Photo by Ivan Dostál on Unsplash

Photo by Ivan Dostál on Unsplash

Why is Choosing Food with Little or No Packaging,  Especially Plastic Important for the Health of the Planet ?


The world keeps generating more and more rubbish. We live in a throw-away society and we're paying the price; we don't know what to do with all our waste. So much of our food packaging is ending up in landfills. Landfill sites are partially responsible for global warming as they generate and release biogas into the atmosphere. Biogas is a mixture formed primarily of methane gas (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂), two of the gases that cause climate change and an increase in the planet's temperature. According to the ISWA report, if the current situation continues and we do not take action, landfill sites will account for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. Additionally, landfills have negative effects on biodiversity, groundwater and soil fertility. 

Plastic packaging is of particular concern for the health of the planet. The world's growing production of plastics - about 100 million tonnes annually - is accelerating climate change. Plastic is one of the most persistent pollutants on Earth. At every step in its lifecycle, even long after it has been discarded, plastic creates greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to the warming of our world. By 2050, it  is expected that plastic production will be responsible for up to 13% of our planet's total carbon budget.  Almost all plastic is derived from materials (like ethylene and propylene) made from fossil fuels (mostly oil and gas). The process of extracting and transporting those fuels, then manufacturing plastic creates billions of tonnes of greenhouse gases. 

It takes 450-1,000 years for plastic to degrade. Plastic is clogging landfill sites and threatening our oceans and marine life. Only about 9% of the world’s plastic has been recycled (That's because the recycling systems that we currently have in place are insufficient to account for the high amounts of plastic being used worldwide), 12% has been incinerated (polluting the air with toxic gases), and the remaining 79%, remains in the environment.The harsh reality is that even if we're diligent about recycling, a huge amount of plastics are ending up in our oceans—and are ingested by the animals who reside in them.  Recent figures suggest that 8 million pieces of plastic are entering oceans around the world every day. This is directly linked to the deaths of 1 million seabirds every year.

If our plastic use continues as it has in recent years. By 2050, 12 billion tonnes of plastic waste will be in our landfills and natural environment. This will most certainly threaten more of our wildlife and potentially human health. 

Learn  more about the issue of excess waste and landfills at active sustainability and sciencing.com.  

Find out more about the environmental impacts of plastic packaging on the BBC website. 





 

How Can you Reduce your Excess Packaging and Plastic Consumption ?


With a little bit of effort reducing our personal plastic usage isn’t that difficult – start with one plastic free swap and go from there. Every little bit counts!

Here are some ways you can reduce the amount of produce you purchase with plastic packaging: 


  1. Bring a reusable-bag when you shop, opt for packaging-free fruit and vegetables where possible, and ask brands and retailers that continue to use plastic to find alternatives.

  2. Shop in refill stores where produce is sold free of plastic. 

  3. Take empty tubs to the supermarket or butchers  for meat and cheese from the deli counter (rather than pre-packaged) as well as to farmers markets. 

  4. Opt for products sold in glass metal, cardboard or compostable containers rather than plastic ones. 

  5. Choose to reuse – opt for reusable bottles and shopping bags.

  6. Shop for produce at a farmers market when possible. 

  7. Carry reusable items with you, like utensils, to avoid the use of “disposable” plastics.

  8. Use a reusable water bottle, Reject bottled water in restaurants, Keep a large bottle of tap water in your car for emergencies.

  9. Bring a travel mug with you to the coffee shop to reduce lids and plastic cups.

  10.  Recycle any packaging you do use.



Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash