Defra reports indicate that 10.8 million tonnes of packaging are disposed of in the UK every year making the food industry’s commitment to reducing this figure highly commendable. Some 53 of the country’s major brands and retailers have signed up to the government waste reduction plan, The Courtauld Commitment, and many go further by having their own specific policies, which in some cases set even higher targets
There are the obvious ecological benefits of meeting these goals; lowered volume to landfill and reduced use of raw materials to produce packaging to name but two. Within the fresh produce industry there are also the benefits to the consumer, as many find the wrapping of products traditionally sold loose frustrating, but on the whole these initiatives are not looking to do away with packaging completely, just reduce it as much as feasibly possible.
However, when one considers that fruit and vegetables make up 25 per cent of the weight of food thrown away in this country’s households, it is important not to dismiss what packaging can do to lower this figure. Within the supply chain it ensures that 97 per cent of food reaches us in good condition, which is startling contrast to developing countries where it is thought that half of food perishes or is damaged before it can reach the end consumer. Despite the crucial role that packaging plays, the widely held perception is that packaging waste is a much more significant problem than food waste, because it is thought that the natural decomposition of food means that it has a lower carbon footprint. In reality food manufacture requires ten times more resources than that of packaging and by weight it only makes up five per cent of current UK landfill. Also, when M&S asked their customers which product groups were most over packaged produce came second to organics, but in actual fact produce packaging ranks in the bottom five of M&S product groups by packaging tonnage.
M&S represent an example of a high end example of retailer that is keen to build a reputation based on environmental ideals, so it was also important to include information from the much bigger market leader, Tesco. Interestingly, Tesco referred to the rate of food lost in the supply chain in developing countries where packaging is not so widely or well used and compared this to the UK where only three per cent is lost in the same way (Tesco, 2012). Tesco are clear that they are reducing waste where possible, and no material from their stores are sent to landfill, yet the highlight the importance of packaging in bringing food safely and effectively to the customer.
Countering many of the packaging waste reduction articles are those written by the organisation Incpen. Several articles on their website were of use, and the article Packaging's role in preventing food waste not recognised focused not only on the tonnage of food and packaging waste, but also the resources that go into producing them. Startlingly, ten times more resources go into wasted food than go into to packaging. This evidence again supported the continued and future use of packaging in reducing food waste.
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