Recycling And Reuse Ways To Win The War On Waste

It is undisputed the fact that we face a problem across the world in the world of wasteful food and drink. The numbers reveal the extent of the amount of food and money that is wasted every year. Based on The World Counts website, approximately one-third of the total, or around 1.3 billion tonnes of the food consumed in the world is wasted. More than that end in the garbage.

It is believed that the F&B industry, as well as many others, produces a large amount of waste from packaging. According to the World Bank projects glob, global municipal waste will grow by 3.4 billion metric tonnes, and there will be greater amounts of plastic in oceans than fish in 2050. What can we do to help both the global community and the F&B industry face the reality that packaging waste is causing pollution and costs?

Recycling is an excellent way to get started.

Recycling is a good start, and major corporations are making a major campaign, but recycling can’t complete the task on its own. Based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the world’s population uses around one trillion bags of plastic per year, and less than ten percent of them in the U.S. are eventually recycled. There is plenty of room for recycling, but it’s not the only solution to the issue.

Food and drink industry experts are examining how to create sustainable packaging, a bigger component of the solution -not just recycling and reusing plastics but also replacing plastic by using new material.

Large F&B firms are stepping up to develop solutions, even as packaging for products continues to be a source of waste in the waste stream. In 18 markets, Coca-Cola Ko +0.2 percent provides beverages in recycled PET bottles, with some with the words, “Recycle me again. I’m made from 100 recycled plastic.” Nestle said it had doubled its recycled content of polyethylene in its water business from the beginning of 2019, increasing it to 16.5 percent. Additionally, Walmart WMT +0.6 percent declares that the company is “optimizing packaging” and “reducing single-use plastic bag waste,” in addition to other claims.

Evian produces “bottles made from bottles” or recycled plastic. Hormel Foods HRL -1.2 percent launched packaging of 16 ounces of Dry Roasted Peanuts with the use of 8% less plastic. Hormel Foods said that this would reduce the use of plastic by 220 tons annually, according to Food Dive. Hormel has reduced packaging by 727,000 pounds by 2021. This will help save money while also reducing garbage. Nestle has introduced Nespresso capsules that are made of 80 percent recycled aluminum.

Forbes Daily: Get our most popular stories, exclusive news, and a critical analysis of the word of the day delivered to your inbox each weekday.

The times, along with their packging, are evolving as large companies work with the most innovative players within the CPG industry. This has created the possibility of earning money for those who are innovating. Coca-Cola is collaborating in partnership with Danish start-up Paboco to make the first paper bottle that, someday, could be an entirely new product on the market. Kraft Heinz collaborated with Pulpex on ketchup bottles constructed from wood pulp. Additionally, Molson Coors rolled out cardboard carriers to replace the six-pack ring made of plastic.