Plastic Food Packaging Problems
Use safer dishware made from materials like glass or stainless steel.
Plastic food packaging problems. Unfortunately most packaging is designed as single use and is typically thrown away rather than reused or recycled. In 2014 out of the 258 million tons of municipal solid waste generated in the us. Current problems in food packaging in china. The impacts of packaging on the environment.
Avoid use of plastic containers with the number 3 or. And because plastic is both strong and lightweight it helps. Yet perhaps the most fundamental problem trasande. In the food market used in plastic bags plastic bottles plastic barrels of food packaging accounted for the majority.
Another category plastic food packaging helps keep our food clean and safe and extends freshness. But many of those seemingly safe containers may have hazardous chemicals lurking. Food packaging for example is one of the biggest hurdles because consumer safety is paramount. Progressive food establishments have traded it and other hazardous packaging for safer plant based alternatives.
The most common were polypropylene which is found in bottle caps and rope and polyethylene from drinking bottles and plastic bags. Certain plastic products are specifically designed to be used once or for a short time to help promote health and sanitary conditions think bandages contacts personal hygiene. According to statistics about 60 of china s food packaging materials there are security risks. Don t microwave food in plastic containers put food on a plate instead.
By liz gyekye 21st december 2018 1st february 2019 0 3143. 2 1 safety of packaging materials. Styrene another chemical found in plastic and food packaging has been linked to nervous system dysfunction hearing loss cancer and more. From soda bottles to plastic wrapping for food to product packaging or even plastic products themselves our obsession with cheap disposable products has created a serious environmental crisis.
Solving the plastic packaging problem. Plastics are in the human food chain as well. One study detected nine different types of plastics ingested by humans through food or dust. 6 according to the us environmental protection agency epa food and food packaging materials make up almost half of all municipal solid waste.