Instead, they break down into ever smaller pieces called microplastics that are carried by the wind and water and deposited in the environment, spreading plastic pollution to all corners of the world, from the top of the French Pyrenees, to the stomachs of whales, to soil on the farms where our food is grown.5678 We know that animals and humans are ingesting microplastic particles, via the food we eat and the water we drink, but we dont yet know all of the implications.9, The highly visible problem of plastic pollution in our waterways and oceans has drawn worldwide attention. Polystyrene use is on the wane, and some coffee companies including Dunkin Donuts for its cups and Starbucks for their lids have phased them out.26. We can encourage players to do more than is required by law. Sign up for our email newsletter! What Does the Manchin-Schumer Deal Mean for Clean Energy? Theyre nonporous and nontoxic, and therefore cant leach harmful chemicals into your food. Here are some examples of organizations that are rethinking everything from materials to processes to distribution. It is shock absorbent and corrosion resistant. Plastics have been found deep in ocean waters, too, including in the Mariana Trench, the deepest known part of the worlds oceans.11, Much of the research about plastic pollution has focused on the marine environment. Generally these plastic items are safe for one-time use, but theyre not practical to sanitize for reuse or long-term food storage. Plastic degrades the quality of the soil. And its not just takeout. Some single-use items are essential and have made things not only convenient but safer. Microplastics can make their way into soil through flooding, littering and by being deposited through the atmosphere. Generally these plastic items are safe for one-time use, but theyre not practical to sanitize for reuse or long-term food storage. You have checked the milk carton for an organic certification label. Disposable plastics used in packaging foodstuff meant for human consumption contain harmful compounds. Use Less Plastic While Grocery Shopping: Bring reusable or cloth bags. This also means they cannot be used as protective barrier for furnaces. If cans are your only option, look for products that say BPA-free (but understand that they may contain other equally harmful bisphenols, like BPS and PFB, that havent received the negative attention BPA has). Some containers offer further help for wise choices by featuring these symbols: a food-safe cup and fork, a microwave-safe radiating wave, a freezer-safe snowflake, and a dishwasher-safe symbol of dishes in water. Tip: To find products that are PFAS free and PFAS-Free Food, check out these resources: Purchasing Safer Compostable Food Service Ware and Avoiding Hidden Hazards: A Purchasers Guide to Safer Foodware. Single-use food packaging is taking a huge toll on our environment. 2022 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Media, All Rights Reserved. Plastic has high durability and lasts for a long time. Commissioned by Forsythia Foundation, the Safer Materials in Food Packaging report discusses the needs for innovation in food packaging and showcases innovative companies and potential solutions to the sectors health and environmental challenges. Some food and beverage companies have begun using bio-based plastics, and while they are made from renewable sources (such as corn or sugarcane), rather than from fossil fuels, and have a better carbon footprint than other plastics, theyre not necessarily a solution to our food packaging problems.19, There are tradeoffs to be considered, including the inputs (land, water, chemicals and labor) needed to produce the renewable crop for the bio-based plastic (e.g., corn).20 Bio-plastics also break down only under certain conditions, so being bio-based does not guarantee that they will biodegrade.21. (855) 358-1496 TOLL FREEFAX: (214) 247-1162Email: service@cwservicesinc.com, 2022 C&W Services Inc. | All Rights Reserved. If youre considering using a #7 plastic, check to see that its BPA-free. Published: 11/25/19, Last updated: 10/19/21. These chemicals can be harmful to adults in a number of ways, but they are especially concerning when it comes to the health of our children. If you havent given much thought to the plastic and glass containers youre using for food storage, heres some information to help you with your choices. Grocery shoppers often brought their own containers to the dry grocer to stock up from bulk bins. Is plastic harmful to humans? There are two tasks at hand for consumers when it comes to addressing the problems of food packaging: to make meaningful personal changes and to push companies and legislatures to make change on a larger scale. 2022. Some plastic products are highly flammable -- polystyrene, acrylics, polyethylene and nylons commonly used in packaging, home and office appliances. Press the space key then arrow keys to make a selection. Since most of the waste lands up in the oceans, it is quite harmful to aquatic life as well. Packaging made with bisphenols is okay to recycle, but bisphenols themselves are harmful to human health. Plastic containers are one of the most convenient ways to store food. This makes them a fire hazard. 