources of plastic pollution.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-jankara-market-in-lagos-island-on-march-16-2016-in-news-photo/646813140?adppopup=true">Frédéric Soltan/Corbis via GettyImages</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The sources of plastic waste included tyre wear, cigarette butts and electronic waste (mobile phone components, electronics, electrical appliances). Others were fishing ropes, biosolids, cosmetics, clothing, food packs, and cellphone bags. Microplastic particles were found in some insects, snails and fish sampled from water bodies as well as in table salt (mostly in Southern Nigeria).</p>
<h2>Research gaps</h2>
<p>Further research is needed to establish holistic evidence of plastic pollution from all sources across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. </p>
<p>We also need to know more about its effect on agricultural soils, air, plants, animals, drinking water and human health as well as the socio-economic and psycho-social impact. </p>
<p>Despite these gaps, the evidence for land-based sources indirectly polluting water bodies and the oceans is a concern. </p>
<p>With increasing evidence of <a href="https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/14761/675_Climate_Change_in_Nigeria.pdf?sequence=1">climate change in Nigeria</a>, such as floods, the chances for transfer of plastic waste from indirect sources into the aquatic environment are higher. </p>
<h2>Next steps</h2>
<p>The low level of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6239059/">recycling</a> – less than 12% – and inadequate waste collection pose a huge threat to plastic pollution management in Nigeria. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerias-plastic-pollution-is-harming-the-environment-steps-to-combat-it-are-overdue-177839">Nigeria's plastic pollution is harming the environment: steps to combat it are overdue</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Some African countries have taken steps to curb plastic waste discarded into the environment. They are <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/blogs/11156/34-plastic-bans-in-africa/#:%7E:text=In%202005%2C%20the%20East%20African,outright%20ban%20on%20plastic%20bags.&text=The%20West%20African%20country%20adopted,to%20end%20marine%20plastic%20pollution">gradually eliminating</a> or <a href="https://anchorenvironmental.co.za/sites/default/files/2019-04/Addressing%20plastic%20pollution%20in%20Malawi%20-%20Final%20report.pdf">banning</a> single-use plastics. They have also made producers more responsible through <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921344909001578">buy-back programmes</a>. </p>
<p>Education about plastic pollution management should start at the elementary level and continue into adulthood. </p>
<p>The informal sector also has a role in curbing plastic waste in the environment. Policies and incentives, backed by robust enforcement, should target plastic producing companies to encourage polymer replacement and recycling. </p>
<p>Researchers need up-to-date facilities and funds to evaluate plastic footprint and the risk to animals and humans. They should explore trans-disciplinary approaches to curbing plastic pollution, including using innovative technologies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184591/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Temitope O. Sogbanmu works for the University of Lagos, Nigeria. She is affiliated with the Evidence Use in Environmental Policymaking in Nigeria (EUEPiN) Project, The African Academy of Sciences (The AAS), the Nigerian Young Academy (NYA), and other Professional Environmental Societies. </span></em></p>Nigeria generates 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste yearly. Research and public enlightenment can help address the problem.Temitope O. Sogbanmu, Lecturer I, Ecotoxicology and Conservation Unit, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of LagosLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1846302022-06-17T12:35:38Z2022-06-17T12:35:38ZDecades of research document the detrimental health effects of BPA – an expert on environmental pollution and maternal health explains what it all means<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468379/original/file-20220613-26-mheqwr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C5112%2C3395&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The chemical BPA has been shown to leach from food packaging products into our bodies.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/african-woman-drinking-water-royalty-free-image/90306673?adppopup=true">Jacobs Stock Photography Ltd/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Whether or not you’ve heard of <a href="https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/sya-bpa/index.cfm">the chemical bisphenol A, better known as BPA</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2020.01.005">studies show that</a> it’s <a href="https://www.epa.gov/americaschildrenenvironment/biomonitoring-bisphenol-bpa">almost certainly in your body</a>. BPA is used in the manufacturing of products like plastic water bottles, baby bottles, toys and food packaging, including in the lining of cans. </p>
<p>BPA is one <a href="https://www.epa.gov/americaschildrenenvironment/ace-environments-and-contaminants">of many</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2015.09.002">harmful chemicals</a>
<a href="https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp358">in everyday products</a> and <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/bpa.pdf">a poster child for chemicals in plastics</a>. It is probably best known for its presence in baby bottles due to campaigns by organizations such as <a href="https://saferchemicals.org/2011/03/22/message-in-bpa-baby-bottles-dont-mess-with-moms/">Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families</a> and Breast Cancer Prevention Partners.</p>
<p>An extensive body of research has linked BPA to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1530/REP-17-0734">reproductive health problems</a>, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP3802">endometriosis</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12958-019-0558-8">infertility</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020716">diabetes</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2012.12.1573">asthma</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1559325820916949">obesity</a> <a href="https://neurosciencenews.com/bpa-fetal-development-19902/">and harming</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2017.12.028">fetal neurodevelopment</a>. </p>
<p>After years of pressure from environmental and public health advocates, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration agreed in June 2022 to <a href="https://www.eenews.net/articles/fda-agrees-to-reassess-bpa-risks/">reevaluate the health risks</a> of BPA. This is significant because a vast body of research <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.14126">has documented that</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2016.06.008">BPA is leaching from products and packaging</a> into our food and drink and ultimately our bodies.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SRDUQWJgnn0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The game of “chemical Whack-A-Mole” – and how it affects the products you buy.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is BPA?</h2>
<p>BPA is not only used in plastics and food and drink containers but also in pizza boxes, shopping receipts, liners of aluminum cans and much more. Scientists <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0120330">have found that BPA</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsbmb.2011.05.002">is an endocrine disruptor</a>, which means <a href="https://doi.org/10.1210/endocr/bqaa171">it disrupts hormonal systems</a> that support the body’s functioning and health. </p>
<p>Hormonal disruption is a particular problem during pregnancy and fetal development, when even minor changes can alter the trajectory of developmental processes, including <a href="https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2015.3978">brain and metabolic development</a>. </p>
<p>Over the last two decades, public awareness about the risks led many companies to remove BPA from their products. As a result, studies have shown that BPA levels in people’s bodies <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2019.05.046">appear to be declining</a> in the U.S. However, a nationwide research team that I helped lead <a href="https://echochildren.org/">as part of a national NIH consortium</a> showed in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c08942">recent study of pregnant women</a> that the decline in BPA could in part be explained by the fact that BPA replacement chemicals have been on the rise over the last 12 years. And other studies have found that many BPA substitutes are <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/bpa-substitutes-may-be-just-bad-popular-consumer-plastic">typically just as harmful</a> as the original.</p>
<p>As an environmental health scientist and <a href="https://profiles.ucsf.edu/tracey.woodruff">professor and director</a> of the University of California, San Francisco <a href="https://prhe.ucsf.edu/">Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment</a> who specializes in how toxic chemicals affect pregnancy and child development, I am part of a <a href="https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/developmental-and-reproductive-toxicant-identification-committee-darticmembers">scientific panel</a> that decides if chemicals are reproductive or developmental toxicants for the State of California. In 2015, this committee declared <a href="https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/chemicals/bisphenol-bpa#">BPA a reproductive toxicant</a> because it has been shown to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1210/en.2016-1887">toxic to ovaries</a>.</p>
<h2>BPA and the FDA</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/bisphenol-bpa">BPA was first approved for use</a> in food packaging by the FDA in the 1960s. In 2008, the agency released a draft report concluding that “BPA remains safe in food contact materials.” This assessment was <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jan-16-la-na-fda-bpa16-2010jan16-story.html">met with pushback</a> from many health advocates and environmental health organizations. The FDA claimed BPA to be “safe in food contact materials” as recently as 2018. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, since 2011, Canada and Europe have taken steps to <a href="https://www.chemistryviews.org/details/news/11169386/EU_Wide_Bisphenol_A_Ban_Expected/">ban or limit BPA in children’s products</a>. In 2021, the European Union <a href="https://grist.org/regulation/europe-proposes-dramatic-new-regulation-for-bpa/">proposed “dramatic” decreases</a> <a href="https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/news/bisphenol-efsa-draft-opinion-proposes-lowering-tolerable-daily-intake">in BPA exposure limits</a> due to a growing body of evidence linking BPA to health harms.</p>
<p>One of the major challenges to limiting harmful chemicals is that regulatory agencies like the FDA try to figure out the levels of exposure that they consider harmful. In the U.S., both the FDA and the Environmental Protection Agency have a long history of underestimating exposures – in some cases because they do not adequately capture “real-world exposures,” or because they fail to fully consider how even small exposures can affect vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and children.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QuMGc0EswTc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Surprising research findings on the safety of ‘BPA-free’ products.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Latest research</h2>
<p>A large body of research has explored BPA’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1307728">effects on reproductive health</a>. These studies have also revealed that many <a href="https://doi.org/10.4093/dmj.2019.0027">BPA substitutes are potentially even worse</a> than BPA and have looked at how these <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10408444.2019.1621263">chemicals act in combination</a> with other chemical exposures that can also come from a variety of sources. </p>
<p>And while much attention has been paid to BPA’s effects on pregnancy and child development, there is also significant research on its effects on male reproductive health. It has been linked to <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bpa-exposure-linked-to-prostate-cancer/#">prostate cancer</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107322">drops in sperm count</a>. </p>
<p>In a study our research team conducted that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-016-0131-2">measured BPA in pregnant women</a>, we asked study participants if they knew about BPA or tried to avoid BPA. Many of our study participants said they knew about it or tried to avoid it, but we found their actions appeared to have no effect on exposure levels. We believe this is, in part, because of BPA’s presence in so many products, some of them known and some unknown that are difficult to control.</p>
<h2>What you can do</h2>
<p>One of the most common questions our staff and clinicians that work with patients are asked is <a href="https://prheucsf.blog/?s=BPA">how to avoid harmful chemicals</a> like BPA and BPA substitutes. A good rule of thumb is to avoid drinking and eating from plastics, microwaving food in plastic and using plastic take-out containers – admittedly easier said than done. Even some paper take-out containers can be lined with BPA or BPA substitutes. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.14126">recent review of the research</a> found that avoiding plastic containers and packaging, fast and processed foods and canned food and beverages, and instead using alternatives like glass containers and consuming fresh food, can reduce exposures to BPA and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals.</p>
<p>Research has shown that when <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15287390903212329">heat comes into contact with plastic</a> – whether water bottles, Tupperware, take-out containers <a href="https://doi.org/10.4315/0362-028x-66.8.1444">or cans</a> – BPA and other chemicals are more likely to leach into the food inside. One should also avoid putting hot food into a food processor or putting plastic containers into the dishwasher. Heat breaks down the plastic, and while the product might appear fine, the chemicals are more likely to migrate into the food or drink – and ultimately, into you.</p>
<p>We also know that when acidic foods like tomatoes are packaged in cans, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2016.06.008">they have higher levels of BPA</a> in them. And the amount of time food is stored in plastic or BPA-lined cans can also be a factor in how much the chemicals migrate into the food.</p>
<p>No matter how much people do as individuals, policy change is essential to reducing harmful chemical exposures. A large part of our work at UCSF’s <a href="https://prhe.ucsf.edu/">Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment</a> is to hold regulatory agencies accountable for assessing chemical risks and protecting public health. What we have learned is that it is essential for agencies like the EPA and FDA to use the most up-to-date science and scientific methods to determine risk.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184630/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tracey Woodruff received funding for BPA research from NIEHS. She receives and has received funding for research on chemical exposures from NIH/NIEHS, USEPA and California EPA.</span></em></p>Due to increasing concerns over the health hazards posed by BPA, the Food and Drug Administration plans to reevaluate the safety of the controversial chemical for use in everyday products.Tracey Woodruff, Professor of Environmental Health, University of California, San FranciscoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1798092022-03-28T12:36:22Z2022-03-28T12:36:22ZSoaring crude prices make the cost of pretty much everything else go up too because we almost literally eat oil<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454417/original/file-20220325-21-bbs2ud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=168%2C25%2C5439%2C3707&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hopefully, we aren't actually what we eat.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/man-drinking-gasoline-picture-id182459958?k=20&m=182459958&s=612x612&w=0&h=9SD6-sBRvJQSgzo0ra_AWt0FZEuzM9TEHnUfTiKYTQY=">ozgurdonmaz/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The price of oil has been spiking in recent weeks <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/02/business/economy/oil-price.html">in response to concerns</a> that the war in Ukraine will significantly reduce supply. But what happens in oil markets never stays in oil markets. </p>
<p>The price of U.S. crude oil <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/06/us-crude-oil-jumps-to-125-a-barrel-a-13-year-high-on-possible-western-ban-of-russian-oil.html">jumped to a 13-year high</a> of US$130 on March 6, 2022. It has come down but <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/CL1:COM?sref=Hjm5biAW">has been trading above $110 since March 17</a>. That’s over 60% higher than it was in mid-December, before fears of a Russian invasion began to mount. </p>
<p>Of course, this has pushed up the cost of gasoline, which hit an <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GASREGW">average of $4.32 per gallon in the U.S. on March 14</a>. But it’s less well understood how rising energy prices leak into the prices consumers pay for toys, electronics, food and almost every other product you could think of. </p>
<p>Energy is becoming one of the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60833361">main causes of inflation</a>, by which I mean a sustained, generalized increase in the prices of goods and services in an economy. The latest data shows prices are rising at an <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm">annualized pace of 7.9%</a>, the highest in 40 years.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=GyTN5PYAAAAJ">my economics classes</a>, I like to joke to my students that we eat petroleum. Students have a hard time imagining drinking crude oil or gasoline, but in fact it’s both figuratively and almost literally true – and I’m not even referring to how humans ingest about a <a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20201208090301-obmrm">credit card’s worth of oil-based plastic</a> every week. </p>
<p>Let me explain.</p>
<p><iframe id="7CX08" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/7CX08/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Planes, packages and polyester</h2>
<p>Oil prices affect the prices of other goods and services in a few significant ways. </p>
<p>The most obvious is that <a href="https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/gasoline/use-of-gasoline.php">petroleum powers the vast majority</a> of cars, planes and other vehicles that move stuff around. About <a href="https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=41&t=6">71% of the 6.6 billion barrels of petroleum the U.S. consumed in 2020</a> was used for various types of fuels, such as gas, diesel and jet fuel. </p>
<p>This pushes up <a href="https://totalreliancelogistics.com/how-changing-fuel-costs-impact-shipping-rates/">transportation costs and makes shipping</a> everything from refrigerator components to everyday items like toothpaste more expensive. Businesses can choose to absorb the cost – for example, if their market is highly competitive – <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2021/07/09/the-importance-of-competition-for-the-american-economy/">but usually pass it on to customers</a>.</p>
<p>But oil is also a key ingredient in much of the stuff people buy, both in the packaging and in the products themselves, especially food. That’s where most of the <a href="https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=41&t=6">other 29% of the oil Americans use comes in</a>.</p>
<p>Petrochemicals derived from petroleum are used to manufacture clothes, computers and more. For example, the quantity of oil-based polyester in clothing <a href="https://cfda.com/resources/materials/detail/polyester">has doubled since 2000</a>. Over half of all <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/amynguyen/2021/07/11/time-to-go-cold-turkey--new-report-explores-fashions-harmful-addiction-to-fossil-fuel-based-fabrics-and-greenwashing/?sh=5860c7a4146e">fibers produced around the world are</a> now made from petroleum, requiring over 1% of all oil consumed.</p>
<p>In addition, the <a href="https://www.exxonmobil.com/en/whiteoil/industry-solutions/pharmaceutical-and-cosmetics">cosmetic industry is heavily dependent on petroleum</a> since items such as hand cream, shampoo and most makeup are made out of petrochemicals. And like with many products, all those creams and beauty liquids are put in single-use <a href="https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/blog/the-cosmetics-industrys-plastic-packaging-problem">plastic containers</a> made from oil.</p>
<p>Similarly, the <a href="https://www.ecobirdy.com/blogs/news/plastic-toys">vast majority of toys</a> produced today are made out of plastic.</p>
<h2>Crude in our cookies</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454419/original/file-20220325-25-1dfutk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A green tractor pulls a fertilizer attachment in a green field containing red winter wheat" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454419/original/file-20220325-25-1dfutk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454419/original/file-20220325-25-1dfutk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454419/original/file-20220325-25-1dfutk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454419/original/file-20220325-25-1dfutk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454419/original/file-20220325-25-1dfutk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454419/original/file-20220325-25-1dfutk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454419/original/file-20220325-25-1dfutk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fertilizer is the biggest use of oil in industrial farming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/AlaPlanting/38b933236c574e3a891132367f096a50/photo?Query=field%20fertilizer%20tractor&mediaType=photo&sortBy=creationdatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=2&currentItemNo=0">AP Photo/John David Mercer</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The food industry is especially sensitive to the price of energy, <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/25302/Valuing_Plastic_ES.pdf">more so than any other sector</a> because <a href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs141p2_023113.pdf">petroleum is such a key component</a> of its supply chain at every step of the way, from planting and harvesting through processing and packaging. </p>
<p>Interestingly, the biggest usage of petroleum in industrial farming is not transportation or fueling machinery but rather the <a href="https://sustainability.emory.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/InfoSheet-Energy26FoodProduction.pdf">use of fertilizers</a>. <a href="https://www.resilience.org/stories/2005-04-01/why-our-food-so-dependent-oil">Vast amounts of oil and natural gas</a> go into fertilizers and pesticides that are used to produce and protect grains, vegetables and fruits. </p>
<p>That’s one of the reasons <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/end-cheap-oil">it takes 283 gallons of oil</a> to raise one 1,250-pound steer. And it’s why even a loaf of bread <a href="http://lcafood.dk/lca_conf/contrib/g_reinhardt.pdf">requires an unusually high amount of energy</a>.</p>
<p>Oil is also an ingredient in the food we consume. The main food product that comes from petroleum is known as <a href="https://www.petro-online.com/news/fuel-for-thought/13/breaking-news/what-foods-contain-petroleum/37415">mineral oil</a>. It’s commonly used to make foods last longer because petroleum doesn’t go rancid. Packaged baked goods like <a href="https://bakerpedia.com/ingredients/mineral-oil/">cookies and pizza</a> often contain mineral oil as a way of preserving their shelf life. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/food-health-news/food-dyes-science">Petrochemicals are also used</a> to make food dyes, which can be found in <a href="https://jwww.doi.org/10.1177/0009922814530803">cereals and candy</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/paraffin-wax">Paraffin wax</a>, a colorless or white wax made from petroleum, is used in the <a href="https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-paraffin-wax-1807043">production of some chocolates and sprayed onto fruits</a> to slow down spoilage and give them a glossy finish. It also helps chocolates stay solid at room temperature. </p>
<p>And plastic is a vital part of food packaging because it is relatively cheap, <a href="https://www.chemicalsafetyfacts.org/plastics/">durable and lightweight, it provides protection</a> and is sanitary. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Red strawberries are packed in clear plastic packages and stacked on a shelf" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454420/original/file-20220325-19-195yhec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454420/original/file-20220325-19-195yhec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454420/original/file-20220325-19-195yhec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454420/original/file-20220325-19-195yhec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454420/original/file-20220325-19-195yhec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454420/original/file-20220325-19-195yhec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454420/original/file-20220325-19-195yhec.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fruit and other foods commonly come in plastic containers made from oil.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/strawberry-on-supermarket-shelf-picture-id186854067?k=20&m=186854067&s=612x612&w=0&h=4FHOZfN8puc8YYsgM9gdnx54M24JlRF1g7oVefAADwk=">nycshooter/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Oil inflation and the Fed</h2>
<p>The importance of oil to the U.S. economy has been a <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Eating-Oil-Energy-Use-In-Food-Production/Green/p/book/9780367167646">big concern</a> since the oil crisis of 1973, when prices spiked, prompting calls to conserve energy. </p>
<p>Since then, the amount of oil consumed for every dollar of economic output <a href="https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/research/report/oil-intensity-curiously-steady-decline-oil-gdp">has declined about 40%</a>. In 1973, for example, it took just under one barrel of oil to produce $1,000 worth of economic output. Today, it takes less than half a barrel. That’s the good news. </p>
<p>The bad is that, because the U.S. economy <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GDP">is now 18 times bigger than it was in 1973</a>, it requires a lot more oil to function. </p>
<p>That’s why the surging price of oil is <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60833361">now the main driver</a> of inflation – and why the Federal Reserve is <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-21/powell-says-fed-ready-to-hike-faster-go-restrictive-if-needed">preparing for some big increases</a> in <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-fed-cant-stop-prices-from-going-up-anytime-soon-but-may-have-more-luck-over-the-long-term-179339">interest rates to fight it</a>. </p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=weekly&source=inline-weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179809/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Veronika Dolar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Oil is used throughout the US economy. It goes into packaging, toys, clothing and especially the food we eat.Veronika Dolar, Assistant Professor of Economics, SUNY Old WestburyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1655172021-09-08T12:26:24Z2021-09-08T12:26:24ZPackaging generates a lot of waste – now Maine and Oregon want manufacturers to foot the bill for getting rid of it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418974/original/file-20210901-17-1riez50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C0%2C5184%2C3406&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Packaging for consumer products represents a large share of U.S. solid waste, and barely half of it is recycled. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/garbage-bag-with-different-trash-on-wooden-royalty-free-image/1044377978">iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most consumers don’t pay much attention to the packaging that their purchases come in, unless it’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwCKftT4ZhY">hard to open</a> or the item is <a href="https://twitter.com/helepoleo/status/785209312708730880">really over-wrapped</a>. But packaging accounts for <a href="https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/containers-and-packaging-product-specific-data">about 28% of U.S. municipal solid waste</a>. Only some 53% of it ends up in recycling bins, and even less is actually recycled: According to trade associations, at least 25% of materials collected for recycling in the U.S. are <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-era-of-easy-recycling-may-be-coming-to-an-end/">rejected and incinerated or sent to landfills instead</a>. </p>
