Less Food Waste, More Plastic Waste?
About this Article
Lines of Inquiry
- How food loss and food waste happen at different points in the food system.
- How packaging can reduce damage or spoilage while creating material waste of its own.
- Why evaluating food packaging requires comparing several connected outcomes rather than asking whether plastic is simply good or bad.
Guiding Questions
- What is the difference between food loss and food waste?
- How can plastic packaging reduce one kind of waste while creating another?
- Why might the same package be useful in one situation but unnecessary in another?
Less Food Waste, More Plastic Waste?
Two Kinds of Waste
Food systems can create more than one kind of waste.
Food waste is edible food that is thrown away or left uneaten in places such as shops, restaurants, schools, or homes. It does not include food that is lost earlier during farming, storage, or transport.
Food systems can also involve a trade-off. A trade-off happens when improving one thing creates a problem somewhere else. Packaging may help stop food from being wasted, but the package itself can become waste.
Looking only at the food or only at the plastic can hide part of the problem.
When Packaging Protects Food
Food can be damaged, dry out, spoil, or become unsafe before anyone eats it. Packaging can help protect food from air, moisture, contamination, and physical damage.
Food that disappears during farming, storage, processing, or transport is called food loss. Food waste happens later, when edible food is discarded by shops, restaurants, schools, or homes.
Packaging can help keep food fresh and safe to eat for longer. This can reduce the amount of food that is lost or wasted.
This can be especially useful for foods that bruise easily, dry out quickly, or need to travel long distances.
When Packaging Creates More Waste
Protecting food also has a cost. Plastic film, trays, wrappers, bags, and small packages may be used for a short time and then thrown away.
Some foods may also use more packaging than they need. Several small portions might each have their own wrapper and then be placed inside another package.
Reducing food waste does not mean every package is a good choice. The amount and type of packaging still matter.
Comparing Food Waste and Plastic Waste
Throwing away food wastes more than the food itself. Resources were also used to grow, process, move, and store it.
Plastic packaging uses resources too, and it creates material that must be managed after use. This is why comparing the two kinds of waste can be complicated.
Bananas can be bruised or damaged while traveling from farms to markets. In parts of South and Southeast Asia, reusable plastic crates and better handling reduced this food loss by as much as 61 percent.
In this case, plastic helped protect more food. The crates could also be used again instead of being thrown away after one trip.
Why the Answer Depends on the System
The same package can have different results in different situations. Food that spoils quickly may need more protection. Food that will be eaten soon may need much less packaging.
Other materials also have trade-offs. Glass, paper, and metal can differ in weight, breakage, energy use, cost, and what happens after disposal.
Local waste systems matter too. There is no single answer that works for every food, family, shop, or community.
Better Questions for Better Choices
Instead of asking whether plastic packaging is simply good or bad, it can help to ask what job the package is doing.
Does it prevent enough food from being wasted? Is more packaging being used than needed? Could the food be protected in another way?
Reducing food waste and reducing plastic waste are both important. Better choices come from looking at both sides of the trade-off.
Two Kinds of Waste
Food systems can create more than one kind of waste. Food lost earlier in the system is food loss; edible food discarded later is food waste.
Food packaging can involve a trade-off, a situation where one benefit comes with a disadvantage. Packaging may help prevent food from being thrown away, but the package itself can become waste. Looking at only the food or only the plastic can therefore miss part of the problem.
When Packaging Protects Food
Food can be damaged, dry out, spoil, or become unsafe before anyone eats it. Packaging can protect food from air, moisture, contamination, and physical damage.
Food loss happens before food reaches consumers, while food waste usually happens later when edible food is discarded.
Packaging can help keep food fresh and safe to eat for longer. This can reduce the amount of food that is lost or wasted.
This can be especially useful for foods that bruise easily, dry out quickly, or must travel long distances. In these cases, packaging may help more of the food reach someone who will eat it.
When Packaging Creates More Waste
Protection does not come without a cost. Plastic film, trays, wrappers, bags, and individual packages may be used briefly and then discarded.
Some packaging may also use more material than the food needs for protection. A multipack, for example, might place several individually wrapped foods inside another package. Small portions can make food easy to carry, but they can also create more packaging than the same amount of food sold together.
Reducing food waste does not automatically mean that every package is justified. The amount and type of packaging still matter.
Comparing Food Waste and Plastic Waste
Comparing these two kinds of waste can be surprising. Throwing away food wastes the food itself as well as the resources used to grow, process, transport, and store it. Plastic packaging also uses resources and creates material that must be managed after use.
Bananas provide one example of how packaging can change the balance.
Bananas can be bruised and damaged while being transported from farms to markets. In parts of South and Southeast Asia, using reusable plastic crates along with better handling reduced these food losses by as much as 61 percent.
In this case, plastic was part of a system that protected more food, and the crates could be used again instead of being discarded after one trip.
Why the Answer Depends on the System
The same package can have different results in different situations. Food that would otherwise spoil quickly may benefit from protection. Food that is eaten soon after purchase may need much less packaging.
Comparing plastic with another material may reveal a different trade-off involving weight, breakage, energy use, cost, or disposal. Local waste systems also affect what happens after packaging is discarded.
There is no single answer that fits every food, family, shop, or community.
Better Questions for Better Choices
Instead of asking whether plastic packaging is simply good or bad, it is more useful to ask what job the package is doing. Does it prevent enough food from being wasted? Is more packaging being used than necessary? Could the same food be protected another way?
Understanding the trade-off requires looking beyond packaging alone to consider food waste, transport, resources, and what happens after use. Reducing food waste and reducing plastic waste are both important, but improving one does not always improve the other.
Two Kinds of Waste
Food systems can create more than one kind of waste. Food waste is edible food discarded or left uneaten at later stages such as shops, restaurants, schools, or homes. It does not include food lost earlier during farming, storage, or transport.
Food systems may involve a trade-off, a situation where improving one outcome creates a disadvantage elsewhere. Packaging may help prevent food from being thrown away, but the package itself can become waste. Looking at only the food or only the plastic can therefore miss part of the problem.
When Packaging Protects Food
Food can be damaged, dry out, spoil, or become unsafe before anyone eats it. Packaging can protect food from air, moisture, contamination, and physical damage.
Food that disappears during farming, storage, processing, or transport is called food loss, while edible food discarded later is food waste.
Packaging can help keep food fresh and safe to eat for longer, reducing the amount of food that is lost or wasted.
This can be especially useful for foods that bruise easily, dry out quickly, or must travel long distances. In these cases, packaging may help more of the food reach someone who will eat it.
When Packaging Creates More Waste
Protection does not come without a cost. Plastic film, trays, wrappers, bags, and individual packages may be used briefly and then discarded.
Some packaging may also use more material than the food needs for protection. A multipack, for example, might place several individually wrapped foods inside another package. Small portions can make food easy to carry, but they can also create more packaging than the same amount of food sold together.
Reducing food waste does not automatically mean that every package is justified. The amount and type of packaging still matter.
Comparing Food Waste and Plastic Waste
Comparing these two kinds of waste can be surprising. Throwing away food wastes the food itself as well as the resources used to grow, process, transport, and store it. Plastic packaging also uses resources and creates material that must be managed after use.
Bananas provide one example of how packaging can change the balance.
Bananas can be bruised and damaged while they are transported from farms to markets. In parts of South and Southeast Asia, using reusable plastic crates along with better handling reduced these food losses by as much as 61 percent.
In this case, plastic was part of a system that protected more food, and the crates could be used again instead of being discarded after one trip.
Why the Answer Depends on the System
The same package can have different results in different situations. Food that would otherwise spoil quickly may benefit from protection. Food that is eaten soon after purchase may need much less packaging.
Comparing plastic with glass, paper, or metal can reveal another trade-off involving weight, breakage, energy use, cost, or disposal. Local waste systems also affect what happens after packaging is discarded.
There is no single answer that fits every food, family, shop, or community.
Better Questions for Better Choices
Instead of asking whether plastic packaging is simply good or bad, it is more useful to ask what job the package is doing. Does it prevent enough food from being wasted? Is more packaging being used than necessary? Could the same food be protected another way?
Better choices come from comparing both sides of the trade-off. Reducing food waste and reducing plastic waste are both important, but improving one does not always improve the other.
Two Kinds of Waste
Food systems can create more than one kind of waste. Food waste is edible food discarded or left uneaten at later stages such as shops, restaurants, schools, or homes. Food that disappears earlier, during farming, storage, processing, or transport, is treated differently.
Food packaging can involve a trade-off, where reducing one problem may increase another. Packaging may help prevent food from being lost or thrown away, but the package itself can later become waste. Looking only at the food or only at the plastic can therefore leave out part of the picture.
When Packaging Protects Food
Food can be bruised, dry out, spoil, or become unsafe before anyone eats it. Packaging can protect it from air, moisture, contamination, and physical damage. Food loss is edible food that is lost during farming, storage, processing, or transport before it reaches shops or consumers.
Packaging can help keep food fresh and safe to eat for longer, reducing both food loss and food waste. This can be especially useful for foods that bruise easily, dry out quickly, or need to travel long distances before they are eaten.
When Packaging Creates More Waste
Protection also uses material. Plastic film, trays, wrappers, bags, and individual packages may serve a useful purpose for a short time and then become waste once the food is opened or eaten.
Some products use several layers of packaging. A multipack might contain individually wrapped foods inside another package, while smaller portions can require more material than the same amount of food sold together. Reducing food waste does not automatically mean that every package is necessary, so the amount and type of packaging still matter.
Comparing Food Waste and Plastic Waste
Throwing away food wastes more than the food itself. Resources were also used to grow, process, transport, and store it. Plastic packaging uses resources too, and the discarded material must still be managed after its useful job ends.
Bananas show how these two kinds of waste can interact. Bananas can be bruised and damaged while they travel from farms to markets. In parts of South and Southeast Asia, reusable plastic crates and better handling reduced these food losses by as much as 61 percent. In this case, the plastic crates helped protect more food and could be used repeatedly instead of being discarded after one trip.
Why the Answer Depends on the System
The same package can have different results in different situations. Food that would otherwise spoil quickly may benefit from protection, while food that will be eaten soon after purchase may need much less packaging.
Other materials can create different trade-offs involving weight, breakage, energy use, cost, or disposal. Local waste systems also affect what happens after packaging is discarded. There is no single answer that works for every food, family, shop, or community.
Better Questions for Better Choices
Instead of asking whether plastic packaging is simply good or bad, it is more useful to ask what job the package is doing. Does it protect enough food to reduce loss or waste? Is more material being used than the product needs? Could the food be protected another way?
Better choices come from comparing both sides of the trade-off. Reducing food waste and reducing plastic waste are both important goals, but improving one does not always improve the other.