1. Need to be thoroughly cleaned. The grease-resistant paper wrapped around your burger, your pizza boxes, rotisserie chicken bag, bakery wrapper and hot bar takeout box: they all are likely to contain PFAS. You bring a container and fill it from a bin, or use a reusable container provided by the retailer. This report is written by FoodPrint and based on a March, 2019 report, Safer Materials in Food Packaging, by Safer Made. While metal cans are preferable to plastic because of their almost universal ability to be recycled, they are resource-intensive to produce. It is also said eating from plastic boxes can cause cancer. As our food system grew less local yet able to feed more people across a greater geographic area, and as food became more highly processed, the packaging technology itself increased to keep pace. Chemicals like these have been linked to cancers, weakened immune systems, organ problems, and developmental delays in kids. Weve come to expect that a lot of our food will be packaged and served to us in a single-use fashion, and its gotten to the point where its hard to imagine another way to sell, transport or eat food. Aluminum production is the result of mined bauxite that is smelted into alumina27 and, as with any industrial production, the purification of aluminum requires a lot of energy.28 In addition, aluminum production creates byproducts such as greenhouses gases, sulfur dioxide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.29. Privacy Policy|Disclaimer. Her work appears in Career Journal, an online magazine offering guidance and mentoring to university graduates. A recent report indicates that plastic contributes to greenhouse gas emissions at every stage of its lifecycle, from production to refining to the ways it is managed as a waste product.16, Extraction of the fossil fuels that are the building blocks of plastic is an environmentally depleting process, whether for petroleum-based plastics or those derived from natural gas. Businesses, communities, individuals and households use plastic on a regular basis to fulfill their needs and requirements. Avoid this plastic, and never heat it. What is Plastic?Plastic is a generic term that covers all different types of synthetic materials that are used to make packaging materials, day-to-day items that are used in our household and a variety of things.Plastic is present in almost everything we use. Thermosetting plasticThis is also known as thermoset polymers and such types of plastic cannot be remoulded with the help of heat. Numbers ranging from 1 to 7 are assigned to each item (these are called resin identification codes). Forsythia Foundation promotes healthier people and environments by reducing harmful chemicals in our lives. Understanding the terms is essential to understanding the best way to make sure packaging doesnt end up in the environment. Use Less Plastic While Dining Out or Getting Food to Go: Minimize waste by using less and saying no to single-use plastic items. To solve this, multi-material or multi-layered packaging is often used, like a paper takeout container lined with plastic. We pay particular attention to plastic packaging, since its the most ubiquitous and generally the most problematic for both the environment and our health. Some major corporations have also joined the effort to eliminate plastic straws, including Starbucks, which has pledged to phase them out by 2020.79. Choose glass containers with a tight seal that are fridge- and freezer-safe. Molded fiber packaging meaning paper or cardboard is very common in single-use food service items, such as cups, plates, bowls and trays. Compostable materials need to go into a compost stream to be effectively broken down. If youre wedded to canned goods, look for Eden Foods, which has provided Bisphenol-free cans for a couple of decades. Vastly Underestimates Contamination Risk at Old IndustrialSites, Californias Largest Wildfire in 2022 Grows 0% Contained. Plastic production is around 381 million tons and 5 trillion or more pieces of plastic are polluting the waters around the world. UK Supermarket Chain Scraps Best-Before Dates to Reduce Food Waste, Scientists Develop New Material to Clean Up Forever Chemicals, Flood Maps Show U.S. And while packaging can be essential for certain functions, the industry has evolved with little concern for the environment or for human health. Littered plastics are also harmful to animals because they occasionally eat them and die. The Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) provides certification for compostable products and packaging (similar to a Good Housekeeping seal of approval). Several cities, from New York and Seattle to Freeport, Maine, and Encinitas, California, have similar legislation in place. The service was piloted in Paris and New York in 2019, and if its successful, its likely that well see other companies following suit.71. All in all, there is no one size fits all and one needs to look at each companys needs individually to decide what the best way forward is. Its durability means that it never disappears. If you see #6, thats polystyrene. HDPE is a long-lasting, nontransparent sturdy plastic, and is considered the best of the safe food plastics. You may notice plastics in the grocery store (like bottles, for instance) being marketed as BPA-free. It leaches a harmful chemical into food called styrene thats considered a carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Several cities, from New York and Seattle to Freeport, Maine, and Encinitas, California, have similar legislation in place. They can stay with us. These are as follows: Plastics may provide a number of easy advantages for businesses as mentioned above, but this does not mean the cons should be disregarded.
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