<p>Local governments across the U.S. handle waste management, funding it through taxes and user fees. Until 2018 the U.S. exported huge quantities of recyclable materials, primarily to China. Then China banned most foreign scrap imports. Other recipient countries like Vietnam followed suit, triggering <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-plastic-waste-crisis-is-an-opportunity-for-the-us-to-get-serious-about-recycling-at-home-93254">waste disposal crises in wealthy nations</a>. </p>
<p>Some U.S. states have laws that make manufacturers responsible for particularly hard-to-manage products, such as <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/e-waste-recycling-legislation.aspx">electronic waste</a>, <a href="https://batterycouncil.org/page/State_Recycling_Laws">car batteries</a>, <a href="https://mattressrecyclingcouncil.org/programs/">mattresses</a> and <a href="https://archive.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/tires/web/html/live.html">tires</a>, when those goods reach the end of their useful lives.</p>
<p>Now, <a href="http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP1146&item=1&snum=130">Maine</a> and <a href="https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB582">Oregon</a> have enacted the first state laws making companies that create consumer packaging, such as cardboard cartons, plastic wrap and food containers, responsible for the recycling and disposal of those products, too. <a href="https://www.maine.gov/dep/waste/recycle/epr.html">Maine’s law</a> takes effect in mid-2024, and <a href="https://www.wastedive.com/news/oregon-epr-packaging-truth-in-labeling-living-wage/602640/">Oregon’s follows</a> in mid-2025.</p>
<p>These measures shift waste management costs from customers and local municipalities to producers. As researchers who study <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=YY6NEBQAAAAJ&hl=en">waste</a> and <a href="https://ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/users/1563327">ways to reduce it</a>, we are excited to see states moving to engage stakeholders, shift responsibility, spur innovation and challenge existing extractive practices.</p>
<p><iframe id="0zkCS" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/0zkCS/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Holding producers accountable</h2>
<p>The Maine and Oregon laws are the latest applications of a concept called extended producer responsibility, or EPR. <a href="https://ilsr.org/the-concepts-of-extended-producer-responsibility-and-product-stewardship/">Swedish academic Thomas Lindhqvist</a> framed this idea in 1990 as a strategy to decrease products’ environmental impacts by making manufacturers responsible for the goods’ entire life cycles – especially for takeback, recycling and final disposal. </p>
<p>Producers don’t always literally take back their goods under EPR schemes. Instead, they often make payments to an intermediary organization or agency, which uses the money to help cover the products’ recycling and disposal costs. Making producers cover these costs is intended to give them an incentive to redesign their products to be less wasteful.</p>
<p>The idea of extended producer responsibility has driven regulations governing management of electronic waste, such as old computers, televisions and cellphones, in the European Union, China and <a href="https://www.ecycleclearinghouse.org/contentpage.aspx?pageid=10">25 U.S. states</a>. Similar measures have been adopted or proposed in nations including <a href="https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/sites/default/files/plastics-policies/8035_N_National_Sustainable_Waste_Management.pdf">Kenya</a>, <a href="https://www.nesrea.gov.ng/extended-producer-responsibility/">Nigeria</a>, <a href="https://leyrep.carey.cl/en/what-is-the-epr-law/">Chile</a>, <a href="http://circulodepoliticasambientales.org/assets/pdf/LEY%20REP.pdf">Argentina</a> and <a href="https://www.environment.gov.za/mediarelease/creecy_extendedproducerresponsibility_g44078gon20">South Africa</a>. </p>
<p>Scrap export bans in China and other countries have given new energy to EPR campaigns. <a href="https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org/about/#meet-the-members">Activist organizations</a> and even some <a href="https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/news/100-leading-businesses-call-for-epr-for-packaging">corporations</a> are now calling for producers to become accountable for more types of waste, including <a href="https://www.productstewardship.us/page/Packaging">consumer packaging</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XfE9th-Sbow?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Packaging helps sell consumer products, and consumers are starting to demand more sustainable containers.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What the state laws require</h2>
<p>The Maine and Oregon laws define consumer packaging as material likely found in the average resident’s waste bin, such as containers for food and home or personal care products. They exclude packaging intended for long-term storage (over five years), beverage containers, paint cans and packaging for drugs and medical devices. </p>
<p>Maine’s law incorporates some core EPR principles, such as setting a target recycling goal and giving producers an incentive to use more sustainable packaging. Oregon’s law includes more groundbreaking components. It promotes the idea of a <a href="https://www.repair.org/stand-up">right to repair</a>, which gives consumers access to information that they need to fix products they purchase. And it creates a “<a href="https://www.wastedive.com/news/oregon-epr-packaging-truth-in-labeling-living-wage/602640/">Truth in Labeling” task force</a> to assess whether producers are making misleading claims about how recyclable their products are.</p>
<p>The Oregon law also <a href="https://www.biocycle.net/oregon-second-state-to-pass-packaging-epr-law/">requires a study</a> to assess how bio-based plastics can affect compost waste streams, and it establishes a <a href="https://www.oregon.gov/deq/recycling/Documents/RSC-ProposalFactSheet.pdf">statewide collection list</a> to harmonize what types of materials can be recycled across the state. Studies show that contamination from poor sorting is one of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2019.11.020">main reasons why recyclables often are rejected</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418979/original/file-20210901-25-4a4qmg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Infographic on paint recycling in California." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418979/original/file-20210901-25-4a4qmg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418979/original/file-20210901-25-4a4qmg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418979/original/file-20210901-25-4a4qmg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418979/original/file-20210901-25-4a4qmg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418979/original/file-20210901-25-4a4qmg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418979/original/file-20210901-25-4a4qmg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418979/original/file-20210901-25-4a4qmg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">California paint recycling data from PaintCare, a nonprofit stewardship organization that runs paint recycling programs across the U.S.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paintcare.org/california-official-docs/">PaintCare</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some extended producer responsibility systems, such as those for paint and mattresses, are funded by consumers, who pay an added fee at the point of sale that is itemized on their receipt. The fee supports the products’ eventual recycling or disposal. </p>
<p>In contrast, the Maine and Oregon laws require producers to pay fees to the states, based on how much packaging material they sell in those states. Both laws also include rules designed to limit producers’ influence over how the states use these funds. </p>
<h2>Will these laws reduce waste?</h2>
<p>There’s no clear consensus yet on the effectiveness of EPR. In some cases it has produced results: For instance, Connecticut’s <a href="https://www.productstewardship.us/page/Mattresses">mattress recycling rate rose from 8.7% to 63.5%</a> after the state instituted a takeback law funded by fees paid at the point of sale. On a national scale, the Product Stewardship Institute estimates that since 2007 U.S. paint EPR programs have reused and recycled almost 24 million gallons of paint, created 200 jobs and <a href="https://www.productstewardship.us/page/Paint">saved governments and taxpayers over $240 million</a>.</p>
<p>Critics argue that these programs need <a href="http://wiki.ban.org/images/f/f4/Holes_in_the_Circular_Economy-_WEEE_Leakage_from_Europe.pdf">strong regulation and monitoring</a> to ensure that corporations take their responsibilities seriously – and especially to prevent them from passing costs on to consumers, which requires enforceable accountability measures. Observers also argue that producers can have <a href="https://youtu.be/-lIg0hfFBfU">too much influence within stewardship organizations</a>, which they warn may undermine enforcement or the credibility of the law.</p>
<p>Few studies have been done so far to assess the long-term effects of extended producer responsibility programs, and those that exist do not show conclusively whether these initiatives <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/recycling3020016">actually lead to more sustainable products</a>. Maine and Oregon are small progressive states and <a href="https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/top-suppliers/packaging-companies-suppliers/">are not major centers for the packaging industry</a>, so the impact of their new laws remains to be seen.</p>
<p>However, these measures are promising models. As Martin Bourque, executive director of <a href="https://ecologycenter.org/recycling/about/">Berkeley’s Ecology Center</a> and an internationally known expert on plastics and recycling, told us, “Maine’s approach of charging brands and manufacturers to pay cities for recycling services is an improvement over programs that give all of the operational and material control to producers, where the fox is directly in charge of the hen house.”</p>
<p>We believe the Maine and Oregon laws could inspire jurisdictions like California that are <a href="https://www.wastedive.com/news/2021-state-extended-producer-responsibility-recycling/594873/">considering similar measures</a> or <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06092021/baltimore-zero-waste-incinerator-wheelaborator/">drowning under waste plastic</a> to adopt EPR themselves. Waste reduction efforts across the U.S. took hits from foreign scrap bans <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19-has-resurrected-single-use-plastics-are-they-back-to-stay-140328">and then from the COVID-19 pandemic</a>, which spurred greater use of disposable products and packaging. We see producer-pay schemes like the Maine and Oregon laws as a promising response that could help catalyze broader progress toward a less wasteful economy.</p>
<p>[<em>Understand new developments in science, health and technology, each week.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-understand">Subscribe to The Conversation’s science newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165517/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Maine and Oregon have enacted laws that require makers of consumer product packaging to pay for recycling or disposing of it. Will other states follow?Jessica Heiges, PhD Candidate in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, BerkeleyKate O'Neill, Professor of Global Environmental Politics, University of California, BerkeleyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1552082021-03-02T19:13:50Z2021-03-02T19:13:50ZThink all your plastic is being recycled? New research shows it can end up in the ocean<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387109/original/file-20210301-19-6lze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C16%2C3764%2C2492&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We all know it’s wrong to toss your rubbish into the ocean or another natural place. But it might surprise you to learn some plastic waste ends up in the environment, even when we thought it was being recycled. </p>
<p>Our study, <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/protection/waste/publications/environmentally-responsible-trade-waste-plastics-asia-pacific">published today</a>, investigated how the global plastic waste trade contributes to marine pollution.</p>
<p>We found plastic waste most commonly leaks into the environment at the country to which it’s shipped. Plastics which are of low value to recyclers, such as lids and polystyrene foam containers, are most likely to end up polluting the environment. </p>
<p>The export of unsorted plastic waste from Australia is being phased out – and this will help address the problem. But there’s a long way to go before our plastic is recycled in a way that does not harm nature.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man puts items in bins" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387113/original/file-20210302-19-1uli0jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387113/original/file-20210302-19-1uli0jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387113/original/file-20210302-19-1uli0jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387113/original/file-20210302-19-1uli0jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387113/original/file-20210302-19-1uli0jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387113/original/file-20210302-19-1uli0jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387113/original/file-20210302-19-1uli0jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Research shows plastic meant for recycling often ends up elsewhere.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Know your plastics</h2>
<p>Plastic waste collected for recycling is often sold for reprocessing in Asia. There, the plastics are sorted, washed, chopped, melted and turned into flakes or pellets. These can be sold to manufacturers to create new products. </p>
<p>The global recycled plastics market is dominated by two major plastic types:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which in 2017 comprised <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/Research/MF/Areas/Chemicals-and-fibres/plastic-recycling-analysis">55% of the recyclable plastics market</a>. It’s used in beverage bottles and takeaway food containers and features a “1” on the packaging</p></li>
<li><p>high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which comprises about 33% of the recyclable plastics market. HDPE is used to create pipes and packaging such as milk and shampoo bottles, and is identified by a “2”.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The next two most commonly traded types of plastics, each with 4% of the market, are:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>polypropylene or “5”, used in containers for yoghurt and spreads</p></li>
<li><p>low-density polyethylene known as “4”, used in clear plastic films on packaging.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The remaining plastic types comprise polyvinyl chloride (3), polystyrene (6), other mixed plastics (7), unmarked plastics and “composites”. Composite plastic packaging is made from several materials not easily separated, such as long-life milk containers with layers of foil, plastic and paper.</p>
<p>This final group of plastics is not generally sought after as a raw material in manufacturing, so has little value to recyclers.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-recycling-ban-throws-australia-into-a-very-messy-waste-crisis-95522">China's recycling 'ban' throws Australia into a very messy waste crisis</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Symbols on PET plastic item" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387115/original/file-20210302-21-10m5c88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387115/original/file-20210302-21-10m5c88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387115/original/file-20210302-21-10m5c88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387115/original/file-20210302-21-10m5c88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387115/original/file-20210302-21-10m5c88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387115/original/file-20210302-21-10m5c88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387115/original/file-20210302-21-10m5c88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Items made from PET plastic resin are marked with a ‘1’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Shifting plastic tides</h2>
<p>China <a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-recycling-ban-throws-australia-into-a-very-messy-waste-crisis-95522">banned the import</a> of plastic waste in January 2018 to prevent the receipt of low-value plastics and to stimulate the domestic recycling industry.</p>
<p>Following the bans, the global plastic waste trade shifted towards Southeast Asian nations such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-what-happens-to-our-plastic-recycling-when-it-goes-offshore-110356">Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia</a>. The largest exporters of waste plastics in 2019 were Europe, Japan and the US. Australia exported plastics primarily to Malaysia and Indonesia.</p>
<p>Australia’s waste export ban recently <a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/news/social-justice-sustainability/australias-waste-export-ban-becomes-law">became law</a>. From July this year, only plastics sorted into single resin types can be exported; mixed plastic bales cannot. From July next year, plastics must be sorted, cleaned and turned into flakes or pellets to be exported. </p>
<p>This may help address the problem of recyclables becoming marine pollution. But it will require a significant expansion of Australian plastic reprocessing capacity.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Map showing the import and export map of plastic waste globally." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387139/original/file-20210302-21-14eouw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387139/original/file-20210302-21-14eouw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387139/original/file-20210302-21-14eouw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387139/original/file-20210302-21-14eouw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387139/original/file-20210302-21-14eouw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387139/original/file-20210302-21-14eouw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387139/original/file-20210302-21-14eouw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Map showing the import and export map of plastic waste globally.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Authors provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>Our study was funded by the federal Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. It involved interviews with trade experts, consultants, academics, NGOs and recyclers (in Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand) and an extensive review of existing research. </p>
<p>We found when it comes to the international plastic trade, plastics most often leak into the environment at the destination country, rather than at the country of origin or in transit. Low-value or “residual” plastics – those left over after more valuable plastic is recovered for recycling – are most likely to end up as pollution. So how does this happen?</p>
<p>In Southeast Asia, often only registered recyclers are allowed to import plastic waste. But due to high volumes, registered recyclers typically on-sell plastic bales to informal processors.</p>
<p>Interviewees said when plastic types were considered low value, informal processors frequently dumped them at uncontrolled landfills or into waterways. Sometimes the waste is burned.</p>
<p>Plastics stockpiled outdoors can be blown into the environment, including the ocean. Burning the plastic releases toxic smoke, causing <a href="https://wastetradestories.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Discarded-Report-April-22.pdf">harm to</a> human health and the environment.</p>
<p>Interviewees also said when informal processing facilities wash plastics, small pieces end up in wastewater, which is discharged directly into waterways, and ultimately, the ocean.</p>
<p>However, interviewees from Southeast Asia said their own domestic waste management was a greater source of ocean pollution. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Birds fly over landfill site" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387114/original/file-20210302-15-bpaayb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387114/original/file-20210302-15-bpaayb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387114/original/file-20210302-15-bpaayb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387114/original/file-20210302-15-bpaayb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387114/original/file-20210302-15-bpaayb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387114/original/file-20210302-15-bpaayb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387114/original/file-20210302-15-bpaayb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plastic waste meant for recycling can end up in overseas landfill, before it blows into the ocean.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anupam Nath/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A market failure</h2>
<p>The price of many recycled plastics has crashed in recent years due to oversupply, <a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-recycling-ban-throws-australia-into-a-very-messy-waste-crisis-95522">import restrictions</a> and falling oil prices, (amplified by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-pandemic-could-slash-the-amount-of-plastic-waste-we-recycle-139616">COVID-19 pandemic</a>). However clean bales of PET and HDPE are still in demand.</p>
<p>In Australia, material recovery facilities currently sort PET and HDPE into separate bales. But small contaminants of other materials (such as caps and plastic labels) remain, making it harder to recycle into high quality new products. </p>
<p>Before the price of many recycled plastics dropped, Australia baled and traded all other resin types together as “mixed plastics”. But the price for mixed plastics has <a href="https://assets.sustainability.vic.gov.au/susvic/Report-Recovered-Resources-Market-Bulletin-March-May-2020.pdf">fallen to zero</a> and they’re now largely stockpiled or landfilled in Australia.</p>
<p>Several Australian facilities are, however, investing in technology to sort polypropylene so it can be recovered for recycling.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Shampoo bottles in supermarket" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387118/original/file-20210302-23-1cwqs8t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387118/original/file-20210302-23-1cwqs8t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387118/original/file-20210302-23-1cwqs8t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387118/original/file-20210302-23-1cwqs8t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387118/original/file-20210302-23-1cwqs8t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387118/original/file-20210302-23-1cwqs8t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387118/original/file-20210302-23-1cwqs8t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">High-density polyethylene items such as shampoo bottles comprise a large share of the plastic waste market.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Doing plastics differently</h2>
<p>Exporting countries can help reduce the flow of plastics to the ocean by better managing trade practices. This might include: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>improving collection and sorting in export countries</p></li>
<li><p>checking destination processing and monitoring</p></li>
<li><p>checking plastic shipments at export and import</p></li>
<li><p>improving accountability for shipments.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>But this won’t be enough. The complexities involved in the global recycling trade mean we must rethink packaging design. That means using fewer low-value plastic and composites, or better yet, replacing single-use plastic packaging with reusable options.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The authors would like to acknowledge research contributions from Asia Pacific Waste Consultants (APWC) - Dr Amardeep Wander, Jack Whelan and Anne Prince, as well as Phil Manners at CIE.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-what-happens-to-our-plastic-recycling-when-it-goes-offshore-110356">Here's what happens to our plastic recycling when it goes offshore</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155208/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Monique Retamal receives funding from the Australian Government, including the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elsa Dominish receives funding from the Australian Government, including the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Florin receives funding from the Australian Government, including the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachael Wakefield-Rann receives funding from the Australian Government, including the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.</span></em></p>Some plastic sent overseas for recycling ends up as pollution, or goes up in toxic smoke. But there are steps we can take to ensure our waste is processed as intended.Monique Retamal, Research Principal, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology SydneyElsa Dominish, Senior Research Consultant, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology SydneyNick Florin, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology SydneyRachael Wakefield-Rann, Research Consultant, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1515642021-01-18T19:03:39Z2021-01-18T19:03:39ZHome-delivered food has a huge climate cost. So which cuisine is the worst culprit?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379164/original/file-20210118-21-l1v63c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5693%2C3801&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past few years, Australians have embraced online food delivery services such as UberEats, Deliveroo and Menulog. But home-delivered food comes with a climate cost, and single-use packaging is one of the biggest contributors.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344920306145?dgcid=coauthor">Our research</a> found Australians placed 27 million online food orders in 2018. By 2024, this number is projected to increase to 65 million. </p>
<p>The increasing use of take-away food packaging associated with online meal deliveries is making the food sector’s <a href="https://www.imf.org/external/chinese/pubs/ft/fandd/2019/12/pdf/farming-food-and-climate-change-batini.pdf">already massive</a> carbon footprint even larger. Of the five cuisines we examined, packaging from burger meals was responsible for the most emissions, followed by Thai meals.</p>
