Plastic is everywhere!

I have been trying to stop buying unnecessary plastic when I go shopping or at least reduce it to a bare minimum. I know many people try to do this. I schlepp my cloth bags and my mesh veggie bags and feel like I am making a difference in some small way. Except, I still come home with too much plastic - and the nagging feeling that I am probably not making a difference.

It is IMPOSSIBLE. Really, truly, impossible, to walk away from the store without something in PET, HDPE or some other single-use plastic container.

I wanted to buy organic cucumbers at the weekend and found that they were wrapped in plastic wrap, but the non-organic ones weren´t. Seriously? I wanted to get oats and could only find oats in single-use plastic bags. And do paprika really need to be wrapped in plastic columns?

There is so much plastic I don´t even really see it anymore. Whether it is virgin plastic or partially recycled plastic, it is truly everywhere. Inside cereal boxes, in the little window on pasta boxes, around fruit and veg, every yoghurt, cheese, milk and butter container, even the inside of many metal cans! And when fruit and veg are packed on Styrofoam AND wrapped in plastic, it really makes my blood boil.

This is not new to any of us that we are surrounded by plastic. There are enough documentaries, podcasts and news reports about it that there is not an excuse not to know how bad and prevalent it is. Yet, the numbers are still staggering.

Food and drink was packaged using 8.2 billion kilos in Europe alone every year. That is the equivalent weight of over 8 million cars*. Worse, in 2018 National Geographic estimated that only 9% of plastics were recycled. Yikes.

So back to me, as a consumer. To try to reduce my plastic consumption, could I make my own yoghurt, nut milk, mozzarella, granola, bread, pasta, etc.? Sure. I could absolutely learn how to do do all of that. But I am not a frontier woman with all that time and space, because - by the way - like most of us, I also have a full time job that has nothing to do with making my own food. And becoming an influencer doing that doesn´t seem like a solid business plan.

Enough complaining, what are the solutions?

On the governance side, things are moving. In Nairobi in March 2022, 175 nations voted on a global treaty for plastic pollution. It isn't a done deal yet, but progress is being made. The latest round of negotiations were at the end of April 2024 and the next round will be in December 2024. You can find out more at the UNEP website.

The solutions to avoiding plastic consumption cannot be burdensome and difficult for the consumer. Companies who want to be responsible corporate citizens also must be able to develop or support solutions that they can get to market quickly, which do not compromise food safety.

What are some of the innovations and solutions coming to stores near us soon?

Bagasse - is the leftover product from sugarcane processing. Also known as an alternative to paper products, it is often used instead of plastic containers when you buy prepared foods at the grocery store. This is also a biodegradable product.

Mycelium - this alternative packaging, textile and protein material is made out of mushroom roots. It is even biodegradable.

Seaweed - yes, seaweed is exactly what you think. But don´t worry, it does not mean everything will come tasting like a sushi roll. Through processing, seaweed can be made into an edible plastic packaging alternative. Amazing.

Stone Paper - you did read that right. Paper can be made out of stone. It does not have the same environmentally friendly street cred as other plastic alternatives, but it is photo degradable under certain circumstances.

My personal favourite is Banana Leaves. In Asia, banana leaves are often used for packaging - when the need is brief, i.e. the food or product will be consumed quickly. Because banana leaves deteriorate. But some clever people at innovative start ups are looking at ways to treat the banana leaves to create a longer use and still biodegradable alternative to plastic. Amazing.

This list is not exhaustive and hopefully it will be out of date soon, with many other new solutions. What alternatives to plastics have you seen that you think are promising?

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*To find out more about this, have a look at Plastic Packing in the Food Sector, put out by ING. Great information there.