From the plastics in our waterways to the toxic by-products in the manufacturing process, the impact of food packaging on the environment is huge.

Modern Food Packaging Bottle provides a way to make food safe, reliable, shelf stable and clean. Unfortunately, most food packaging is designed for single use and cannot be recycled. 1Instead, packaging is thrown away and often littered our waterways. As a large amount of food packaging (especially plastic) finally enters the waterway, the United Nations has declared the plastic pollution of the ocean to be "a planetary crisis." This is not only a human problem, but also a problem of all aquatic organisms. Food packaging has other environmental impacts, including our air and soil.

Although it may be difficult to find unpackaged food, the opportunity to choose packaging that is less harmful to animals, humans and the environment does exist.

Food packaging materials and uses
Almost all foods we buy, especially processed foods, are packaged. Whether it comes from a grocery store or market, a sit-in restaurant or fast food restaurant, an online food delivery service or even a farmer’s market, it is difficult to find food that is not manually wrapped.

Modern food packaging is made of a variety of man-made and synthetic materials, including ceramics, glass, metal, paper, cardboard, cardboard, wax, wood, and more and more plastics. Most food packaging is made of paper and cardboard, hard plastic and glass.

Although some of the newer plastics are made from corn and other plant materials, most are made from petroleum and contain additives such as polymers. In addition, many types of packaging contain coatings, and most packaging is marked with printer ink; cardboard is usually lined with invisible plastic.

Food packaging type
The type of packaging used depends on a variety of factors, such as where the food was purchased, the intended use of the packaging, and the schedule of consumer products. E.g:

Grocery food is usually sold in glass, metal, plastic or cardboard containers and is usually packaged in multiple layers. Then put these containers in plastic or paper food bags.
Take-out food is usually wrapped in plastic or aluminum foil, then placed in a paper, plastic or polystyrene foam container, (usually) in a paper bag, and finally in a plastic food bag. These bags may also contain plastic cutlery, napkins and straws.
Processed foods usually have multiple layers of packaging; for example, the food may be placed in a tray, covered with paper or plastic wrapping paper, placed in a cardboard box, and then usually covered with plastic wrapping paper again.
Many foods traditionally found in glass, metal or plastic bottles or cans are now found in multi-layer plastic coated bags or cartons.
Current food production and consumption practices have produced a large amount of packaging, and new packaging forms are constantly being developed. Food packaging has the greatest demand for the packaging industry, and about two-thirds of all materials produced are used for packaging food.

 

FoodPrint for food packaging
Environmental impact of packaging
Unfortunately, most packaging is designed for single use and is usually discarded rather than reused or recycled. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), food and food packaging materials account for almost half of all municipal solid waste.

In 2014, of the 258 million tons of municipal solid waste generated in the United States, more than 63% was packaging materials (for food and other purposes), and overall, only 35% (89 million tons) were recycled or composted.

Food packaging issues
The trouble with food packaging began with its creation. Each form of packaging uses a lot of resources, such as energy, water, chemicals, petroleum, minerals, wood, and fiber to produce. Its manufacturing usually generates air emissions, including greenhouse gases, heavy metals and particulate matter, as well as wastewater and/or sludge containing toxic pollutants.

Glass manufacturing
In glass manufacturing, raw materials are melted by burning fossil fuels (such as natural gas, light and heavy fuel oil, and liquefied petroleum gas). Air emissions from fuel combustion include greenhouse gases, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides. Emissions from the evaporation and recrystallization of raw materials include fine particulate matter, which may contain heavy metals such as arsenic and lead.

Aluminum production
Aluminum production is the result of smelting mined bauxite into alumina. This energy-intensive process uses large amounts of water and produces toxic sludge that is corrosive and may contain radioactive elements or heavy metals, complicating its management. Emissions include greenhouse gases, sulfur carbon dioxide, dust, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and wastewater.

Paper/Cardboard Manufacturing
The paper and cardboard industry uses wood that is ground into pulp through mechanical or chemical processes. It also uses plant fibers such as cotton, flax and hemp, as well as herbs such as straw, wheat, and kenaf (an African fiber plant). The manufacturing process generates air and water emissions. Factories consume a lot of energy and water; in the past, this produced a lot of toxic wastewater. Most water is now recycled, and modern processes in some factories do not produce liquid effluent. Primary air emissions include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and particulate matter.

Plastic production
In the United States, the main source of raw materials for plastic production is natural gas, which comes from natural gas processing or crude oil refining. 18 There are seven types of plastic polymers that account for 70% of all plastic production, including: polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene, all of which are derived from fossil fuels and used in food package.

In the United States, plastic manufacturing is responsible for large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions—up to 1%. Other air emissions from plastic production include nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.
After we know this information, we should change this. We should strengthen the continuous use of food packaging. The same is true for the100ml Plastic Spray Bottle. We can no longer pose more threats to the world's environment.