<p>Last year, lockdowns related to COVID-19 led to a <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/australians-urged-to-ditch-rubbish-habits-picked-up-in-lockdown-20201215-p56nkm.html">20% increase in household solid wastes</a> due in part to increased food deliveries. The climate crisis and problems facing Australia’s waste management sector mean we must urgently reduce waste from meals ordered online.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Food packaging waste in a bin" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379166/original/file-20210118-15-rzukhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379166/original/file-20210118-15-rzukhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379166/original/file-20210118-15-rzukhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379166/original/file-20210118-15-rzukhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379166/original/file-20210118-15-rzukhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379166/original/file-20210118-15-rzukhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379166/original/file-20210118-15-rzukhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australians have embraced online food deliveries, but this has caused a waste problem.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A growing problem</h2>
<p>Technology, income and lifestyle changes mean fewer people are cooking at home or dining in restaurants, and more are having food delivered to their door. Some <a href="https://www.statista.com/outlook/374/107/online-food-delivery/australia?currency=aud">9.4 million Australians</a> are now registered users of online food delivery services, according to business data platform Statista. </p>
<p>In most cases, online food deliveries require single-use packaging. Producing, transporting and disposing of this packaging requires large quantities of energy and raw materials. Those materials release emissions as they break down in landfill or the environment, or are burned.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/using-lots-of-plastic-packaging-during-the-coronavirus-crisis-youre-not-alone-135553">Using lots of plastic packaging during the coronavirus crisis? You're not alone</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Our research found in 2018, the disposal of single use packaging from online food orders in Australia led to 5,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO₂-e) emissions. The sector is growing by more than 15% each year, which means the packaging emissions will reach 13,200 tonnes of CO₂-e in 2024.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man orders food via a smartphone app" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379167/original/file-20210118-15-1bn5g2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379167/original/file-20210118-15-1bn5g2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379167/original/file-20210118-15-1bn5g2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379167/original/file-20210118-15-1bn5g2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379167/original/file-20210118-15-1bn5g2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379167/original/file-20210118-15-1bn5g2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379167/original/file-20210118-15-1bn5g2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Online food deliveries are set to increase in coming years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Emissions by cuisine</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344920306145?dgcid=coauthor">Our study</a> quantified how much greenhouse gas is emitted over the life of food packaging used in online food delivery. Specifically, we examined five popular cuisine types: pizzas, burgers, Indian, Thai and Chinese. </p>
<p>The results, from lowest to highest, are presented below, in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂-e):</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Chinese: 0.16kg CO₂-e for a plastic container and plastic bag </p></li>
<li><p>Indian: 0.18 kg CO₂-e for a plastic container, paper bag and cling film</p></li>
<li><p>Pizza: 0.20kg CO₂-e for a cardboard box</p></li>
<li><p>Thai: 0.23 kg CO₂-e for a plastic container and paper bag</p></li>
<li><p>Burger meal: 0.29 kg CO₂-e for a paper bag, paper boxes, plastic straw, liquid paperboard cup with plastic lid and cardboard cup holder.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The typical meal from each restaurant was determined, and the packaging assessed. Obviously, the exact packaging used varies according to the specific order, restaurant and customer preferences, and individual meals may have a carbon footprint higher or lower than average for that cuisine.</p>
<p>We also found a brown paper delivery bag produces far more emissions than a plastic bag, due to the carbon released when it breaks down. However plastic bags generally create more litter and are more toxic to the environment than paper bags.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377535/original/file-20210107-15-qp4tfn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377535/original/file-20210107-15-qp4tfn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377535/original/file-20210107-15-qp4tfn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377535/original/file-20210107-15-qp4tfn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377535/original/file-20210107-15-qp4tfn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377535/original/file-20210107-15-qp4tfn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377535/original/file-20210107-15-qp4tfn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377535/original/file-20210107-15-qp4tfn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Greenhouse gas emissions associated with packaging per order, by cuisine and life cycle stage.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Worst packaging culprits</h2>
<p>Our study found the production of the raw materials used in packaging – that is, fuels for plastic and wood pulp for paper and cardboard – contributes more than 50% of the total packaging emissions. Converting the raw materials into packaging products is the next highest contributor, at between 32% and 48%. </p>
<p>Replacing virgin raw materials with recycled content can reduce production emissions, but only by about 10%, due to the energy required in the recycling process. So reducing packaging use is more important than increasing the recycled content of materials.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-waste-export-ban-becomes-law-but-the-crisis-is-far-from-over-151675">Australia's waste export ban becomes law, but the crisis is far from over</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We also found the packaging disposal method can dramatically influence emissions. We assumed typical recycling rates of between 18% and 77%. However, if all packaging is sent to landfill, disposal-related emissions may increase by up to 15 times compared to the typical disposal scenario. </p>
<p>Paper-based packaging had the greatest disposal emissions due to its high carbon content. If all packaging materials are incinerated, then disposal emissions can be up to 49 times higher than the typical disposal scenario. </p>
<p>Plastics produce least emissions when disposed in landfill as opposed to recycling or incineration. And organic material such as paper and paperboard produce more emissions when disposed to landfill than if recycled or incinerated. So a material-specific approach to waste disposal and processing is important. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A burger meal in paper packaging" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379169/original/file-20210118-15-1fjqmyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379169/original/file-20210118-15-1fjqmyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379169/original/file-20210118-15-1fjqmyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379169/original/file-20210118-15-1fjqmyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379169/original/file-20210118-15-1fjqmyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379169/original/file-20210118-15-1fjqmyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379169/original/file-20210118-15-1fjqmyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Organic packaging materials are not a panacea for the waste problem.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>The task of reducing single-use packaging has been made more urgent by <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r6573">new federal laws</a> banning the export of unprocessed waste from Australia. </p>
<p>Increasing and improving waste recovery and processing infrastructure will help divert waste from landfill. However, packaging production – with both virgin and recycled raw materials – is very emissions-intensive. So producing less packaging in the first place is key to significant emissions reduction.</p>
<p>Online food delivery service providers should make it easier for customers to opt out of certain packaging products, such as bags and utensils. Investment in more environmentally friendly packaging options is also crucial. </p>
<p>Customers have a role to play, and consumer awareness and education campaigns will be important here. Refusing packaging where possible or choosing more eco-friendly options will also help to reduce single-use packaging emissions.</p>
<p><em>This article draws on research by former University of Melbourne Masters student Indumathi Arunan.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/recycling-is-not-enough-zero-packaging-stores-show-we-can-kick-our-plastic-addiction-106357">Recycling is not enough. Zero-packaging stores show we can kick our plastic addiction</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151564/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Crawford receives funding from The Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Of the five cuisines examined, packaging from burger meals was responsible for the most emissions.Robert Crawford, Associate Professor in Construction and Environmental Assessment, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1326922020-03-10T16:08:55Z2020-03-10T16:08:55ZEven concerned consumers don’t know which food choices have the lowest climate impact<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318854/original/file-20200305-106616-gi19ve.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1672%2C0%2C3421%2C3398&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/wAO7PNThO-c">Марьян Блан | @marjanblan/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The energy used to grow, process, package and transport food accounts for about <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/113/15/4146">a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions</a>. But not all food is equally carbon-intensive. Researchers can measure the impact of different food choices at each stage of their journey – from farm to fork – to work out their <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652616303584">carbon footprint</a>. </p>
<p>Experts suggest that, to reduce your food-related carbon footprint, the best dietary changes to make include replacing <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/361/6399/eaam5324">red meat</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378014000338">dairy products</a> with plant-based alternatives, and avoiding products that are <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es2030577">flown in, or grown in a commercial greenhouse</a>.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab465d">our research</a>, we found that many people aren’t aware of this advice. In a national UK sample, most people mentioned one or two dietary changes for reducing the climate impact of their food choices, but they rarely mentioned the strategies that experts suggest are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652616303584">the most effective</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318855/original/file-20200305-106573-ojh9f8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318855/original/file-20200305-106573-ojh9f8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318855/original/file-20200305-106573-ojh9f8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318855/original/file-20200305-106573-ojh9f8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318855/original/file-20200305-106573-ojh9f8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318855/original/file-20200305-106573-ojh9f8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318855/original/file-20200305-106573-ojh9f8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cut out red meat and dairy, say experts. But is it getting through to people?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/different-types-raw-meat-plastic-boxes-485926792">Sandro Pavlov/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Respondents in our study thought that buying local and organic were the best choices for the climate, with reducing packaging and avoiding processed food coming close behind. Although these strategies can have benefits for the environment and animal welfare, they are far from the most effective strategies for mitigating climate change.</p>
<p>Even the respondents who were most engaged with environmental issues were often ill informed – rarely mentioning the most effective strategies and frequently suggesting relatively ineffective ones. This suggests that advice about how people can make more sustainable food choices isn’t even reaching the ones who might want to do the most. </p>
<p>So why are people in the dark about the right dietary choices for the climate?</p>
<h2>Well-intentioned but misinformed</h2>
<p>For one, <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/more-recycling-wont-solve-plastic-pollution/">corporate sustainability campaigns</a> tend to shift responsibility onto consumers by focusing on reusing and recycling packaging. This has the obvious appeal of presenting no risk to a company’s bottom line. Although reducing the amount of plastic packaging that ends up in landfill is important, it’s unlikely to make much difference to climate change.</p>
<p>It also doesn’t help that there is so much information to process, and so many complex choices to make. What should we do when the organic vegetables are wrapped in plastic and non-organic ones aren’t? Or when the milk-based yoghurt pot is decorated with a landscape of happy cows wandering free in lush fields, while the plainly packaged soy yoghurt conjures images of the Amazon burning to ashes? What about when the fresh bananas arrive from Ecuador but the local Scottish strawberries are kept in the freezer? Whether it’s plastic packaging versus organic produce, animal welfare versus deforestation, or travel miles versus energy consumption, there is a lot to consider.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318857/original/file-20200305-106557-fr290d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318857/original/file-20200305-106557-fr290d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318857/original/file-20200305-106557-fr290d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318857/original/file-20200305-106557-fr290d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318857/original/file-20200305-106557-fr290d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318857/original/file-20200305-106557-fr290d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318857/original/file-20200305-106557-fr290d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Grown in commercial greenhouses or shipped from overseas – which is better for the planet?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/growing-cucumbers-greenhouse-1022292085">ANDREY-SHA74/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another cause for confusion might be the nature of advice given by climate experts. Often, the climate impact of food choices is presented in terms of grams of greenhouse gas emissions. </p>
<p>We found that people were confused when they were asked “how many <em>grams</em> of greenhouse gas emissions could be saved by growing 1 kg of produce organically instead of conventionally?”, or “packing 1 kg of produce into a paper bag instead of plastic”? They were less confused and could answer more accurately when asked the same questions about the <em>percentage</em> of the greenhouse gas emissions that could be saved. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/four-ways-to-reduce-the-carbon-in-your-food-basket-128811">Four ways to reduce the carbon in your food basket</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Making decisions</h2>
<p>For most of us, decisions about what to eat involve many <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23994507">factors</a>, including how healthy or tasty food is likely to be. We simply don’t have the time, the motivation, or the ability to always figure out exactly which food option has the lowest carbon footprint. </p>
<p>Making choices becomes a lot easier when we have <a href="https://pure.mpg.de/rest/items/item_2102905/component/file_2102904/content">heuristics, or simple rules of thumb</a>. One example is the <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/why-5-a-day/%22%22">five-a-day rule</a>, which encourages people to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables each day. It’s much easier to follow than weighing and adding up your daily intake of different fruits and vegetables to see if you’ve consumed the necessary amount in grams.</p>
<p>Popularising simple rules of thumb – like replace red meat and dairy with plant-based products – helps people skip the stupefying step of computing the complex carbon footprint of every single meal they eat. They allow people to make fast and effective decisions about what to eat.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319314/original/file-20200309-64601-1y391h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319314/original/file-20200309-64601-1y391h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319314/original/file-20200309-64601-1y391h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319314/original/file-20200309-64601-1y391h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319314/original/file-20200309-64601-1y391h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319314/original/file-20200309-64601-1y391h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319314/original/file-20200309-64601-1y391h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Heuristics offer a mental shortcut through dizzying choice and information overload.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/nutrition-health-eating-five-fruit-vegetables-310705694">Faithie/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Heuristics <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3629675/">are remarkably effective compared to more complex strategies</a> for making decisions. According to <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-psych-120709-145346">research in psychology</a>, this is probably due to them being easier to remember, implement in different situations, and stick to over time.</p>
<p>If you want to reduce the climate impact of our food choices, try to replace red meat and dairy with plant-based products more often, and avoid products that are flown in or grown in a greenhouse. These choices would be good for the climate, with the added bonus of being <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/113/15/4146">good for your health.</a></p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
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</figure>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/imagine-newsletter-researchers-think-of-a-world-with-climate-action-113443?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=Imagineheader1132692">Click here to subscribe to our climate action newsletter. Climate change is inevitable. Our response to it isn’t.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132692/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joel Millward-Hopkins receives funding from the Leverhulme Trust.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Astrid Kause receives funding from the Met Office UK. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wändi Bruine de Bruin receives funding from the Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (The Swedish foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences) </span></em></p>The recommendations of experts aren’t reaching people in the supermarket aisles. So what can be done about it?Joel Millward-Hopkins, Postdoctoral Researcher in Sustainability, University of LeedsAstrid Kause, Research Fellow, Management, University of LeedsWändi Bruine de Bruin, Provost Professor of Public Policy, Psychology, and Behavioral Science, University of Southern CaliforniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1233402019-12-13T01:14:15Z2019-12-13T01:14:15ZYour Christmas shopping could harm or help the planet. Which will it be?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306522/original/file-20191212-85391-o9p6tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C0%2C5393%2C3609&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many Australian consumers are concerned at the environmental impact of their shopping habits, especially at Christmas.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australian shoppers are set to spend <a href="https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/8202-roy-morgan-ara-christmas-2019-sales-forecast-201911180354">$52.7 billion</a> this Christmas. In the words of the retail industry, we are <a href="https://www.christmasretailaustralia.net.au/christmas-sales-forecast/">“stampeding”</a> to empty our wallets, both online and in stores.</p>
<p>The shopping frenzy is not good for the planet. It generates a <a href="https://nationalstorage.com.au/blog/christmas-waste-australia/">mountain of waste</a> including plastics, and decorations, wrapping paper and party paraphernalia only used once. It also involves thousands of air and road miles to transport goods, which creates up to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263969440_The_Carbon_Cost_of_Christmas">650kg of carbon dioxide per person</a>.</p>
<p>But amid the spending spree, consumers are becoming more concerned about environmental impacts. A <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/money/saving/christmas-waste-revealed-in-400m-of-unwanted-gifts-20191118-p53bnv.html">recent survey of shoppers</a> found one-quarter would prefer to receive a “socially conscious or eco-friendly” Christmas gift.</p>
<p>If you’re one of those people, read on to find out what Australian retailers are doing to help the environment.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306523/original/file-20191212-85376-pzi3zr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306523/original/file-20191212-85376-pzi3zr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306523/original/file-20191212-85376-pzi3zr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306523/original/file-20191212-85376-pzi3zr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306523/original/file-20191212-85376-pzi3zr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306523/original/file-20191212-85376-pzi3zr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306523/original/file-20191212-85376-pzi3zr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Supermarkets are leaders in the retail field on climate action.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Tracey Nearmy</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The climate crisis</h2>
<p>Responding to climate change is in the interests of retailers. The Department of the Environment and Energy <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/adaptation/publications/climate-change-impact-risk-management">has warned</a> Australian businesses will be affected by higher temperatures, altered rainfall, bushfires, heatwaves, drought and storms. These can affect <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/sep/19/climate-change-affect-food-production">food production</a>, the movement of goods and people’s ability to shop, among other things.</p>
<p>In Australian retail, supermarkets are leading the way on climate action.</p>
<p>Coles recently announced a deal with <a href="https://reneweconomy.com.au/landmark-deal-to-power-coles-underpins-three-nsw-solar-farms-51379/">renewables developer Metka EGN</a>. The supermarket giant will buy around 10% of its electricity from three new solar plants in New South Wales.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/global-emissions-to-hit-36-8-billion-tonnes-beating-last-years-record-high-128113">Global emissions to hit 36.8 billion tonnes, beating last year's record high</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Woolworths has <a href="https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/icms_docs/195583_2019-sustainability-report.pdf">a goal</a> to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 60% below 2015 levels by 2030, and is installing natural refrigerants, or reducing refrigerant leaks, to reduce pollution.</p>
<p>Other retailers are also getting on board. Officeworks, in partnership with Greening Australia, is <a href="http://restoringaustralia.com.au">planting two trees</a> for every one used, based on the weight of paper products bought by customers. It aims to both repair the environment and tackle climate change.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://au.yougov.com/news/2017/12/06/fast-fashion/">YouGov report</a> found 75% of Australian adults have thrown clothes away in the past year; 30% tossed more than ten garments. As fabrics break down, they release approximately <a href="https://www.planetaid.org/what-we-do/for-the-environment/reusing-textiles">three to four times their mass in methane</a> and other greenhouse gases.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306524/original/file-20191212-85397-1itfu1w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306524/original/file-20191212-85397-1itfu1w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306524/original/file-20191212-85397-1itfu1w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306524/original/file-20191212-85397-1itfu1w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306524/original/file-20191212-85397-1itfu1w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306524/original/file-20191212-85397-1itfu1w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306524/original/file-20191212-85397-1itfu1w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Zara stores are reducing their electricity and water use.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some major clothing retailers <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ijcs.12159">are responding</a>. For example H&M offers a <a href="https://www2.hm.com/en_gb/ladies/shop-by-feature/16r-garment-collecting.html">garment recycling service</a> to prevent clothes from going to landfill. Customers hand in a bag of old clothes which are either reused, reworn or recycled. <a href="https://about.hm.com/news/general-news-2019/h-m-to-trial-clothing-rentals-for-the-first-time.html">H&M</a> is also among several global brands to offer <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/are-we-ready-to-rent-our-work-clothes-20190822-p52jui.html">clothing rentals</a>.</p>
<p>By the end of this year, all Zara clothing stores, including in Australia, will be eco-efficient. Such stores use at least <a href="https://www.inditex.com/en/our-commitment-to-the-environment/climate-change-and-energy/eco-stores">20% less electricity and 40% less water</a> than conventional stores. </p>
<h2>Turning the tide on plastic</h2>
<p>In Australia, Coles and Woolworths were heavily criticised recently over their <a href="https://theconversation.com/ooshies-a-cautionary-toy-story-about-cashing-in-on-childhood-innocence-121564">plastic toy giveaways</a>.</p>
<p>Woolworths responded with the <a href="https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/discover/garden">Discovery Garden</a> promotion which gave out free plants. However Coles relaunched its plastic promotion, Little Shop minis, claiming a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jul/12/coles-relaunches-little-shop-promotion-despite-fears-over-plastic-waste">poll revealed</a> 96% of customers who collected the items still had them, and the packaging could be recycled.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-plastic-bag-bans-triggered-such-a-huge-reaction-99935">Why plastic bag bans triggered such a huge reaction</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Woolworths is the first Australian retailer to commit to introducing <a href="https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/">TerraCycle</a>’s zero-waste resusable packaging system, Loop. Shoppers would purchase certain products in packing that can be returned and reused.</p>
<p>Woolworths and Coles also dumped single use plastic bags in 2018, before many <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/nsw-government-to-block-labor-s-ban-the-bag-bill-in-favour-of-discussion-paper-20191002-p52ww2.html">state governments</a> had legislated for a ban. </p>
