Yana 2021-02-08
- How much of these foods come in different types of packaging?
There is so much different packing like glass, metal, paper, board, ceramic, cans, and rigid plastic. But what percentage of food packaging is plastic? EPA estimated 14.5 million tons of plastic containers and packaging were produced in 2018. Plastic packaging as a category in this analysis does NOT include single plates and cups, and trash bags. This was in 2018 this number has grown way more past these years.
- What kind of packaging materials are usually used (Styrofoam, cardboard, plastic, bags, boxes, etc.)?
Paperboard and fiberboard are most used in primary packaging for companies. Paperboard is mostly used for, drink cartons, dry and frozen food boxes and much more. High density polyethylene are more rigid plastics. Most are used for packaging Soda’s, water Jugs, etc. Low density polyethylene is used for flexible packaging, it is low density and is used to make a variation of bags, films, and flexible tubing for packages. Polyethylene is used in the packaging industry for stretch wrap. Aluminum packaging is most recognized as cans and containers. Foil packaging is used for food beverages in cosmetics. The foil protects the products from moisture sunlight and other external Elements. Finally, glass makes up a large portion of the market. Glass is preferred by most companies because it is 100% recyclable and very common when using containers.
- Why do you think that all these materials were chosen specifically for the products purchased?
Packaging is specifically chosen so the item can be kept longer and to look presentable. For example, for food, the food needs to be packaging in certain material so the food to be kept longer so it will not go bad.
- How is packaging both positive and negative for the consumer (the person using it)?
Packaging can be good for the consumer so they can keep it in the freezer before it goes bad. It helps store the food for an amount of time. Bad things about packaging may be harmful to human health. People who eat packaged or processed food are more likely to get exposed to the chemicals.
- What happens to these packaging materials once we have eaten the food inside?
Some garbage gets shipped out to companies to reuse and decompose it. After that, all the garbage gets sorted out. Then the garbage gets shredded into fist sized particles then to 1-12mm sized particles, the smaller the garbage is the easier for separation and processing. But not all garbage ends up in the dumpster and even if it does some is still left in parks, oceans, sidewalks, everywhere!
- Where is the packaging waste after one day? One year? One hundred years?
On the first day it might be in your garbage can or dumpster. After a year it may be in a factory, already recycled or in a landfill. After one hundred years it can be anywhere. It could be in the ocean, land fills, in parks, beaches or it could have been recycled already.
- What happens to the food waste?
Most food goes to a landfill, where it their rots and releases methane, damaging the green house gases. Uneaten food may get thrown around by birds and will start to mold. Throwing out food is a huge waste of packaging and much more.
- Provide 3-4 suggestions for ways that consumers can decrease the amount of waste we create.
Do not buy more food than what you need. Think about bringing your own bags to the store instead of using plastic ones. If you have leftover food donate or give it to someone who wants it or needs it. If you are ordering out to eat, you can ask to put it all onto one plate. That way you are saving a ton of packaging and the big plate can be used many times before recycling.