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In the 21st century, plastic food packaging has significantly impacted our lives. Your typical grocery run includes buying cheese slices securely packed, ground meat hygienically sealed, and green salads kept fresh in containers. Today, we're unraveling the world of plastic food packaging, its types, benefits, and how it aligns with sustainability efforts amidst environmental concerns.
So whether you're planning to launch a food business or a consumer curious about what preserves your food's freshness, this is your go-to comprehensive guide that will reveal why plastic food packaging is much more than just a way to tote your groceries home. Get ready to have your perception of plastic packaging transformed!
Plastic food packaging has revolutionized how we store and transport our food, providing numerous benefits catering to producers and consumers. Several key highlights make plastic food packaging a popular choice in the industry.
Plastic food packaging boasts several advantages that have contributed to its widespread use in the industry.
The versatility of plastic food packaging makes it an essential component across numerous industries due to its suitability for a wide range of products.
Regarding plastic food packaging, health considerations and safety measures are paramount. While plastic packaging offers numerous benefits in preserving and protecting food, it is essential to understand the potential risks associated with certain types of plastics.
One key concern is the migration of chemicals from the plastic into the food, especially when exposed to heat or acidic conditions. To ensure the safety of plastic food packaging, regulatory agencies have established strict guidelines and standards that manufacturers must adhere to. These regulations aim to limit the migration of harmful substances and ensure that plastic packaging is safe for use with food.
Consumers must know these health considerations and make informed choices when selecting plastic food packaging. Reading labels and looking for certifications can help identify products that meet safety standards.
From bottles to containers to clamshells, a wide range of options are designed to fulfill different needs.
Plastic bottles are commonly used for beverages such as water, soft drinks, juices, and sauces. They come in various sizes and shapes, ensuring convenience for both manufacturers and consumers. Plastic containers provide storage solutions for various food items, including snacks, dairy products, condiments, and leftovers. These containers often have secure lids or closures to maintain freshness and prevent leaks.
Plastic food packaging, bottles, containers, and clamshells play a crucial role in storing and preserving various foods. Plastic bottles are commonly used for beverages, condiments, and sauces, providing durability and preventing leakage. Containers come in different shapes and sizes, catering to consumers who prefer pre-portioned meals or those who like to store leftovers. Clamshells, with their hinged lid design, are particularly popular for packaging produce, such as lettuce or berries, as they maintain the right humidity levels to prevent wilting or spoilage.
Overall, bottles, containers, and clamshells provide practical solutions for consumers and businesses regarding storage, transportation, and presentation of food items.
In today's fast-paced world, convenience is key when preparing and storing meals. That's why microwave and freezer-compatible plastics have gained popularity in the food industry. These plastics are designed to withstand extreme temperatures without warping or releasing harmful chemicals into the food.
Plastic containers labeled "microwave safe" can be safely heated in microwave ovens without compromising the container's integrity or causing health hazards. They allow for quick reheating or defrosting of meals without transferring them to separate microwave-safe dishes.
Similarly, "freezer-safe" plastics are engineered to resist low temperatures without becoming brittle or cracking. These containers are ideal for storing leftover meals in the freezer or freezing batch-cooked meals for future use. They play a significant role in preventing freezer burn and maintaining the quality of frozen food items.
While microwave and freezer-compatible plastics provide convenience, it's important to follow proper usage guidelines provided by the manufacturer. Not all plastics are suitable for microwave or freezer use, so always check for labels indicating compatibility with these specific environments. Ensuring that you're using the appropriate plastics can help you enjoy the benefits of convenience without compromising safety or quality.
Plastic food packaging has undeniably transformed how we store, transport, and consume food. However, it is crucial to acknowledge its environmental footprint. The production and disposal of plastic packaging contribute to pollution and waste accumulation.
With increasing environmental concerns, a growing demand for sustainable alternatives to traditional plastic packaging has been growing. Various materials have emerged as more environmentally friendly options:
While these sustainable alternatives present promising solutions, it is essential to consider their specific characteristics and limitations. Each material has benefits and drawbacks, requiring users to evaluate their unique needs and priorities.
Plastic packaging allows us to protect, preserve, store and transport products in a variety of ways.
Without plastic packaging, a great deal of products that consumers purchase would not make the journey to the home or store, or survive in good condition long enough to be consumed or used.
Contents
1 Why Use Plastics Packaging
2 Pack For All Seasons
2.1 Examples of Packaging
3 Contribution to Sustainable Development
3.1 Plastics packaging saves energy
3.2 Plastics packaging is an optimal use of resources
3.3 Plastics packaging prevents food waste
3.4 Plastics packaging: continuous improvements through innovation
4 Plastics Packaging Means Low Environmental Impacts
4.1 Oil and gas in context – carbon savings with plastics packaging
4.2 Re-usable plastics packaging
4.3 A strong recycling record
4.4 Energy from waste
5 Find a Packaging Supplier
5.1 Find a Supplier Form
5.2 BPF Packaging Group Guide
Above all, plastics are used because of the unique combination of benefits they offer;
Durability: The long polymer chains which constitute the plastics raw material make it extraordinarily difficult to break.
Safety: Plastics packaging is shatterproof and does not fragment into dangerous shards when dropped. For more information on the safety of plastic packaging, as well as its safety in contact with food, visit plastic packaging safety.
Hygiene: Plastics packaging is ideal for the packaging of foodstuffs, medicines and pharmaceuticals. It can be filled and sealed without human intervention. The materials used, both plastics raw materials and additives, fulfill all food safety legislation at national and European Union levels. Plastics products are customarily used as medical devices in intimate contact with body tissue and conform to the highest standards of safety in their life-saving uses.