<p>Non-grocery retailers are also getting on board. For example IKEA now allows shoppers to <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/consumer/2019/10/14/ikea-furniture-buy-back-scheme/">return, recycle and reuse</a> old furniture. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306525/original/file-20191212-85404-1yb79c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306525/original/file-20191212-85404-1yb79c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306525/original/file-20191212-85404-1yb79c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306525/original/file-20191212-85404-1yb79c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306525/original/file-20191212-85404-1yb79c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306525/original/file-20191212-85404-1yb79c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306525/original/file-20191212-85404-1yb79c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Coles and Woolworths are acting on plastic bag waste.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why retailers are acting</h2>
<p>There are compelling financial reasons for retailers to go green.</p>
<p>Shoppers are more likely to choose retailers that share the same values and beliefs they do - this is known as the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24707060?casa_token=wP2nRt-0e1MAAAAA:lrQEcwGGTPbH7ijE4tj_dGjNody_Su3_dSk4pEOJctizwi0qRH6BFs09_h3Yo97cYSTJpjsoQ2TSi3sNbxFXasdJ8kf6honM1VcZfnpxwk06pYarpTll&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">“value-belief-norm” theory</a>, and explains <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/pro-environmental-behavior">pro-environmental behaviours</a>.</p>
<p>So people who care about the environment are more likely to shop with retailers who have a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296313000416">higher level of environmental performance</a>. If the values differ, this creates mental discomfort in the consumer known as <a href="https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html">cognitive dissonance</a>, and they are likely to shop elsewhere.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/greenwashing-can-you-trust-that-label-2116">Greenwashing: can you trust that label?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But the retailer’s actions must be authentic. <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/environment-institute/blog/greenwashing-marketing-tool/">Consumers are becoming more alert</a> to the problem of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/aug/20/greenwashing-environmentalism-lies-companies">greenwashing</a>, when businesses make misleading claims about their green credentials. </p>
<p>And retailers can always do more. <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/06/eliminating-packaging-is-a-good-start-but-here-s-what-supermarkets-should-do-to-stop-harming-the-planet/">The World Economic Forum says</a> for supermarkets, this should include all stores moving towards becoming packaging-free, selling only local, seasonal produce and clearly labelling all products to indicate their carbon footprint.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306526/original/file-20191212-85428-wpe221.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306526/original/file-20191212-85428-wpe221.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306526/original/file-20191212-85428-wpe221.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306526/original/file-20191212-85428-wpe221.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306526/original/file-20191212-85428-wpe221.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306526/original/file-20191212-85428-wpe221.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306526/original/file-20191212-85428-wpe221.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Supermarkets should aim to become packaging-free.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>An eco-friendly Christmas</h2>
<p>A number of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-04/christmas-sustainable-shopping-guide-online-carbon-footprint/9223086">online resources</a> can help you have an <a href="https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/You-and-your-home/Live-sustainably/Sustainable-shopping/How-to-be-sustainable-this-Christmas">eco-friendly Christmas</a>. <a href="https://campaigns.ing.com.au/Dreamstarter/GiftList/">Buy goods produced locally</a>, re-use or don’t use wrapping paper, reduce food waste with better storage and compost what you must dispose of. Recycle wrapping, send an e-card or gift voucher instead of a physical card or present, and plan well to avoid buying excess presents and food.</p>
<p>Be mindful of giving for giving’s sake. <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/money/saving/christmas-waste-revealed-in-400m-of-unwanted-gifts-20191118-p53bnv.html">About $400 million</a> was spent on unwanted gifts last Christmas, many of which probably went to landfill. The <a href="https://mccrindle.com.au/insights/blog/black-friday-sales-in-australia/">most unwanted presents</a> included underwear, socks, pyjamas, candles and novelty items. </p>
<p>Or perhaps avoid the retail frenzy altogether, and consider having <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/christmas-presents-plastic-packaging-waste-family-stress-a9179926.html">a present-free Christmas</a>. The planet, and your wallet, will thank you.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/green-is-the-new-black-why-retailers-want-you-to-know-about-their-green-credentials-99073">Green is the new black: why retailers want you to know about their green credentials</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123340/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australians spent $400 million on unwanted Christmas gifts last year. There must be a better way.Louise Grimmer, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, University of TasmaniaGary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of TechnologyMartin Grimmer, Professor of Marketing, Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1235792019-10-24T02:08:53Z2019-10-24T02:08:53ZStop shaming and start empowering: advertisers must rethink their plastic waste message<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298428/original/file-20191023-119449-1oe9th8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C0%2C3957%2C2654&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A woman sorts plastic bottles at a workshop in Hanoi. The world is being overwhelmed by plastic waste, and companies should do more to address it.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/LUONG THAI LINH</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Discussion of the environment is embedded in our culture as public awareness over issues such as climate change and plastic pollution has grown. Advertisers are not shy about tapping into this concern for their own benefit.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/767/Culture_on_Twitter.pdf#page=9">Twitter analysis last year</a> revealed that in the UK at least, the environment was a current and growing issue. Between January 2015 and March 2018, discussion on Twitter about single-use plastic, for example, increased by an incredible 5,543%.</p>
<p>Advertisers are already highly skilled at the power of narrative: reducing complexity and helping us make sense of their message. This power is amplified when the narrative taps into culture. A brand message, if successful, then becomes part of people’s conversations rather than interrupting them with ads they <a href="https://mumbrella.com.au/advertisers-should-remember-ordinary-people-dont-care-about-advertising-504672">don’t care about</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/here-is-a-global-solution-to-the-plastic-waste-crisis-and-a-443-million-to-get-it-started-123762">Here is a global solution to the plastic waste crisis - and A$443 million to get it started</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Advertisers who tell a good story can persuade the public of all sorts of things. Some messages are positive and constructive. But a few are disingenuous and misleading.</p>
<p>The latter is especially true in the case of recycling, where advertisers often imply that consumers, not corporations, are responsible for the huge amounts of plastic waste a product creates.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292529/original/file-20190916-19035-m5srig.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292529/original/file-20190916-19035-m5srig.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292529/original/file-20190916-19035-m5srig.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292529/original/file-20190916-19035-m5srig.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292529/original/file-20190916-19035-m5srig.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292529/original/file-20190916-19035-m5srig.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292529/original/file-20190916-19035-m5srig.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A CocaCola recycling campaign that ran in the 2019 European summer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supplied by author</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Plastic pollution is a big deal</h2>
<p>Australia’s <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/7381c1de-31d0-429b-912c-91a6dbc83af7/files/national-waste-report-2018.pdf">National Waste Report last year</a> found 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste was generated in 2016-17 - or 103kg for each person. Most of it was only used once, and just 12% was recycled.</p>
<p>Coca-Cola says by the end of 2019, <a href="https://www.ccamatil.com/-/media/Cca/Corporate/Files/Media-Releases/2019/Coca-Cola-Australia-and-Coca-Cola-Amatil-announce-a-major-increase-in-recycled-plastic.ashx">70% of its plastic bottles in Australia</a> will be made entirely from recycled plastic. The company in August released a video in Australia thanking people for recycling.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-organised-a-conference-for-570-people-without-using-plastic-heres-how-it-went-120157">We organised a conference for 570 people without using plastic. Here's how it went</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It follows a European campaign <a href="https://www.beveragedaily.com/Article/2019/06/10/Don-t-buy-Coca-Cola-if-you-re-not-going-to-help-us-recycle">launched by the company in June</a> with the tagline “Don’t buy Coca-Cola if you’re not going to help us recycle”.</p>
<p>Absolut Vodka this year launched a new <a href="https://www.absolut.com/en/products/absolut-comeback/">limited edition bottle</a> made of 41% recycled glass - like all of its bottles - accompanied by a “Guide to a Circular Living Together”. The company told customers: “Now’s your time to shine on stage - rocking the recycling lifestyle as a true #RecyclingHero!”</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AeF8dp0rz2Q?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Coca-Cola Australia | Thanks For Recycling Campaign, 2019.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On the face of it, such campaigns might seem virtuous, especially following <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/recycling-and-reuse/response-to-china-national-sword">China’s 2018 policy</a> limiting the import of low-quality mixed recyclables. But in fact they continue a long history of framing consumers as the main waste culprits.</p>
<p>The practice began in the US in the 1950s when <a href="https://www.kab.org/">Keep America Beautiful</a> was formed. The non-profit consortium included Coca-Cola and tobacco manufacturer Phillip Morris, among others. Its campaigns, such as the 1971 “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Suu84khNGY">Crying Indian</a>” ad, tapped into a shared cultural guilt for polluting the environment and, in this case, mistreating native people.</p>
<p>Such tactics have been mirrored by <a href="https://kab.org.au/past-campaigns/litterers-anonymous-2/">Keep Australia Beautiful</a> campaigns.</p>
<p>But guilt is not a good predictor of people’s behaviour. A 2001 <a href="http://selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2001_KoestnerHoulfortPaquetKnight_JASP.pdf">study</a> found individuals must feel ethically validated, not guilty, to behave in an environmentally friendly way. </p>
<h2>Consumers are not the villains</h2>
<p>Manufacturers of consumer products obviously play a <a href="https://www.eco-business.com/news/what-are-the-worlds-biggest-plastic-polluters-doing-about-the-problem/">major role</a> in the growing plastic problem. This is reflected in the <a href="https://www.packagingcovenant.org.au/documents/item/1091">Australian Packaging Covenant,</a> an agreement between government and industry.</p>
<p>It says responsibility for packaging should be shared by companies throughout the supply chain. Consumers, waste service providers, recyclers and governments also have roles to play.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indonesia-has-sent-australias-recycling-home-its-time-to-clean-up-our-act-120159">Indonesia has sent Australia's recycling home – it's time to clean up our act</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/more-recycling-wont-solve-plastic-pollution/">Researchers have noted</a> that a permissive legal framework has allowed plastic pollution to rise despite the obvious harm it causes to communities and marine life.</p>
<p>As Recycled Plastics Australia general manager Stephen Scherer <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-14/recycling-industry-demands-federal-action-as--waste-piles-up/10993218">told the ABC this year</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…the federal government has been absent from the conversation about waste, while Australians are operating in a culture where ‘we don’t do what we’re not forced to do’.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Plastic waste is on the radar of Australian governments. State and federal environment ministers <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/protection/waste-resource-recovery/plastics-and-packaging/packaging-covenant">last year set a target</a> that all packaging be recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2025 or earlier. </p>
<p>But critics say rather than set targets, the federal government must mandate the use of recycled plastic in packaging to ensure the waste problem is addressed.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298443/original/file-20191024-119433-97l2iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298443/original/file-20191024-119433-97l2iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298443/original/file-20191024-119433-97l2iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298443/original/file-20191024-119433-97l2iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298443/original/file-20191024-119433-97l2iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298443/original/file-20191024-119433-97l2iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298443/original/file-20191024-119433-97l2iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fish swimming along a coral reef near a water bottle label and a plastic bag off the coast of the Red Sea resort town of Naama Bay, Egypt.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mike Nelson/EPA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Recycling campaigns done right</h2>
<p>Companies such as Coca-Cola are embracing the concept of sustainability to some extent. But better still, other brands have sought to fix recycling systems themselves. </p>
<p>In February Unilever “paid” people in Buenos Aires, Argentina for their <a href="https://www.unilever.com/news/news-and-features/Feature-article/2019/how-were-helping-buenos-aires-residents-make-recycling-a-habit.html">household recyclables</a> with discount coupons redeemable against its products at selected retailers. </p>
<p>In the UK, Burger King last month announced it was scrapping plastic toys from kids’ meals and invited the public to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7lmk-V6p6Q">bring in old plastic toys</a> from any restaurant meal. The plastic will be remade into “interactive play opportunities” for families at their restaurants.</p>
<p>In Australia, superannuation fund Australian Ethical ran its latest campaign on <a href="http://www.adnews.com.au/campaigns/new-australian-ethical-campaign-uses-100-recyclable-billboards">100% recyclable billboard skins</a>. </p>
<p>Consumers do have a role to play in waste reduction, including by recycling or demanding that companies find alternatives to single-use plastics. But if companies want to respond meaningfully to the plastic crisis, they must accept ultimate responsibility for their packaging and work towards zero-waste.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123579/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sergio Brodsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Advertisers that tell a good story can persuade the public of all sorts of things. But some messages are disingenuous and misleading.Sergio Brodsky, Sessional Lecturer, Marketing, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1218372019-10-08T11:39:06Z2019-10-08T11:39:06ZFood labels too complicated for most shoppers to understand – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296001/original/file-20191008-128655-ti8194.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C35%2C5955%2C3736&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-june-14-shopper-browses-aisle-199217036?src=Q8LUehjsUHqDIikWT_YcNQ-1-9">shutterstock/1000 Words</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Think back to the last time you went food shopping, did you check the labels for nutritional information? If you did, chances are it still felt tricky to know exactly what was in your food: how do you decide between a can of soup that has “reduced sodium” and one that’s labelled “low sodium” – and what’s the difference?</p>
<p>Indeed, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329319300849?via%3Dihub">our latest research</a> shows that many shoppers find food labels confusing and this is actually leading to a lot of people not really understanding what they’re eating. So while most people are aware a healthy diet involves <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/">eating a variety of nutrients in differing quantities</a>, it’s less well known what these nutrients should be, and how much a person should be consuming. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/household-availability-of-ultraprocessed-foods-and-obesity-in-nineteen-european-countries/D63EF7095E8EFE72BD825AFC2F331149">Research from 2018</a> shows that half of all the food bought by families in the UK is now “ultra-processed”. So rather than fresh home-cooked meals, a lot of us are eating food made in factories with industrial ingredients and additives – that bear little resemblance to food in its natural state.</p>
<p>Empowering people to make good decisions at mealtimes starts with shoppers knowing what’s in the food they’re buying. And food labels play a role in this – but manufacturers need to present this information in <a href="https://www.gov.uk/food-labelling-and-packaging">clear and easy to understand formats</a> to be useful – as most people don’t have hours to mull over the ingredients of a ready meal.</p>
<p>In the UK, the Food Standards Agency <a href="https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/packaging-and-labelling#the-legislation">regulates the use of food wording and claims</a> – such as “high in fibre” or “low in salt”. For a cereal to be classed as high in fibre, for example, it needs to have about 30% of the recommended daily fibre intake.</p>
<p>Food manufactures and supermarkets have made attempts to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980010003290">simplify complex nutritional information</a>. But as our research shows, many people still find food labels confusing – and tend to overestimate how much fibre a “high fibre” <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2019.103739">food actually provides</a>. People in our study also overestimated how much fat a label like “low fat” might refer to – though to a lesser extent. </p>
<h2>Lack of consistency</h2>
<p>This confusion around what labels actually mean may stem from the fact that <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/technical-guidance-on-nutrition-labelling">categorisation guidelines</a> differ from nutrient to nutrient – demonstrating the complexities of nutrition science. </p>
<p>Some guidance is available on how <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-to-read-food-labels/">label categories should be understood</a>, but the rules are complicated and hard to remember. Combine this with the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/features/help-theres-too-much-choice-in-the-supermarket/">multitude of choices that confront shoppers in supermarkets</a>, and it’s easy to see why so many people struggle to fully grasp what the labels are saying. </p>
<p>Another issue is that there isn’t a consistent system for food labelling in the UK. Shoppers have to compare across words and numbers to make a food choice – how do you quickly choose between a “low fat” cereal and one with “5% of your recommended daily allowance of fat”? Comparing between different nutrients on the same box is also a problem.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296000/original/file-20191008-128695-1y09o01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296000/original/file-20191008-128695-1y09o01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296000/original/file-20191008-128695-1y09o01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296000/original/file-20191008-128695-1y09o01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296000/original/file-20191008-128695-1y09o01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296000/original/file-20191008-128695-1y09o01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296000/original/file-20191008-128695-1y09o01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Food labelling can help shoppers make an informed decision, but understanding the labels can feel difficult.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-woman-shopping-grocery-store-mature-675852160?src=9GJrmVONTgMAmCDjNAezNA-1-9">Shutterstock/Rido</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Healthy eating is not just about reducing consumption, but also getting <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet">sufficient nutrition</a>. It’s already known that <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-to-get-more-fibre-into-your-diet/">most people in the UK do not get enough fibre in their diet</a> – and believing foods offer more fibre than they actually do could be a contributing factor. </p>
<p>And although overestimating quantities of fat may seem like a good thing if it reduces consumption, research shows that a “low fat” label can, for some people, seem like a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.43.4.605">license to eat more</a>. Ultimately, there are many ways food labels can lead shoppers astray. </p>
<h2>Food for thought</h2>
<p>Standardising the way nutrition is communicated across all packaged foods would help. And <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jun/20/uk-urged-to-make-traffic-light-food-labelling-mandatory">mandating a “traffic light” format</a> on all products would eliminate the need to compare one item with words and another with numbers.</p>
<p>The other challenge is what numbers should be attached to words like “low”, “medium”, and “high”. The current traffic light labelling system <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/technical-guidance-on-nutrition-labelling">counts how many grams of nutrients are in the food</a>, but claims like “high protein”, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/labelling_nutrition/claims/nutrition_claims_en">counts the percentage of protein</a>. A better system would be to translate words into a food’s percentage contribution to their recommended daily allowance (RDA). This could help to reduce confusion since RDA percentages are consistent for different nutrients, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-009-0307-0">people understand percentage of RDA more easily than absolute amounts</a>.</p>
<p>Effective legislation for food labels is a challenge because it needs to balance the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjnph-2018-000001">complexity of nutrition science</a> with the psychology of communicating information. Current guidelines have made great strides in simplifying and distilling this information. And the next step is to harness the psychology of how people interpret information – so that what’s on food packets actually make sense to shoppers in the supermarket.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121837/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dawn Liu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Shoppers struggle to make sense of food labels – and aren’t always sure what they’re eating.Dawn Liu, Lecturer in the Department of Psychology, University of EssexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1153172019-04-12T11:58:22Z2019-04-12T11:58:22ZEaster eggs: hunting for a solution to excessive packaging<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268809/original/file-20190411-44805-1hs8yqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/large-happy-easter-chocolate-egg-pink-128055260?src=qIelQVZXZymSenvzH8YQCA-1-93">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>So which Easter tradition came first? The packaging or the egg? The answer is of course not that surprising (it’s the egg). The tradition of giving people eggs at spring time has <a href="https://www.chocolatetradingco.com/magazine/features/history-chocolate-easter-eggs">roots in ancient pagan festivals</a> and exists in the history of a range of religions. </p>
<p>It is only in recent decades that the amount of packaging around a hollow chocolate egg has become a noticeable problem – partly because of a rise in the number of eggs sold. It’s true that some manufactures <a href="https://www.fswaste.co.uk/2018/03/can-easter-egg-packaging-recycled/">have made progress</a> in reducing packaging, with a big focus on reducing plastics. Many popular eggs are wrapped in just a layer of foil and a card box (plus any wrappers that come on accompanying confectionary). But this does not mean the problem has gone away. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.which.co.uk/news/2018/03/the-truth-about-easter-egg-packaging/">report by Which?</a> revealed that around a quarter of the total weight of Easter eggs sold in the UK is taken up by the plastic and cardboard packaging they are wrapped up in. The outer packaging of one of the top-ten selling brands tipped the scales at 152g of a 418g product (36.4%). </p>
<p>According to the environmental charity <a href="https://friendsoftheearth.uk/plastics/easter-egg-firms-still-failing-crack-plasticfree-packaging">Friends of the Earth</a>, Easter egg makers are still failing when it comes to plastic waste. This leads to some <a href="https://www.direct365.co.uk/blog/easter-egg-waste-the-season-of-plastic/">3,000 tonnes of packaging waste</a> each year. But it is too easy to blame the manufacturer – after all, we buy the eggs.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-defuse-the-easter-egg-arms-race-54783">How to defuse the Easter egg 'arms race'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>And the packaging does play some role in protecting the chocolate from damage and contamination – otherwise you may end up with food waste (which is <a href="https://theconversation.com/food-security-we-throw-away-a-third-of-the-food-we-grow-heres-what-to-do-about-waste-64854">actually far worse</a>). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268811/original/file-20190411-44781-1u8nxuu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268811/original/file-20190411-44781-1u8nxuu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268811/original/file-20190411-44781-1u8nxuu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268811/original/file-20190411-44781-1u8nxuu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268811/original/file-20190411-44781-1u8nxuu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268811/original/file-20190411-44781-1u8nxuu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268811/original/file-20190411-44781-1u8nxuu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Egging on consumers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hampstead-london-march-21-2019-piles-1345479581?src=2W3zOJuCMEKhrbUw2JwkQQ-1-69">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We appear to be at a stalemate – manufactures do not want to change the big, bright packaging in fear of losing sales. Customers still want to present their friend or relative with a pristine, attractive, traditional gift. </p>
<h2>Breaking with tradition</h2>
<p>So how can food providers and consumers help to reduce packaging waste?
