It is no secret that COVID-19 has brought a huge shift in our way of life. From the way we work, live and behave to the way we approach ongoing global issues, changes have occurred. One of these ongoing issues that we have started to treat differently is the impact of plastic and the role it plays in our lives. Specifically, press and consumers both, are beginning to reevaluate their perspective on the importance of “single use plastics”.
Questions arose about the use of paper bags as a replacement for flimsy lightweight plastic bags due to the fact that plastic bags use far less energy and water to make and take us less space to landfill. It has become evident that there are few, if any, benefits to the environment in replacing plastic. Brand owners and supermarket chains are aware that the use of paper, board, tin or glass seldom provides any environmental benefits compared to plastic packaging, On the other hand, it must be recognized that supermarket chains and brand owners are commercial organizations that respond to the demands from the customers to reduce the use of plastic. Furthermore, prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, multiple governments around the world had banned single-use plastic bags in an effort to reduce waste.
But as coronavirus started to spread, the behavior of consumers and even activists, changed. During lockdown, plastic has been a key element in the sale and purchase of goods such as foodstuff and healthcare products. The understandably increased concern over health and hygiene during this pandemic, has brought out the vital role that plastic packaging plays to food waste prevention* and its contribution to food safety. The current affair of events has created a renewed, post covid-19, momentum for the plastics industry, with Euromonitor International predicting an over 5% growth of retail sales for Packaged Foods this year globally.
In addition, sustainable plastic packaging design and recycling efforts are continuing. In all truth, the press should stop arguing that the shift from plastic to other materials is somehow environmentally beneficial. Instead, they should inform consumers that even though there are issues about the disposal of plastic, it remains the least environmentally damaging of packaging materials they use for food.
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* Year after year about 1.3 Billion Tonnes of food is lost or wasted throughout the world..
Food losses and waste have a carbon footprint of 3.3 gigatonnes