Security: Plastics packaging can be produced and used with tamper-evident and child resistant closures. The transparency of the pack enables users to examine the condition of the goods prior to purchase.
Light Weight: Plastics packaging items are low in weight but high in strength. Hence products packed in plastics are easy to lift and handle by consumers and by personnel in the distribution chain.
Design Freedom: The properties of the materials combined with the array of processing technologies employed in the industry, ranging from injection and blow moulding to thermoforming, enable the production of an infinite number of pack shapes and configurations. Additionally the extensive range of colouring possibilities and the ease of printing and decoration facilitate brand identification and information for the consumer.
For more information on the reasons why plastic packaging is used
The nature of plastics technology with its wide variety of raw materials and processing techniques permits the manufacture of packaging in an infinite variety of shapes, colours and technical properties. Practically anything can be packed in plastics - liquids, powders, solids and semi-solids.
2.1 Some examples of plastics packaging:
Bottles
Bulk Containers
Pails
Pots
Returnable Transit Packaging
Trays
3.1 Plastics packaging saves energy
Because it is lightweight plastics packaging can save energy in the transport of packed goods. Less fuel is used, there are lower emissions and, additionally, there are cost savings for distributors, retailers and consumers.
A yogurt pot made from glass weighs about 85grams, while one made from plastics only weighs 5.5grams. In a lorry filled with a product packed in glass jars 36% of the load would be accounted for by the packaging. If packed in plastic pouches the packaging would amount to just 3.56%. To transport the same amount of yogurt three trucks are needed for glass pots, but only two for plastic pots .
3.2 Plastics packaging is an optimal use of resources
Because of the high strength / weight ratio of plastics packaging it is possible to pack a given volume of product with plastics rather than with traditional materials.
It has been shown that if there was no plastics packaging available to society and there was necessary recourse to other materials overall packaging consumption of packaging mass, energy and GHG emissions would increase.
Source: PlasticsEurope
(GHG – Greenhouse gas)
3.3 Plastics packaging prevents food waste
Almost 50% of the total amount of food thrown away in the UK comes from our homes. We throw away 7.2 million tonnes of food and drink from our homes every year in the UK, and more than half of this is food and drink we could have eaten. Wasting this food costs the average household £480 a year, rising to £680 for a family with children, the equivalent of around £50 a month.
The durability and sealability of plastics packaging protects goods from deterioration and increases shelf life. With modified atmosphere packaging made from plastics, shelf life can be increased from 5 to 10 days, allowing food loss in stores to be reduced from 16% to 4%.
Traditionally grapes were sold in loose bunches. Grapes are now sold in sealed trays so that the loose ones stay with the bunch. This has reduced waste in stores typically by over 20%.
3.4 Plastics packaging: continuous improvements through innovation
There is a strong record of innovation in the UK‘s plastics packaging industry.
Technical advances and design flair have reduced the quantity of plastics packaging needed to pack a given quantity of product over time without sacrificing the pack’s strength or durability. For example a 1 litre plastic detergent bottle which weighed 120gms in 1970 now just weighs 43gms, a 64% reduction.
Society’s consumption levels rose by 20% between 1999 and 2004. However the use of plastics packaging only rose by 4% .
For more information on the the environmental impact of plastic packaging
4.1 Oil and gas in context – carbon savings with plastics packaging
Plastics packaging is estimated to account for just 1.5% of oil and gas use, the BPF estimate. The chemical building blocks for plastics raw materials are derived from by- products of the refining process which originally would have had no other uses.
Whilst the vast majority of oil and gas is consumed in transport and heating , the usefulness of that used for plastics manufacture is extended by the recyclability of plastics and the potential for recovering its energy content at the end of its life in waste to energy plants.
A 2004 study in Canada showed that to replace plastic packaging with alternative materials involve the consumption of 582 million gigajoules more energy and would create 43 million tonnes of additional CO2 emissions. The energy saved each year by using plastics packaging is equivalent to 101.3 million barrels of oil or the amount of CO2 produced by 12.3 million passenger cars.
4.2 Re-usable plastics packaging
Many types of plastics packaging are long – life artifacts. Returnable crates, for example, have life spans of over 25 years or more and re-usable bags are playing a greater role in responsible retailing.
4.3 A strong recycling record
Plastics packaging is eminently recyclable and a growing range of plastics packaging incorporates recyclate. EU legislation now permits the use of plastics recyclate in new packaging intended for food stuffs.
In June 2011 the Government Advisory Committee on Packaging (ACP) announced that in 2010/11 24.1% of all plastics packaging was recycled in the UK and this achievement exceeded the target figure of 22.5% stated by the government. The UK plastics recycling industry is one of the most dynamic in the EU with some 40 companies constituting the BPF’s Recycling Group.
Recycling 1 tonne of plastic bottles saves 1.5 tonnes of carbon and one plastic bottle saves enough energy to run a 60 watt light bulb for 6 hours .
4.4 Energy from waste
Plastics packaging can be recycled six or more times before its properties are weakened. At the end of its life plastics packaging can be submitted to energy from waste schemes. Plastics have a high calorific value. A mixed basket of plastics products made from Polyethylene and Polyproplylene, for example, would, at 45 MJ/kg, have a much greater net caloric value than coal at 25 MJ/kg.
5.1 Find a Supplier (form)
Please complete the online form below. Once the form has been submitted, your enquiry will then be posted onto the BPF password protected members area so the relevant companies can contact you directly.
If you do not wish to appear in the secure members’ area, please complete the online form here.
Fill out my online form
5.2 BPF Packaging Group Guide
The BPF's Packaging Group is made up of over 80 companies supplying plastic packaging products, including blow moulding, thermoforming and film. The guide below gives details of all members of the Group.
Click here to get more.
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