Here are a few options (although some may not be so sweet).</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Make the eggs flat. A two dimensional egg can be packaged far more easily and is less prone to damage than a 3D egg which requires additional packaging to protect those thin chocolate walls around a hollow space. Flat eggs could be made just as attractive and would certainly taste the same. They would also improve logistics efficiency by not having to transport so much air. </p></li>
<li><p>“Build your own” Easter egg kits - packs could include everything you need to produce a bespoke egg (including two egg halves) for your loved one. There would be no need for plastic packaging and you would be giving a personalised, hand-crafted gift.</p></li>
<li><p>Opt for cardboard and items wrapped in packaging that can be recycled – such as cardboard and foil. Typically, it is the more luxurious brands that want to show off their extravagant produce in-store who still use large amounts of plastic. </p></li>
<li><p>Avoid getting drawn in by the additional items or “gifts” that may come with eggs. These are the kind of gifts that nobody really wants, such as a low-quality mug or plastic toy – and the negative environmental impact of producing those could be much greater than that of the chocolate egg and packaging combined. And you will pay a premium for them. </p></li>
<li><p>Ignore chocolate this Easter and opt for something more meaningful. Regardless of your religion (or lack of), Easter is about new life, not new waistlines. Bake or make something (egg shaped if you like) that your family will really like and will mean much more to them than manufactured chocolate. And which the planet will thank you for too.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Whichever way you choose to cut down on packaging this Easter, remember that this is just one of many ways you can reduce your household waste. The world it seems is in the midst of a packaging crisis. Together we can (ahem) crack it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115317/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elliot Woolley receives funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. </span></em></p>Do we really need to celebrate with boxes and plastic?Elliot Woolley, Lecturer in Sustainable Manufacturing, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1102472019-01-31T23:01:10Z2019-01-31T23:01:10ZPlastic in the oceans is not the fault of the Global South<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/256676/original/file-20190131-108338-se2jwl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Plastic pollution on a beach on Bali, Indonesia.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Our oceans are littered with plastics. Indeed, we are regularly exposed to images and stories of whales and sea turtles choking to death on plastic trash. Ocean plastic is clearly a problem but what is the solution?</p>
<p>On the surface, it seems clear, plastic must be reduced or eliminated at its source. Here’s why: <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/06/90-of-plastic-polluting-our-oceans-comes-from-just-10-rivers/">Ninety per cent of ocean plastics come from 10 rivers</a>, eight of which are in Asia. And <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/hannahleung/2018/04/21/five-asian-countries-dump-more-plastic-than-anyone-else-combined-how-you-can-help/#2c7c17901234">the five most plastic polluting countries</a> are China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.</p>
<p>This agrees with our experience along Vietnam’s coast, where there are piles of plastic on the beaches, and where we research the impact of marine plastic debris on coastal livelihoods. </p>
<p>However, when you look below the surface, you see that these arguments blame the plastic tide on consumers in the Global South — without mention of those living in the global north. It is as if they have no responsibility for the crisis. </p>
<p>If we understand waste, not as something produced by the actions of a group of individuals, but rather a product of socioeconomic systems that <a href="https://discardstudies.com/what-is-discard-studies/">contribute to making waste and encourages wasting</a>, problems with these dominant explanations arise. We start to see that Western consumers are part of the problem and cannot be absolved of their responsibility.</p>
<h2>Unequal waste flows</h2>
<p>Asian countries have long been in the business of processing the plastic waste that comes from the global north. But China’s January 2018 ban on imported waste (much of which arrived from the global north) <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/06/28/623972937/china-has-refused-to-recycle-the-wests-plastics-what-now">completely disrupted</a> the plastic waste trade. </p>
<p>News reports <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/recycling-contamination-1.4606893">show that Canada</a>, the United States, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/recycling-costs-waste-councils-plastic-china-local-government-association-a8592456.html">the United Kingdom</a> and <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/australiawide-bag-ban-leads-to-15-billion-fewer-plastic-bags-in-the-environment/news-story/678f21eb838fb6706baa370bc3b3ec29">Australia</a> scrambled through much of 2018 to find a solution to this problem. Much of the waste was diverted to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/11/china-ban-plastic-trash-imports-shifts-waste-crisis-southeast-asia-malaysia/">neighbouring countries</a>, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam — four of them part of the so-called most polluting countries.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-clean-up-our-universal-plastic-tragedy-98565">How to clean up our universal plastic tragedy</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These countries are now overwhelmed by the sheer volume of plastics. Vietnam, for instance, announced it would <a href="https://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/environment/215883/scrap-imports-through-road--railway-border-gates-to-be-banned.html">ban the import of scrap material</a> in early 2019, in response to concerns by residents about worsening environmental conditions and the health of locals. </p>
<h2>Exporting problems and inequality</h2>
<p>Some individuals, mostly in the global north, are trying to reduce their plastic consumption by avoiding cheap plastic straws and single-use bags or using only durable and sustainably produced items. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/256701/original/file-20190131-103164-ss0q0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/256701/original/file-20190131-103164-ss0q0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256701/original/file-20190131-103164-ss0q0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256701/original/file-20190131-103164-ss0q0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256701/original/file-20190131-103164-ss0q0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256701/original/file-20190131-103164-ss0q0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/256701/original/file-20190131-103164-ss0q0k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plastic bottles and other waste at a disposal site.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unfortunately, these “solutions” perpetuate inequality, nationally and internationally. Not everyone can afford a bamboo toothbrush. In addition, durable options are often made of multiple components that are harder to separate for recycling once they enter the waste stream — and once they do, are slower to breakdown. </p>
<p>This focus on individual action also overlooks the fact that corporations using plastic packaging are subsidised through <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/05/big-business-not-taxpayers-should-pay-to-clean-up-plastic-waste">publicly funded municipal waste programs</a>. And lighter plastic packaging equals cheaper global shipping — further encouraging production and consumption of more cheap plastic.</p>
<p>But by far the biggest consequence of our consumer lifestyle is the creation of wasteful spaces. As contaminated oceans and filthy landscapes become more and more common, the increased attention to improper waste-management practices in “polluting countries” has created the perception that <a href="https://www.earthday.org/2018/04/06/top-20-countries-ranked-by-mass-of-mismanaged-plastic-waste/">they are mismanaging</a> and <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/03/8-steps-to-solve-the-oceans-plastic-problem/">misusing plastics</a>. Those on the receiving end of the global north’s waste <a href="https://e.vnexpress.net/news/video/trashed-billionaire-scrap-village-residents-die-a-slow-death-3763776.html">pay the ultimate price</a>.</p>
<h2>Tidying things up</h2>
<p>The export of waste from the global north to the Global South has been controversial for more than 30 years. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) argued in 1989 that this perpetuates inequality and supports the movement of waste across borders. Recently the <a href="https://www.ciel.org/plastic-waste-proposal-basel-convention/">UNDP proposed revising the wording</a> of the <a href="http://www.basel.int/">Basel Convention</a>, so that imported plastic waste would no longer be called “green waste,” giving the receiving country the right to refuse polluted or mixed plastic waste that it could not manage safely. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-garbage-ban-upends-us-recycling-is-it-time-to-reconsider-incineration-98206">China’s garbage ban upends US recycling – is it time to reconsider incineration?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Although this amendment has not been approved, doing so would encourage a better understanding of the source of plastics in our oceans instead of blaming the developing world for their improper management.</p>
<p>Make no mistake, when we throw out that single-use cup, recycle plastic cauliflower wrappers or buy into the current <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/31/tech/marie-kondo-digital-clutter/index.html">Marie Kondo</a> obsession of keeping only “joyful things,” we are supported by structures of global inequality. Ethical consumption is still consumption, and there may not always be another country or landfill available for our discarded stuff.</p>
<p>It may seem right to encourage recycling, but there are larger implications. Recycling will not fix the problem of ocean plastics, and pointing the finger at the Global South for poor waste management practices simply reproduces colonial habits of exporting problems and victim-blaming. True solutions rest in reduced consumption and more equitable waste-management practices including rewarding sustainable ideas and forcing corporations to pay to clean up their mess.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110247/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robin J. Roth receives funding from SSHRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alisa Greenwood-Nguyen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Asian countries have become a dumping ground for the plastic waste from wealthy countries.Alisa Greenwood-Nguyen, Masters Student, University of GuelphRobin J. Roth, Associate Professor of Geography, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1063572019-01-17T01:17:45Z2019-01-17T01:17:45ZRecycling is not enough. Zero-packaging stores show we can kick our plastic addiction<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251458/original/file-20181219-27770-yjcfu9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Frenco, a zero-waste store in Montreal.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Benoit Daoust/Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Wrapped, sealed, boxed, cling-filmed and vacuum packed. We have become used to consumables being packaged in every way imaginable. </p>
<p>The history of “packaging” goes back to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9781845696658500019">the first human settlements</a>. First leaves, gourds and animals skins were used. Then ceramics, glass and tin. Then paper and cardboard. But with the invention of plastic and the celebration of “throwaway living” since the 1950s, the environmental costs of an overpackaged world have become manifest. </p>
<p>Plastic now litters the planet, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969716310154">contaminating ecosystems</a> and posing a significant threat to wildlife and <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/06/plastic-planet-health-pollution-waste-microplastics/">human health</a>. Food and beverage packaging accounts for almost <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1750-3841.2007.00301.x">two-thirds of total packaging waste</a>. Recycling, though important, has proven an incapable primary strategy to cope with the scale of plastic rubbish. In Australia, for example, just <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/waste-resource-recovery/publications/australian-plastics-recycling-survey-report">11.8% of the 3.5 million tonnes</a> of plastics consumed in 2016-2017 were recycled.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245190/original/file-20181113-194488-1kfunt8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245190/original/file-20181113-194488-1kfunt8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245190/original/file-20181113-194488-1kfunt8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245190/original/file-20181113-194488-1kfunt8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245190/original/file-20181113-194488-1kfunt8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245190/original/file-20181113-194488-1kfunt8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245190/original/file-20181113-194488-1kfunt8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bananas wrapped in single-use plastic packaging.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sabrina Chakori</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Initiatives to cut down on waste can initially be <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-plastic-bag-bans-triggered-such-a-huge-reaction-99935">strongly resisted by consumers</a> used to the convenience, as shown by the reaction to Australia’s two major supermarket chains phasing out free single-use plastic shopping bags. But after just three months, shoppers have adapted, and an estimated <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/australiawide-bag-ban-leads-to-15-billion-fewer-plastic-bags-in-the-environment/news-story/678f21eb838fb6706baa370bc3b3ec29">1.5 billion bags</a> have been prevented from entering the environment.</p>
<p>Can we dispose with our disposable mentality further, by doing something to cut down on all the packaging of our food and beverages?</p>
<p>Yes we can.</p>
<p>The emergence of zero-packaging food stores is challenging the idea that individually packaged items are a necessary feature of the modern food industry. These new businesses demonstrate how products can be offered without packaging. In doing so they provide both environmental and economic benefits.</p>
<h2>The zero-packaging alternative</h2>
<p>Zero-packaging shops, sometimes known as zero-waste grocery stores, allow customers to bring and refill their own containers. They offer food products (cereals, pasta, oils) and even household products (soap, dishwashing powder). You simply bring your own jars and containers and buy as little or as much as you need. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246787/original/file-20181122-161641-8qd5v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246787/original/file-20181122-161641-8qd5v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246787/original/file-20181122-161641-8qd5v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246787/original/file-20181122-161641-8qd5v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246787/original/file-20181122-161641-8qd5v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246787/original/file-20181122-161641-8qd5v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246787/original/file-20181122-161641-8qd5v2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Negozio Leggero is a zero-packaging chain with stores in Italy, France and Switzerland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Negozio Leggero</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These stores can already be found in <a href="https://www.bepakt.com">many countries</a> across the world. They are more than just individual trading businesses making a small difference. </p>
<p>They are part of an important and growing trend promoting an <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308922063_The_prospects_of_zero-packaging_grocery_stores_to_improve_the_social_and_environmental_impacts_of_the_food_supply_chain">environmentally sustainable</a> “reuse” mentality. Their way of doing business shows we can change the current <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318183876_Linear_Economy_Versus_Circular_Economy_A_Comparative_and_Analyzer_Study_for_Optimization_of_Economy_for_Sustainability">‘linear’ economic system</a> in which we continuously take, make, use and throw away materials. </p>
<h2>Rethinking the system</h2>
<p>Food packaging is part and parcel of a globalised food market. The greater the distance that food travels, the more packaging is needed.</p>
<p>Zero-packaging stores encourage sourcing locally. They can therefore play an important role in enhancing <a href="http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/363/1492/849">local economy</a> and supporting local producers. They can help break globalised <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/23/bayer-monsanto-merger-agricultural-control-farming">agribusiness monopolies</a>, regenerating the diversity of rural enterprises and communities. The book <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=9cef41L_nVEC&oi=fnd&pg=PT3&dq=how+local+food+production+creates+jobs&ots=eRMIak_O4L&sig=PocGMaCxo6HxzKA4gJQuSwozvMc#v=onepage&q&f=false">Home Grown: The Case for Local Food in a Global Market</a> illustrates the benefits of reclaiming back the food industry. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-reap-the-economic-benefits-of-local-food-over-big-farming-24478">Let's reap the economic benefits of local food over big farming</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Packaging also contributes to another problem with the current industrialised food system. It doubles as an advertising tool, using all the psychological tricks that marketers have to persuade us to buy a brand. These strategies appeal to desire, encouraging people to buy more than what they really need. This has arguably exacerbated problems such as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3495296/">obesity</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/07/why-waste-food-home">food waste</a>. It has given multinational conglomerates with large marketing budgets an advantage over small and local producers. </p>
<h2>Next steps</h2>
<p>Not all of packaging is wasteful. It can stop food spoiling, for example, and enables us to enjoy foods not locally produced. But what is driving the growth of the global food packaging market – expected to be worth <a href="https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-food-packaging-market">US$411.3 billion by 2025</a> – is rising demand for single-serve and portable food packs due to “lifestyle changes”. Most of us recognise these are not lifestyle changes for the better; they are the result of us spending more time working or commuting, and eating more processed and unhealthier food.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-be-happier-healthier-save-money-its-time-to-get-cooking-81419">Want to be happier, healthier, save money? It's time to get cooking</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Zero-packaging stores show, in their own small way, a viable and healthier alternative to the current system. Both for ourselves, local economies and the planet. </p>
<p>While these shops are still niche, governments interested in human and environmental health can help them grow. Bans on plastic bags point to what is possible. </p>
<p>How easily we have adapted to no longer having those bags to carry food a few metres to the car and then to the kitchen show that we, as consumers, can change our behaviour. We can choose, when possible, unpacked products. There is, of course, a small sacrifice in the form of convenience, but we just might find that we benefit more, both personally and for a greater environmental, economic and social good.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106357/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sabrina Chakori is affiliated with Brisbane Tool Library Inc, a not-for-profit association.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ammar Abdul Aziz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Zero-packaging stores provide a systemic solution to a globalised food industry dependent on plastic packaging.Sabrina Chakori, PhD Candidate, The University of QueenslandAmmar Abdul Aziz, Lecturer, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1088282018-12-16T19:23:38Z2018-12-16T19:23:38ZHow to have yourself a plastic-free Christmas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250609/original/file-20181214-185240-1txrk2j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5760%2C3828&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Paper not plastic.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Adina Habich/Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Research shows that waste can <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/environment-waste-production-must-peak-this-century-1.14032">double</a> during the Christmas period, and most of it is plastic from <a href="https://www.1millionwomen.com.au/blog/help-i-dont-want-more-stuff-christmas/">gift wrapping and packaging</a>. The British, for example, go through <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/christmas/christmas-waste-total-wrapping-paper-food-scraps-packaging-sticky-tape-study-a8119821.html">more than 40 million rolls</a> of (mostly plastic) sticky tape every year, and use enough wrapping paper to go <a href="https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/lifestyle/news/a1158/uk-christmas-waste-revealed/">around the Equator nine times</a>.</p>
<p>We love plastic. It is an amazing material, so ubiquitous in our lives we barely notice it. Unfortunately, plastic waste has become a <a href="https://www.theodysseyonline.com/unhealthy-obsession-plastic">serious worldwide environmental and health issue</a>. If we don’t love the idea of a planet <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/19/more-plastic-than-fish-in-the-sea-by-2050-warns-ellen-macarthur">covered in plastic waste</a>, we urgently need to reduce our plastic consumption. </p>
<p>Yet old habits die hard, especially over the holiday season, when we tend to let go and indulge ourselves. Typically, people hold off until the new year to make positive changes. But you don’t have to wait – it’s easier than you might think to make small changes now that will reduce your holiday plastic waste, and maybe even start some enjoyable new traditions in your family or household. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-to-spend-with-more-social-purpose-this-christmas-69772">Five ways to spend with more social purpose this Christmas</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Here is our list of suggestions to help you transform this indulgent time into a great opportunity to kickstart your plastic-free new year.</p>
<h2>Gifts</h2>
<p>The best option is to avoid or minimise gifts, or at least reduce them to a manageable level by suggesting a secret Santa, or a “kids-only” gift arrangement. Of course it’s hard to justify giving no gifts at all, so if you must give…</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Make a list of presents assigned to each person before you hit the shops. This will help you avoid impulse buys, and instead make thoughtful choices. </p></li>
<li><p>Look for gifts that will help the recipient eliminate plastic waste: keep-cups, stainless steel water bottles, worm-farm kits, and so on. </p></li>
<li><p>Gift an experience, event tickets, massage, or a donation to a charity the recipient believes in.</p></li>
<li><p>Consider making gifts for the natural environment: bee hotels, possum and bird boxes, and native plants are all enjoyable ways to encourage nature.</p></li>
<li><p>Where possible, avoid buying online so as to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonbird1/2018/07/29/what-a-waste-online-retails-big-packaging-problem/#3860e7d9371d">avoid wasteful packaging</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>Consider whether the recipient will treasure their gift or end up throwing it away. Here’s a handy flowchart, which you can also use for your own (non-Christmas) purchases.</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250600/original/file-20181214-178570-1gff8hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250600/original/file-20181214-178570-1gff8hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250600/original/file-20181214-178570-1gff8hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=837&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250600/original/file-20181214-178570-1gff8hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=837&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250600/original/file-20181214-178570-1gff8hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=837&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250600/original/file-20181214-178570-1gff8hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1051&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250600/original/file-20181214-178570-1gff8hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1051&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250600/original/file-20181214-178570-1gff8hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1051&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Decisions, decisions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Manuela Taboada</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Gift wrapping</h2>
<p>Not only do we buy gifts, we wrap them in paper and decorate them with ribbons often made of synthetic materials. It might look fantastic, but it generates a fantastically tall mound of waste afterwards. Here’s how to wrap plastic-free in style. </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Ditch the sticky tape and synthetic ribbons. Instead, use recycled or repurposed paper and tie up with fabric ribbons, cotton, or hemp twine.</p></li>
<li><p>Try Japanese fabric wrapping (<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-06/furoshiki-environmentally-friendly-wrapping-paper-replacement/9228456">Furoshiki</a>). The big advantage: two gifts in one! </p></li>
<li><p>Choose gifts that do not need wrapping at all, such as the experiences, event tickets or charity donations mentioned above.</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250603/original/file-20181214-185243-idrkhl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250603/original/file-20181214-185243-idrkhl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250603/original/file-20181214-185243-idrkhl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250603/original/file-20181214-185243-idrkhl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250603/original/file-20181214-185243-idrkhl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250603/original/file-20181214-185243-idrkhl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250603/original/file-20181214-185243-idrkhl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250603/original/file-20181214-185243-idrkhl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Furoshiki: sustainable and stylish.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Katorisi/Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Tableware</h2>
<p>Disposable tableware is convenient – perhaps too convenient. Plastic plates, cutlery and cups are handy if you’re hosting dozens of friends and relatives, but they are used for a minimal amount of time and are often non-recyclable. So, when setting up your table:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Use “real” tableware. You can easily find funky second-hand options. Mixed tableware is a <a href="https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/185914290842268624/">trend</a>!</p></li>
<li><p>If your dishwasher (human or mechanical) can’t handle the strain, consider a washing-up game instead. Line up the guests, time their washing, and give them a prize at the end. </p></li>
<li><p>If disposables are essential, opt for biodegradable tableware such as paper-based uncoated plates and cups, or wooden or bamboo plates and cutlery. </p></li>
<li><p>Beware of plastic options labelled as “biodegradable”. Often they are only degradable in industrial composting facilities, which are not available across most of Australia. Check your local recycling options. </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Toys</h2>
<p>Last year, <a href="https://theconversation.com/this-south-pacific-island-of-rubbish-shows-why-we-need-to-quit-our-plastic-habit-77860">tonnes of plastic waste</a> were found on Henderson Island, one of the most remote places in the world. Among the items were Monopoly houses and squeaky ducks. Toy items are usually non-recyclable, and eventually end up in landfill or scattered throughout the environment.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Choose wooden or fabric-based toys. Alternatively, look for toys or games that <a href="https://www.fractuslearning.com/eco-friendly-toys-fun">teach children about the environment</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>Many board games have dozens of plastic accessories, but not all. Look at the list of contents, and choose ones with less plastic. </p></li>
<li><p>It might be hard to stay away from Lego or other iconic plastic toy brands. In this case, consider buying second-hand or joining a <a href="https://www.toylibraries.org.au/">toy library</a>. </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Packaging</h2>
<p>This is by far the hardest item to avoid. Lots of non-plastic items come packed in plastic, including most of our food. So, simply…</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Refuse it: find alternatives that don’t come wrapped in plastic. This might mean changing how and where you buy your food. </p></li>
<li><p>If there are no other options, choose plastic that can be recycled locally and avoid styrofoam, also called expanded polystyrene, which is not recyclable at most facilities.</p></li>
<li><p>If you are buying online, you can often ask for your items to be packed with no plastic.</p></li>
<li><p>For party food leftovers, use beeswax wraps or glass containers, or ask guests to bring their own reusable containers. </p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-am-not-buying-things-why-some-people-see-dumpster-diving-as-the-ethical-way-to-eat-86536">'I am not buying things': why some people see 'dumpster diving' as the ethical way to eat</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There’s a lot going on at Christmas, and it can be easier simply to follow the path of least resistance, and resolve to clean up your act in the new year. But you can avoid getting caught in <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-tricks-retailers-will-use-to-make-you-shop-this-christmas-50978">consumption rituals</a> created by the retail industry. </p>
<p>Make some changes now, and you can have a reduced-plastic Christmas with the same amount of (or even more) style and fun!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108828/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Glenda Amayo Caldwell receives funding from the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leonie Barner receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the German Science Foundation (DFG). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hope Johnson, Manuela Taboada, and Rowena Maguire do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Christmas is hectic, and it can be easy just to go with the flow and vow to cut your plastic use in the new year. But here are some easy steps you can take now to make your Christmas plastic-free.Manuela Taboada, Senior Lecturer, Visual Design, Queensland University of TechnologyGlenda Amayo Caldwell, Senior Lecturer in Architecture, Queensland University of TechnologyHope Johnson, Lecturer, Queensland University of TechnologyLeonie Barner, Associate Professor, Queensland University of TechnologyRowena Maguire, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1057712018-11-06T23:09:28Z2018-11-06T23:09:28ZAll-you-can-eat food packaging could soon be on the menu<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243539/original/file-20181101-83632-qxzwlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Plastic packaging could soon be compostable or edible.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Within a year, single-use plastics and excess packaging have become Public Enemy No. 1.</p>
<p>A recent Greenpeace-led audit looked at the companies behind the waste lining Canadian waterways. Much of the plastic trash cleaned up from Canadian shorelines this fall was <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/press-release/5375/press-release-coca-cola-pepsico-and-nestle-found-to-be-worst-plastic-polluters-worldwide-in-global-cleanups-and-brand-audits/">traceable to five companies</a>: Nestlé, Tim Hortons, PepsiCo, the Coca-Cola Company and McDonald’s. All these companies are part of the food industry, which is hardly surprising. </p>
<p>With consumers looking for convenience and portable food solutions, this problem will not go away anytime soon. In fact, it could get worse if nothing is done. </p>
<p>The number of meals in Canada consumed outside the home is only increasing. Canadian households spend roughly <a href="https://www.dal.ca/news/2017/12/13/canadians-will-spend-more-in-restaurants-in-2018--canada-s-food-.html">35 per cent of their food budget</a> outside a grocery store, and that percentage is <a href="https://www.dal.ca/news/2017/12/13/canadians-will-spend-more-in-restaurants-in-2018--canada-s-food-.html">increasing every year</a>. </p>
<p>The number of people walking around with plastic containers and bags, wrappers and cups will likely increase, and the food service, retail and processing sectors are all <a href="https://www.timhortons.com/bcrecycles/">fully aware</a> of this environmental conundrum. </p>
<p>What is brutally unclear for companies is how to deal with it. But making the issue of plastic use a political one is creating some movement, everywhere around the world.</p>
<h2>Compostable containers</h2>
<p>In the food industry, conversations about green supply chains focus on compostable and even edible solutions. Plenty of technologies exist. </p>
<p>On the compostable front, we have come a long way in just a few years. In 2010, PepsiCo Canada came out with the <a href="http://www.pepsico.ca/en/PressRelease/SUNCHIPS-INTRODUCES-THE-WORLDS-FIRST-100-PERCENT-COMPOSTABLE-CHIP-BAG02032010.html">first compostable chip bag for SunChips</a>. This new package was meant to completely break down into compost in a hot, active compost pile in approximately 14 weeks. <a href="https://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/03/18/pepsis-biodegradable-backlash-snack-bag-was-too-noisy">Some tests concluded that it did not</a>. </p>
<p>But what really attracted the attention of consumers to this novelty was how noisy the bag was. An <a href="https://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/fritolay-sunchips-packaging-debacle-lesson-when-not-listen-your-customers">influential social media campaign led to the bag’s downfall</a>. The company pulled it from the market less than a year after its introduction. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243541/original/file-20181101-83651-1jlmbw4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243541/original/file-20181101-83651-1jlmbw4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243541/original/file-20181101-83651-1jlmbw4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243541/original/file-20181101-83651-1jlmbw4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243541/original/file-20181101-83651-1jlmbw4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243541/original/file-20181101-83651-1jlmbw4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243541/original/file-20181101-83651-1jlmbw4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A volunteer collects trash for the Greenpeace plastic polluter brand audit in Halifax in September 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.greenpeace.org/">(Anthony Poulin/Greenpeace)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since then, pressure from cities has helped boost the presence of compostable packaging. With cities increasingly accepting <a href="http://www.macrothink.org/journal/index.php/rae/article/view/10071">food packaging in organics bins</a>, retailers shouldn’t shy away from promoting these green solutions. They might even adopt new green packaging schemes for some of their private-labelled products. </p>
<h2>Milk wrap</h2>
<p>Edible packaging is also gaining currency around the world. Imagine one day walking into a grocery store, and everything you see on store shelves can be eaten. </p>
<p>Research has come a long way, but it has not been easy. The first generation of edible packaging was made of starch, which often failed to keep food fresh. </p>
<p>The Unites States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been working on a new generation of edible packaging that may get the attention of food industry pundits. <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/usda-edible-food-packaging-9caa16d7d4fd/">Casein-based food packaging</a>, made from milk proteins, isn’t just edible, it’s also more efficient than other types of packaging as it <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2018/09/have-your-food-and-eat-the-wrapper-too/">keeps oxygen away from the food for an extended period</a>, keeping it fresher for longer. The casein-based edible fabric can be infused with vitamins and probiotics. This technology from the USDA should be ready in 2019. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243542/original/file-20181101-83632-tx6blu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243542/original/file-20181101-83632-tx6blu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243542/original/file-20181101-83632-tx6blu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243542/original/file-20181101-83632-tx6blu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243542/original/file-20181101-83632-tx6blu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243542/original/file-20181101-83632-tx6blu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243542/original/file-20181101-83632-tx6blu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Indonesian company Evoware is producing seaweed-based packaging.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Evoware)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another organic matter getting attention is seaweed. We have wrapped sushi with seaweed for centuries, so it is only natural to extend the practice beyond Japanese delicacies. Costs and availability are still unclear. </p>
<h2>Eating your garbage away</h2>
<p>While these may be promising technologies, no business model has yet been developed and we still don’t know how edible packaging will affect retail prices. This is certainly of great concern to retailers and restaurants. </p>
<p>Other issues have come up as well when considering edible packaging. Taste and food safety are obvious ones. </p>
<p>The idea that we can reducing plastic waste by eating more packaging is intriguing, but not every consumer would think of such a concept as appetizing. A case has to be made for consumers to eat their garbage away. </p>
<p>Logistics are certainly an issue with edible packaging. Throughout the supply chain, temperatures tend to vary greatly, which makes it challenging for any edible packaging to preserve the integrity of products that may travel thousands of kilometres around the world.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-clean-up-our-universal-plastic-tragedy-98565">How to clean up our universal plastic tragedy</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Start-ups looking at this issue are rampant. According to Transparency Market Research, a global research firm, <a href="https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/edible-packaging-market.htm">demand for edible packaging could increase on average by 6.9 per cent yearly until 2024</a> and could become a market worth almost US$2 billion worldwide. </p>
<p>As consumers, we will be given an opportunity to save the planet from plastic waste as we eat our food.</p>
<p>In the mean time, Greenpeace can continue to blame companies for the rubbish we find in oceans and waterways, but it’s actually all of us who are responsible for this mess. </p>
<p>If we want more compostable or edible packages, we may be asked to pay more for our food, to pay for a “planet premium,” once these new technologies come around. Regardless, it may be worth it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105771/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sylvain Charlebois does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Much of the trash on Canadian shorelines can be traced to five food companies. We could soon see more compostable and edible packaging.Sylvain Charlebois, Professor in Food Distribution and Policy, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/984762018-06-19T14:42:27Z2018-06-19T14:42:27ZSelf-heating drinks cans return – here’s how they work<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223601/original/file-20180618-85863-fkjmvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>A US technology firm is hoping to make a very old idea finally work by launching self-heating drinks cans. HeatGenie <a href="https://www.foodbev.com/news/heatgenie-raises-6m-bring-self-heating-drink-cans-market/">recently received</a> US$6m to bring its can design to market in 2018, more than 15 years after Nestle <a href="https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/nescafe-discards-self-heating-cans/155450?src_site=marketingmagazine">abandoned a similar idea</a>. Yet the principles behind the technology go back much further – to 1897, when <a href="https://ifood.tv/equipment/self-heating-can/about">Russian engineer Yevgeny Fedorov</a> invented the first self-heating can. So how do these cans work, why has no one has managed to make them a success, and what’s HeatGenie’s new approach? To answer that, we have to go back to World War II.</p>
<p>The imposing cliffs of Pointe de Hoc overlook the Normandy beaches where Allied troops landed on June 6 1944. The assaults marked the beginning of the liberation of German-occupied Europe. And the cliff tops were the perfect spot for artillery pieces capable of devastating any troops who tried to attack the Omaha and Utah beachheads.</p>
<p>The Allied command knew this and so, to shore up the attack, the navy bombarded Pointe de Hoc. Afraid this might not be enough, they also had a backup plan. A team of <a href="https://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/europe/pointe-du-hoc-ranger-monument#.WydlXy-ZPMJ">US Rangers scaled the 30-metre cliffs</a> and, after locating the weaponry, deployed grenades, destroying the guns. The key to success was the choice of thermite-based charges. These weren’t the kind of “high explosives” normally found in grenades, but instead used a chemical reaction that produced temperatures hot enough to melt the steel of firing mechanisms.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, <a href="http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/res00000724/the-thermite-reaction?cmpid=CMP00005969">the thermite</a> the Rangers used is incredibly simple. It is just rust (iron oxide) and powdered aluminium. Mixed together they are entirely safe and stable – that is until the mixture is given an energetic kick, typically by lighting a magnesium metal fuse. And then the fireworks start. The aluminium grabs the oxygen from the rust and in the process produces iron and a huge burst of heat. The reaction can easily reach 2,500°C, hot enough to produce molten (liquid) iron.</p>
<p>The following video shows the reaction in slow motion. The bright light at the start is just the magnesium burning. Then, when the fuse burns down to the thermite, things get impressive, leaving a melted tube and a flaming puddle of iron.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rfz15v1F8cM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Thermite is an extreme example of an exothermic reaction, a chemical reaction that produces energy in the form of light and heat. Fire, typically the result of a reaction involving carbon and oxygen, is probably the exothermic reaction we are most familiar with. But there are plenty more. In fact many of the very same troops who were landing on the Normandy beaches that day had <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/55/a2319455.shtml">another example in their ration packs</a>, in the form of self-heating cans of soup.</p>
<p>These were essentially <a href="http://www.gmmg.org.uk/our-connected-history/item/tin/">a stove and can rolled into one</a>, with a tube of <a href="https://www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts/cordite/1010201.article">cordite</a> (more typically used as the propellant in small arms ammunition) running through the centre of the can to act as fuel. The cans were quick and easy to use and could be lit with a cigarette, allowing troops to prepare a hot meal in under five minutes. Unfortunately, they also had a <a href="http://www.thejournal.ie/self-heating-soup-cans-1370166-Mar2014/">tendency to explode</a>, showering the assembled squaddies with piping hot soup. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223609/original/file-20180618-85834-jrossy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223609/original/file-20180618-85834-jrossy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=787&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223609/original/file-20180618-85834-jrossy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=787&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223609/original/file-20180618-85834-jrossy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=787&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223609/original/file-20180618-85834-jrossy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=989&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223609/original/file-20180618-85834-jrossy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=989&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223609/original/file-20180618-85834-jrossy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=989&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Self-heating cocoa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/museum/news/object-in-focus/2015/11/10/object-in-focus-self-heating-cocoa-tin/">University of Cambridge</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since then, there have been numerous attempts to make self-heating cans into a mainstream product. Most relied on a rather less volatile reaction to provide the heat, although some have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/02/business/02puck.html">still struggled with</a> explosive issues. Quicklime (calcium oxide) heats up rapidly when mixed with water. But it’s not particularly efficient, producing about 60 calories of energy per gram of reactant (one calorie will heat up one millilitre of water by 1°C).</p>
<p>The upshot is that, to heat the drink by 40°C, you need a heating element that takes up nearly half the packaging. That’s just about OK if you want a small drink on a warm day, but in the depths of winter, when you might really want a hot drink, you only end up with a tepid coffee.</p>
<h2>More powerful cans</h2>
<p>What’s needed is a much more efficient reaction. Something, like thermite perhaps? As crazy as packing a can with a reaction capable of disabling an artillery gun may seem, that’s just what HeatGenie is planning. Over the last ten years, the firm has <a href="https://patents.google.com/?q=thermite&assignee=heatgenie&oq=heatgenie++thermite">filed numerous patents</a> describing the use of thermite within self-heating cans. It turns out the reaction used by the US Rangers is still too hot to handle, so they’ve dialled things back a bit by replacing the rust with a less reactive but no less familiar material, silicon dioxide. So the latest generation of heated cans is fuelled on aluminium and ground-up glass.</p>
<p>When this reaction is triggered it still kicks out a whopping 200 calories per gram of reactant and can achieve 1,600°C. Given the troubled history of self-heating packaging, releasing this much energy from the can in your hand might be a bit of a concern, so several of HeatGenie’s patents cover safety issues.</p>
<p>These include a complex arrangement of “<a href="https://patents.google.com/patent/US20140127634A1/en?q=thermite&assignee=heatgenie&oq=heatgenie++thermite">firewalls</a>” that can block the so-called “flamefront” should things get too hot, and <a href="https://patents.google.com/patent/US9500389B2/en?q=thermite&assignee=heatgenie&oq=heatgenie+thermite">energy-absorbing “heatsinks”</a> to ensure the heat is efficiently transmitted around the drink, as well as vents to let off any steam. With all that is place, the company claims just 10% of the packaging is taken up by the heating elements, which can still produce a warm coffee in two minutes (although the exact temperature hasn’t been revealed). </p>
<p>So, well over a century on from Fedorov’s first efforts, has HeatGenie final cracked the self-heating can? Judging from the patents and investments, the firm might have sorted out the technical side, but whether it really has a hot product on its hands is another thing entirely.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98476/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Lorch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>US firm HeatGenie is hoping to revive a technology that has surprising origins in World War II and beyond.Mark Lorch, Professor of Science Communication and Chemistry, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/907802018-02-01T12:28:36Z2018-02-01T12:28:36ZCapitalism has coopted the language of food – costing the world millions of meals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204413/original/file-20180201-123852-ap84hl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/background-oddly-shaped-orange-pumpkins-374709838?src=rDhVuCaOgvlLTIyiHoS8JQ-1-22">SABPICS/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Hardly a day goes by when food is not in the news. We are at once encouraged to eat healthily, locally, and reduce food waste. Meanwhile, stories about the various groups of people going hungry are also on the rise – there are reports about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/22/1m-uk-older-people-risk-withering-away-hunger">malnourished elderly people</a>, children’s <a href="http://www.frankfield.co.uk/upload/docs/Holiday%20Club%20Survey%202017.pdf">holiday hunger</a>, and <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?client=firefox-b-ab&dcr=0&ei=qxlrWsreDNDTwQL78aL4Dw&q=UK+food+insecurity&oq=UK+food+insecurity&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0.3467.15225.0.15754.36.19.13.4.4.0.86.1080.18.19.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.36.1268.6..35i39k1j0i67k1j0i131k1j0i131i67k1j0i10i67k1j0i20i263k1j0i22i30k1j0i22i10i30k1j0i8i13i30k1.51.emIHGaIN0bU">rising food insecurity</a>. Increases in these rates <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-one-of-the-wealthiest-countries-in-the-world-is-failing-to-feed-its-people-41872">have been linked</a> to government policies such as welfare reform and commercial protections that give rise to zero-hours contracts. But in my view the problem is deeper than this – it is embedded in the way we talk about food. The language we use is confusing – it creates feelings of guilt and enhances social divisions.</p>
<p>Most people in economically developed countries purchase at least some of their food from a supermarket. This food is part of a <a href="https://foodfirst.org/a-foodies-guide-to-capitalism-understanding-the-political-economy-of-what-we-eat/qa-with-eric-holt-gimenez-on-a-foodies-guide-to-capitalism/">system</a> where food is sold to make a profit, usually for a large corporation. We tend to think of this commercially sourced food as ordinary food, or just food. Food acquired through other means – for example, from local allotments, supermarket surpluses, <a href="https://olioex.com/">digital food sharing apps</a>, <a href="https://www.hubbub.org.uk/Event/community-fridge-network">community refrigerators</a>, community food programmes, or <a href="https://feedbackglobal.org/campaigns/gleaning-network/">gleaning</a> – is considered alternative food. </p>
<p>What bothers me is that by thinking of food in this way we imply value judgements depending upon who the eaters of this “alternative” food are most likely to be. Those who are into food sharing are “green lefties”, whereas those who get food from local pantries or community kitchens are “vulnerable” or “in poverty”. Finding a new language through which to talk about food could therefore enable a more healthy, pleasurable and sustainable relationship with the food that is available to all of us, whoever we are.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204298/original/file-20180131-157485-1w5oq2u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204298/original/file-20180131-157485-1w5oq2u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204298/original/file-20180131-157485-1w5oq2u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204298/original/file-20180131-157485-1w5oq2u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204298/original/file-20180131-157485-1w5oq2u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204298/original/file-20180131-157485-1w5oq2u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204298/original/file-20180131-157485-1w5oq2u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Leftovers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Megan Blake</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Surplus food</h2>
<p>Take surplus food, which is a prime example of an alternative food that carries value judgements with it. <a href="https://geofoodie.org/2017/05/27/surplus-food-is-important/">Surplus food</a> is food that was intended for supermarkets, but for a variety of reasons is no longer able to be exchanged commercially. </p>
<p>One recent <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/oct/01/scandal-hit-2-sisters-suspends-chicken-production-at-west-midlands-plant">scandal</a> at a chicken production plant in the West Midlands provides a good example. The Two Sisters plant was closed for poor hygiene and mislabelling practices, not because the food, prior to reaching the plant, was inherently bad. </p>
<p>Thousands of chickens were wasted when the plant briefly closed because the chicken meat continued to move through the early stages of the food chain (growing in farms, killed in slaughterhouses), but could not be moved on to the plant where it is packaged, labelled and then distributed to supermarkets. If the producer had been able to move the chickens quickly to a charity or discounter who could collect, package, and distribute the meat, it would not have been wasted, but none could be found in time. </p>
<p>Other examples that give rise to surplus include packaging malfunctions, over-supply due to favourable growing conditions, unexpected changes in demand such as when a competitor offers a particularly good deal on an item, or when food is oddly shaped (“wonky”) and therefore deemed unsaleable by supermarkets. </p>
<p>If such food is rescued from the vicissitudes of the commercial system, it is sometimes sold to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-17/investors-in-search-of-bargains-as-u-k-discount-retailers-soar">discount retailers</a>. These retailers sell the surplus for a lower price than the standard price, and are one of the largest growing sectors in the UK. Sometimes the food becomes animal feed, is composted, or turned into <a href="https://www.greenfacts.org/en/biofuels/l-2/1-definition.htm">biofuel</a>.</p>
<p>Increasingly, this surplus food is donated to organisations such as <a href="http://fareshare.org.uk">FareShare</a>, <a href="https://www.companyshop.co.uk/community-shop/">Community Shop</a>, <a href="http://www.cityharvest.org.uk/">City Harvest</a>, <a href="https://www.foodcycle.org.uk">Food Cycle</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/sep/18/real-junk-food-project-revolutionising-how-we-tackle-food-waste">Real Junk Food Projects</a>, and others in the UK but also in <a href="https://www.foodbanking.org/what-we-do/our-global-reach/">other countries</a>. Donated surplus is distributed to eaters through <a href="http://therealjunkfoodproject.org/">cafes</a>, <a href="https://www.yourlocalpantry.co.uk/">community pantries</a>, <a href="http://superkitchen.org/">social eating</a>, <a href="https://www.crackinggoodfood.org/community-outreach/">cooking lessons</a> and the like, or indirectly through charities and third sector organisations who then feed people in many ways – often not as emergency food providers (foodbanks). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204310/original/file-20180131-157477-1f41bed.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204310/original/file-20180131-157477-1f41bed.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204310/original/file-20180131-157477-1f41bed.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204310/original/file-20180131-157477-1f41bed.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204310/original/file-20180131-157477-1f41bed.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204310/original/file-20180131-157477-1f41bed.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204310/original/file-20180131-157477-1f41bed.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Food sharing meal made with surplus food at the University of Sheffield, 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Megan Blake</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We do not really know how much surplus food is rescued and donated. But to give an idea, in 2017 FareShare helped distribute the equivalent of <a href="http://fareshare.org.uk/">28.6m meals</a> to nearly 7,000 organisations. Meanwhile, food from the <a href="https://www.companyshop.co.uk/community-shop/">Community Shop</a> network provided almost 4m meals through its four sites, and <a href="http://www.cityharvest.org.uk/#impact">City Harvest</a> delivered just shy of 1m meals to organisations just in London. Despite this, figures suggest that considerably more could be rescued. Wrap, the UK’s key organisation responsible for supporting waste reduction, <a href="http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Estimates_%20in_the_UK_Jan17.pdf">estimates</a> that nearly 2m tons of food is wasted annually from the UK commercial sector (one ton is approximately 2,380 meals), much of which could have been eaten.</p>
<h2>Shared, social, sustainable food</h2>
<p>The links that surplus food has with waste and commercial loss cause us to see surplus food as inferior food, despite its edibility. For example, some attempt to shame governments into changing social policy by calling it “<a href="https://phys.org/news/2017-01-surplus-supermarket-food-charities-hunger.html">leftover food for leftover people</a>”. While I agree that <a href="https://www.academia.edu/35311700/Eating_Affordances_and_Decent_Helpings_Working_Together_to_Reduce_Food_Poverty_and_Improve_Public_Health">austerity and welfare policies</a> are causing great harm to families and communities, I also know that donated surplus food is a resource that supports the resilience of organisations aiming to help struggling communities and households. </p>
<p>The effect of framing surplus food <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-giving-surplus-food-to-charities-is-not-a-solution-to-food-poverty-72210">as second class</a> dismisses the positive social, cultural, environmental and economic values of this food, complicates how organisations aiming to help communities can do so while still preserving dignity, and for eaters, comes to signify a failure to engage with the commercial supply chain. All while giving the commercial sector a pass. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.fareshare.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/More-Than-Meals-Exec-Summary-FINAL.pdf">Access to free or low cost surplus food</a> is a means for expanding tight organisational and household budgets, enabling community interactions, and enhancing personal and household well-being through social cooking and eating activities. It also brings people together. So what if we referred to surplus food as shared or social food? This language would reflect the social role this food plays and we would associate it more closely with the care of self, family, community and planet that this food enables.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90780/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Megan Blake received an ESRC-Impact Accelerator Award (R/145185) to work with Doncaster Metropolitan District Council to conduct community based research examining how food-using charities support resilience. Megan will soon be starting a research project examining good practice, organisational capability, distribution flows, and foods' affordances in the food-using charity sector. FareShare is a partner in this research. She also has been asked to comment on the end of year report for Community Shop. She is not an employee of either of these organisations, nor does she receive money for the work that she does with them.
Megan Blake is a steering group member of Good Food Doncaster, the Greater Manchester Food Poverty Action Group and the Sheffield Self-Organising Action for Food Equity (SAFE) group. </span></em></p>Food is just food … or is it?Megan Blake, Senior Lecturer in Geography, Director of the MA Food Security and Food Justice, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/747942017-03-22T14:02:23Z2017-03-22T14:02:23Z26 years ago the UK signed up to formula milk advertising rules – so why isn’t it law yet?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162007/original/image-20170322-31219-f4re2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Protecting children's health starts with curbing formula adverts.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/baby-bottle-boxes-infant-milk-381680932?src=Uvjq01ckbdCdF9iK97Gd8A-1-3">Kacenki/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Like the <a href="https://theconversation.com/mothers-are-made-to-feel-guilty-whether-they-breastfeed-or-formula-feed-their-baby-66101">topic of infant feeding</a> itself, public health bills can be a minefield. For each issue, there can be numerous pros, cons and opinions. And much like the debates that follow them, it is quite often that some go undiscussed by the mainstream media.</p>
<p>Ask any mum or dad and they will tell you that parenting media in the UK is <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/mother-tongue/11697178/Breastfeeding-Formula-industry-has-hijacked-breastfeeding-for-profit.html">flooded with</a> potentially <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1201307/Formula-milk-ad-banned-misleading-parents-immunity-boosting-claims.html">misleading</a> advertising for <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2016-11-16/debates/552A05C8-5D1C-4BDB-BB2A-03C37A034DD4/FeedingProductsForBabiesAndChildren(AdvertisingAndPromotion)">certain formula products</a>. </p>
<p>Many global health organisations state that babies should be breastfed <a href="http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/global_strategy_iycf/en/">exclusively for the first six months</a> of their lives. But for some mums that is not possible, either for their own health or other personal reasons. These mothers instead turn to “first infant formula” – for babies up to six months old – to feed their children.</p>
<p>The problem is that though the NHS tells mothers that babies who are fed first infant formula need <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/Pages/types-of-infant-formula.aspx">nothing more than that</a>, there is still a wide range of “follow on” formulas available for babies over six months old. The health service has a clear stance that this <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/Pages/types-of-infant-formula.aspx">variety is unnecessary</a>, saying outright that there is “<a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/Pages/types-of-infant-formula.aspx">no evidence</a>” that formulas marketed for “hungrier babies” make them sleep longer, for example.</p>
<p>So why do manufacturers make these products, and advertise their “health benefits” if children don’t need them? The current UK rules are that though follow-on formula milk can be promoted, manufacturers and sellers are <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/3521/contents/made">banned from advertising</a> “first infant formula”. <a href="http://www.babymilkaction.org/">Baby Milk Action</a>, the UK member of the <a href="http://www.ibfan.org/">Intentional Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN)</a>, has <a href="http://www.babymilkaction.org/ukrules-pt2a">highlighted</a> that these adverts encourage brand recognition and cross-promote products, including infant formula intended for use by newborns.</p>
<p>The UK government does not proactively monitor formula advertising for breaches, so infant formula companies, who profit when women do not breastfeed, regularly undermine breastfeeding by <a href="http://www.babymilkaction.org/monitoringuk17">breaching the code</a>. Price promotions and prominent displays have been placed at the point of sale, and advertisements and promotions suggest that infant formula <a href="http://www.which.co.uk/reviews/formula-milk/article/choosing-the-right-formula-milk/breastfeeding-vs-formula-milk">is comparable to breast milk</a> in terms of health and development. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162008/original/image-20170322-31176-1rdmano.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162008/original/image-20170322-31176-1rdmano.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162008/original/image-20170322-31176-1rdmano.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162008/original/image-20170322-31176-1rdmano.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162008/original/image-20170322-31176-1rdmano.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162008/original/image-20170322-31176-1rdmano.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162008/original/image-20170322-31176-1rdmano.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Supermarket aisles are stocked with formula options.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/toronto-canada-november-22-2014-baby-233666974?src=hu8qAJf1-RvRrOM0ZROsXw-1-6">ValeStock/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are now moves to change this, however. The <a href="http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2016-17/feedingproductsforbabiesandchildrenadvertisingandpromotion.html">Feeding Products for Babies and Children (Advertising and Promotion) Bill</a> passed through parliament <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-38000569">on its first reading</a> with unanimous support in November 2016 – though as yet it has not attracted the public attention that it should have. </p>
<p>If enacted, the bill would provide important provisions to protect the health of babies and children from corporate advertising, which the World Health Organisation <a href="http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/global_strategy_iycf/en/">identifies as a priority</a> for improving child health. It would bring into UK law <a href="http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/code_english.pdf">WHO provisions</a> on the marketing of infant formula which have been in place since 1981. Though the country is signed up to the code, until this bill arrived the government had not <a href="http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/206008/1/9789241565325_eng.pdf">fully legislated to implement it</a>.</p>
<p>The WHO code includes a ban on the promotion of formula, including through advertising, gifts directed towards mothers and health professionals, and at the point of sale. It also provides detailed guidance on appropriate packaging, for example restricting nutritional and health claims and images which idealise formula use. </p>
<h2>The follow-on fallacy</h2>
<p>The Formula Marketing Bill has long been needed, and is of vital importance to ensuring the health of both babies and mothers. However, 26 years after the WHO code was signed by the UK, it has taken a <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2016-11-16/debates/552A05C8-5D1C-4BDB-BB2A-03C37A034DD4/FeedingProductsForBabiesAndChildren(AdvertisingAndPromotion)">private members’ bill</a> to put this issue on parliament’s agenda – and even then its second reading has been delayed by a month already.</p>
<p>The provisions of the bill seek to establish a new infant and young child nutrition agency which would ensure that infant formula and packaging was regulated to optimise child health. This includes licensing feeding products suitable for children aged under 36 months, to prevent unnecessary ingredients being added, and to ensure that packaging does not undermine breastfeeding. Those who breach the law by selling unlicensed products could be fined or imprisoned for up to six months.</p>
<p>Other important clauses include one that would allow plain packaging of infant formula, and ban terms that <a href="http://www.babymilkaction.org/monitoringuk17">can confuse parents</a>, such as “follow-on milk”. These steps will help parents understand that the legally required recipe for infant formula results in minimal variation between brands, saving them money, and protecting them from unverifiable claims. Alongside this, the bill also seeks to comprehensively restrict other types of advertising and promotion of feeding products for babies and infants – for example, by restricting formula industry social media, parenting clubs and classes, and helplines.</p>
<p>We need to stop wasting time and make this bill law.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74794/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aimee Grant receives funding from the National Institute for Health Research, the Wellcome Trust ISSF Public Health Scheme and the Welsh Crucible Small Grant Scheme. She has also undertaken paid consultancy for Public Health Wales NHS Trust, where she previously held the role of Senior Health Promotion Practitioner. She is affiliated with the Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Wales Cymru research committee, where she previously held the role of Research and Policy Officer.</span></em></p>Parents need to know the truth about formula milk.Aimee Grant, Research Associate - infant feeding, smoking, stigma, class, identity, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/582392016-04-22T10:21:15Z2016-04-22T10:21:15ZMars makes bold food label move, but people may not do what it says on the tin<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119677/original/image-20160421-27019-y14tyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Quinoa, obviously. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/roeyahram/3208735470/in/photolist-5TxBgm-nAkhwY-6JZB6Z-5842QF-coTdzG-7yq2Gx-8X4jUb-5RAVj7-4xMVQG-jFJ8xi-9Eqx25-ebgHTP-HcH1r-dV4Ps9-5BKkCn-4yfR3R-7UHNqv-69npy-29GXhX-a55t3b-6io1bq-bE37qr-64TC2-5XPYSV-9n81y3-3aJeV6-5wrKY2-7jmJ7t-6WjTF5-br8k13-6jwq2B-4zLYzB-pVib7B-azscE5-bCdXQK-54ug3q-9vLQEn-eHkQBF-6K4GKy-qXTzV-6F1koS-edNBRD-5ww5rJ-3Pp453-6XbytL-8wc5u-bXzT1-Cj3tz-54CBAL-EVXTk">Roey Ahram</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The move by food group Mars <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/15/dolmio-eat-occasionally-labels-thought-to-pre-empt-childhood-obesity-plan">to introduce a worldwide labelling scheme</a> that categorises its products as “occasional” and “everyday” based on their sugar, salt and fat content, is both unusual and potentially risky. The American company is behind products including Uncle Ben’s rice and Dolmio pasta sauces, though the chocolate ranges it is also known for aren’t part of this new initiative.</p>
<p>The plan to label around 5% of the Mars <a href="http://www.mars.com/global/brands/food.aspx">mealtime products</a> as “occasional” may mean the public will perceive them to be unhealthy where they didn’t before. This could harm sales of certain Dolmio savoury sauces, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36051333">for example</a>, even though they are <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/who-else-is-saying-some-of-their-delicious-produce-should-be-eaten-only-once-a-week-a6986626.html">by no means</a> the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/36054494/six-everyday-things-with-more-sugar-than-dolmio-lasagne-sauce">least healthy</a> on the market. </p>
<p>Though Mars says it will reformulate the “occasional” products to make them healthier, I cannot think of another example of a company voluntarily introducing a labelling system that has the potential to reduce sales like this. Existing product labels are either the result of government diktat, such as <a href="http://www.ash.org.uk/current-policy-issues/harm-reduction-product-regulation/warning-labels">cigarette health warnings</a> or the UK’s nutritional <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/news/2013/06June/Pages/universal-colour-coded-food-nutrition-labels.aspx">traffic-light packaging</a> – or they are used to advertise a positive quality, <a href="http://industry.freedomfood.co.uk/rspca-welfare-standards">such as welfare standards for meat</a> or <a href="https://www.msc.org/">fish</a>. </p>
<p>This being the case, how big a risk is Mars really taking here? Do people pay attention to the labelling on packaging? And will they trust or respond to Mars’s new system more than any other food labels?</p>
<h2>What the surveys say …</h2>
<p>The jury is still out, is the short answer. In the UK, the market-research group Mintel <a href="http://www.foodnavigator.com/Market-Trends/Half-of-UK-consumers-do-not-trust-the-food-industry-on-safety-Mintel">reported</a> in 2013 that only 49% of consumers trusted manufacturers to provide safe food; while DJS Research in 2015 <a href="http://www.djsresearch.co.uk/FoodMarketResearchInsightsAndFindings/article/Survey-finds-Britons-want-more-information-on-food-labels-02392">found that</a> 47% of UK consumers wanted companies to put more information on food packaging. Another 44% said they would trust manufacturers more if they supplied more information. </p>
<p>This may be at odds with a <a href="http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/press-room/2012/fifty-nine-percent-of-consumers-around-the-world-indicate-diffic.html">worldwide survey</a> of consumers by the Nielsen agency in 2012, which found that 80% see assertions on labels as sometimes or never believable. </p>
<p>An American survey of 1,500 people by the advertising agency Sullivan, Higdon and Sink pointed to some moderately better news for Mars. It <a href="http://www.hoards.com/sites/default/files/Evolving-TrustInFoodIndustry.pdf">found that</a> Americans’ trust in food manufacturers’ transparency about how they made their products had climbed from 17% in 2012 to 34% in 2015 – albeit this still meant the majority of people didn’t trust them. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Manufacturers/Why-don-t-consumers-trust-big-food-asks-Center-for-Food-Integrity">survey of more than 2,000 Americans</a> in 2015 by the industry-funded <a href="http://www.foodintegrity.org">Center for Food Integrity</a>, meanwhile, reported an inverse relationship between the size of a commercial farm and the extent to which consumers think they have values in common. The bigger the farm, in other words, the more people perceive it to be putting profits ahead of consumer interests. It seems likely that the same would apply to food manufacturers. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119709/original/image-20160421-26983-sgnvsa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119709/original/image-20160421-26983-sgnvsa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119709/original/image-20160421-26983-sgnvsa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119709/original/image-20160421-26983-sgnvsa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119709/original/image-20160421-26983-sgnvsa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119709/original/image-20160421-26983-sgnvsa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119709/original/image-20160421-26983-sgnvsa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119709/original/image-20160421-26983-sgnvsa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Saucey.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mars Food</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Enough already?</h2>
<p>Another issue is whether Mars’s proposal to categorise products as “occasional” or “everyday” is precise or clear enough. The company <a href="http://www.mars.com/uk/en/press-center/press-list/news-releases.aspx?SiteId=94&Id=7115">suggests that</a> “occasional” means you should only eat it once a week. But do people follow this kind of broad-brush messaging?</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119681/original/image-20160421-27001-1gi67hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119681/original/image-20160421-27001-1gi67hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119681/original/image-20160421-27001-1gi67hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=778&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119681/original/image-20160421-27001-1gi67hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=778&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119681/original/image-20160421-27001-1gi67hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=778&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119681/original/image-20160421-27001-1gi67hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=978&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119681/original/image-20160421-27001-1gi67hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=978&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119681/original/image-20160421-27001-1gi67hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=978&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">And breathe out …</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/s/cigarette+warning/search.html?page=2&thumb_size=mosaic&inline=263758799">Nuttapong</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The UK government’s “five-a-day” message about fruit and vegetables is <a href="http://www.immediate.co.uk/news/brand/nearly-two-thirds-of-population-do-not-eat-5-a-day-indicates-bbc-good-food-study/">not followed</a> by two-thirds of the UK population. A message that can be tested over a longer period is cigarette packaging warnings, which <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4377928.stm">date back</a> to the 1970s, though these came at the same time as other anti-smoking initiatives. <a href="http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/15/suppl_3/iii19.short">One survey</a> of consumers in the UK, US, Canada and Australia by International Tobacco Control in 2005 found that people who noticed the warnings were more likely to believe they were true. Yet after decades of warnings, most smokers were still not fully informed about the risks of smoking. </p>
<p>As far as Mars is concerned, there is also the question of how the “occasional” message is interpreted. It will be interesting to see whether it is taken to mean, “eat once a week or less”, which is the spirit of the message, or “I can eat this every week”. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119683/original/image-20160421-27001-1601gm1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119683/original/image-20160421-27001-1601gm1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119683/original/image-20160421-27001-1601gm1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119683/original/image-20160421-27001-1601gm1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119683/original/image-20160421-27001-1601gm1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119683/original/image-20160421-27001-1601gm1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119683/original/image-20160421-27001-1601gm1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119683/original/image-20160421-27001-1601gm1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mars Inc</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Past consumer surveys suggest Mars may not be trusted due to its size, albeit its attempt at transparency might act in its favour. It is possible that the messages will prompt consumers to eat more healthily, but don’t be surprised if most carry on regardless. No doubt Mars’s rivals will be watching with interest to see what happens. As for the Mars Bar, it has stayed mostly out of the limelight since the initiative was announced. Whether this can continue, time will tell. Where once the company told us that “a Mars a day helps you work, rest and play”, there now seems to be a strong argument for moving the flagship chocolate bar into the “occasional” category.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58239/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Norman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There is a curious paradox at the heart of the food group’s new nutrition scheme: the less consumers trust Big Food, the less attention they will pay to the labels.Rachel Norman, Chair of Food Security and Sustainability, University of StirlingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/547832016-03-03T11:13:04Z2016-03-03T11:13:04ZHow to defuse the Easter egg ‘arms race’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111531/original/image-20160215-22573-1hulybe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/47515486@N05/13922046882/">Helfin Owen</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>How do we stop the “arms race” in Easter egg packaging? Every year, supermarket shelves fill with garish, unnecessarily big boxes to exploit our shallow desires for the fanciest-looking chocolate eggs.</p>
<p>The bigger the front face of the packaging, the more attractive it is, the more shelf appeal it has, and the more likely it is you’ll buy it. But more packaging also means more plastic, cardboard, energy – and waste afterwards.</p>
<p>It’s big business. Every year, more than <a href="https://www.cadburyworld.co.uk/schoolandgroups/%7E/media/CadburyWorld/en/Files/Pdf/factsheet-easterbrands">80m boxed chocolate eggs</a> are sold in the UK alone, leading to around <a href="http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/food-and-drink/easter-scotland-and-the-north-set-to-be-the-biggest-chocolate-indulgers">£250m in sales</a>.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, food and drink packaging continues to cause environmental problems. Packaging uses resources and generates waste. The weight of food and drink packaging per person has not declined in the UK since figures were first generated in 1998 and 3% of the total environmental footprint of British households, measured by energy, still comes from <a href="http://incpen.org/docs/PackFacts%202011%20August.pdf">packaging</a>. </p>
<p>Faced with public concern in 2008, confectionery manufacturers made some progress in 2009 towards <a href="http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Info%20sheet%20Easter%20eggs%20Jan%2011%20final.pdf">reducing Easter egg packaging</a> but progress since then has not been tracked and manufacturers still seem to be locked into unnecessarily large, eye catching packaging. Sweets are usually an impulse or gift purchase, and sales are still largely driven by what they look like. Two identically-sized chocolate eggs will vary in how well they sell: the one with a larger shelf “facing” will tend to generate more sales simply because of its increased eye appeal. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111536/original/image-20160215-22560-1xufchg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111536/original/image-20160215-22560-1xufchg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111536/original/image-20160215-22560-1xufchg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111536/original/image-20160215-22560-1xufchg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111536/original/image-20160215-22560-1xufchg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111536/original/image-20160215-22560-1xufchg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111536/original/image-20160215-22560-1xufchg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111536/original/image-20160215-22560-1xufchg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Competition for shelf space means each package is as wide as possible.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/raver_mikey/12331235245/">Mikey</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The result is that Easter egg manufacturers and retailers are in an “arms race”, a race that demands eggs take up more and more space on the shelf. Each larger package means fewer individual units can be displayed in the same shelf space, leading to lower sales, which then requires higher profit margins to create the same revenue … and so on. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, confectionery manufacturers fear that discussing the problem between themselves and agreeing standards will be seen as restricting competition and they don’t want to fall foul of competition law. Buyers at the big supermarkets are in the same situation; they can’t talk to their confectionery suppliers unilaterally because they’d lose sales, but they can’t talk to suppliers collectively because they fear the wrath of competition law.</p>
<p>Of course, Easter eggs need protecting. They’re only fragile shells of chocolate, after all, and poor packaging would arguably mean greater waste from damaged goods that have to be thrown away. </p>
<p>The challenge is to design gift packaging that uses as little material as possible – without limiting the egg’s “standout” on the shelf. Resizing primary packaging (the part that shoppers see) would reduce the cost of cartons and transport costs for the manufacturers; no one wants to pay for a lot of empty space surrounded by an attractive box. Retailers don’t really want to use precious shelf space on cartons containing lots of fresh air either. And smaller packs would also reduce the amount of waste we have to throw away or try to recycle from our homes. </p>
<p>Manufacturers of detergents, deodorants and <a href="http://www.fdf.org.uk/environment_progress_report.aspx">food and drink</a> have all seen the environmental benefits of cutting back on unnecessary packaging. But Easter eggs are bought almost entirely as gifts – looks are all-important, and size matters.</p>
<p>Big British-based manufacturers have drawn up a <a href="http://www.incpen.org/docs/CodeofPractice.pdf">Code of Practice for responsible packaging</a>. It requires honesty. Manufacturers adopting this code no longer use packages with “double walls”, for instance, since any hollow space between the walls can mislead customers. However, this same code sets out the <a href="http://www.incpen.org/docs/CodeofPractice.pdf">gifting dilemma</a>, too: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>When a product is conceived as a gift or luxury item, it is recognised that the packaging will reflect the presentational nature of the product and may be more elaborate than functionally necessary, but this does not mean that it should be excessive.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A simple rule on the ratio of packaging to product could change the way the system works without any one supplier or retailer disadvantaging themselves against their competition. This sort of rule would mean less packaging, lower transport costs, less waste and retailers would be able to sell more per unit of shelf space. Consumers would also be more confident that they won’t be disappointed when they open up their Easter egg.</p>
<p>It’s an example of how government regulations can be good both for businesses and consumers. What we suggest for Easter eggs has echoes elsewhere, from the changes in supermarket refrigeration displays to reduce energy consumption, to the call from businesses for a carbon price and clear consistent regulation from the recent climate change COP in Paris. Sensible regulation has worked elsewhere – and not all regulation is bad.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54783/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Morgan works as a consultant on consumer issues, though her work is not related to this article.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alice Owen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Because chocolate gifts need their glasnost too.Elizabeth Morgan, PhD Researcher, Sustainable Consumption, University of LeedsAlice Owen, Associate Professor in Business Sustainability, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/402332015-09-20T20:11:12Z2015-09-20T20:11:12ZBeware the multipack: it may hinder rather than help your diet<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94105/original/image-20150908-24380-1o0f37f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Smaller portion sizes can help decrease food intake, but multipack options don't. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sshb/4608628204/">Scorpions and Centaurs/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Offering smaller portions is one way of encouraging people <a href="http://theconversation.com/health-check-do-bigger-portion-sizes-make-you-eat-more-23193">to eat less</a>. But while a single, smaller portion does lead to less consumption, having multiple smaller portions on offer can encourage some people - notably the diet-conscious - <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167811615000361">to eat more</a>.</p>
<p>Based on evidence that portion sizes have been growing since the 1970s, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447051/">some researchers have speculated</a> that this is the cause for obesity’s increasing prevalence. But correlation doesn’t equal causation. Since the 1970s, our <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2996155/">lifestyles have also become very much more sedentary</a>. The rise in obesity is probably a function of what we eat as well as how active we are. </p>
<h2>Shrinking portion sizes</h2>
<p>Nonetheless, controlling portion sizes can at least help. We have <a href="http://journals.ama.org/doi/abs/10.1509/jm.12.0303">compelling evidence</a> that smaller portions lead people to consume less, for instance. Encouragingly, a number of longer-term studies show that smaller portions have led people to <a href="http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v38/n1s/full/ijo201482a.html">lose weight</a>.</p>
<p>The power of smaller portions has encouraged at least some public health agencies to actively promote related ideas, such as <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/loseweight/pages/surprising-100-calorie-snacks.aspx">100-calorie snacks</a>. And a <a href="http://ausfoodnews.com.au/2010/12/15/portion-sizes-are-the-new-2011-eating-trend-in-australia.html">willingness by customers to choose smaller portions</a> has encouraged food manufacturers to respond by <a href="http://www.preventativehealth.org.au/internet/preventativehealth/publishing.nsf/Content/CCD7323311E358BECA2575FD000859E1/$File/nphs-roadmap.pdf">providing them</a>.</p>
<p>Coca-Cola, for instance added a <a href="http://www.coca-colajourney.com.au/our-commitments-to-help-address-obesity/our-ongoing-commitments-to-help-address-obesity">250-millilitre can</a> to its range last year and already has 200mL mini-can multipacks. But smaller portions and multipacks are distinct packaging formats with subtle but important effects. </p>
<p>A number of other food companies have introduced large packs partitioned into <a href="http://snackbrands.com.au/Multipacks">multiple, smaller “snack-size” packs</a>. The presumption is that partitioning a larger portion into smaller portions will encourage people to eat less in line with <a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-do-bigger-portion-sizes-make-you-eat-more-23193">the portion-size effect</a>. </p>
<p>But research shows providing multiple smaller packs leads to a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167811615000361">paradoxical effect among the diet-conscious</a>. They tend to eat <em>more</em> when offered multiple smaller packs.</p>
<p>In 2008, two independent research teams showed that when participants in lab studies were provided with multiple packs <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080822160345.htm">of M&Ms or cookies</a> or <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080822160351.htm">chips</a>, people who identified as diet-conscious tended to eat more than people presented with the same quantity in one single, unpartitioned pack. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94080/original/image-20150908-1996-ftn8ig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94080/original/image-20150908-1996-ftn8ig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94080/original/image-20150908-1996-ftn8ig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94080/original/image-20150908-1996-ftn8ig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94080/original/image-20150908-1996-ftn8ig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94080/original/image-20150908-1996-ftn8ig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94080/original/image-20150908-1996-ftn8ig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Smaller packets can ‘trick’ some people into eating more.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeepersmedia/13976716588/">Mike Mozart/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But the results from the three studies (two from one team, one from the other) were equivocal. While partitioning reduced consumption among non-diet-conscious people across all three studies, the difference was statistically significant in <a href="http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.1086/591103?uid=3737536&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21106599715033">just one</a>. Partitioning also increased consumption among the diet-conscious in all three studies, but again the effect was significant in <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/589564?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">just one</a>.</p>
<h2>Mind what you eat</h2>
<p>We conducted additional research replicating key elements of the previous three studies. We then combined our study with the previous published studies in <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167811615000361">a meta-analysis</a>. This confirmed the operation of two opposing effects: partitioning reduces consumption among the non-diet-conscious, but increases consumption among the diet-conscious. </p>
<p>But does the effect work beyond the artificial setting of the laboratory? One striking feature of all the studies showing this contradictory partitioning effect was that participants were blind to the fact that their food consumption was being monitored. They were actively engaged in another study (completing a questionnaire, or evaluating advertisements), with the snacks being offered as an incidental treat.</p>
<p>To examine the importance of participant awareness, <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167811615000361">we did another study</a> examining an additional sample of diet-conscious participants who were explicitly told they would have to provide an evaluation of the snacks afterwards. They no longer ate more.</p>
<p>It appears that the partitioning effect is sensitive to whether people are aware that their consumption is being monitored. This finding is consistent with a <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26178730">recent meta-analysis</a> showing consumption is generally reduced when people are aware they’re participating in a food study.</p>
<p>Smaller portions do appear to help reduce consumption, but people who are diet-conscious, those who are watchful of their weight and what they eat, ought to be careful about multipacks containing multiple smaller portions. This packaging format seems to encourage them to eat more.</p>
<p>The effect of multipacks fits with other research showing the way food is presented can unconsciously affect consumption. If you serve the same amount of food on a small plate, for instance, it may look bigger and lead <a href="http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/meeting_abstract/20/4/A618-c">people to eat less</a>. And tall, thin glasses look bigger than small, squat ones with an equivalent volume; they encourage people to <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/331/7531/1512">serve and drink less</a>.</p>
<p>The key is to <a href="https://theconversation.com/use-your-illusion-how-to-trick-yourself-and-others-into-eating-less-31304">trick the mind into eating less</a>. As eating behaviour scientist Brian Wansink says in his book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mindless-Eating-More-Than-Think/dp/0345526880">Mindless Eating</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The best diet is one you don’t know you’re on. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>If you are diet-conscious and intending to buy snacks, you’re better off buying large, unpartitioned packages, or a single small pack. But the best option would be not to buy the snacks at all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40233/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While a single, smaller portion leads people to eat less, having multiple smaller portions on offer appears to lead some people - notably the diet-conscious - to eat more.Stephen S Holden, Honorary Associate Professor, Macquarie Graduate School of ManagementNatalina Zlatevska, Assistant Professor, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.