It may seem like almost every cucumber, apple, and pepper in the produce aisle is surrounded by plastic, and that's actually the case.
What started with cellophane in the 1930s accelerated with the introduction of plastic clamshells in the 1980s and bagged salads in the 1990s. Online grocery shopping has accelerated that.
But now, what fruit and vegetable growers are calling a moonshot: the race to break plastic's stranglehold on produce.
A March survey of agricultural professionals on LinkedIn ranked the transition to biodegradable materials as a top trend. “This is huge,” said Soren Bjorn, CEO of Driscolls, the world's largest berry grower, which has switched to cartons in many European markets.
Spain has a plastic tax. France has placed strict limits on plastic-wrapped produce, and the European Union is trying to impose its own restrictions. Canada is developing a plan to eliminate 95 per cent of plastic packaging from agricultural products by 2028. In the US, 11 states have already restricted plastic packaging. As part of a sweeping waste-fighting plan, the Biden administration is calling for new ways to package food using climate-friendly, antimicrobial materials designed to reduce reliance on plastic.
So do we agree that eliminating plastic is the solution?
Reducing the use of plastic is an obvious way to combat climate change. Plastics are made from fossil fuels, which are the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases. It chokes the oceans and seeps into the food chain. Estimates vary, but around 40% of plastic waste comes from packaging.
But until now, plastics have been the most effective tool for combating another environmental threat: food waste.
Wirecutter has tips for keeping your produce fresh for weeks.
Selling produce is like holding a piece of melted ice and asking how much someone would pay for it. Time is of the essence and plastic is effective in slowing down the spoilage of vegetables and fruits. That means less produce goes into the garbage, which generates nearly 60 percent of landfill methane emissions, according to a 2023 report from the Environmental Protection Agency.
A 2021 Swiss study showed that each rotten cucumber thrown away has the same environmental impact as 93 plastic cucumber wrappers.
The most common material in landfills is food. The average American family of four spends $1,500 each year on inedible food. According to a study by Michigan State University, fruits and vegetables account for nearly half of household food waste. And it's not just wasted food that exacerbates climate change. Agriculture and transportation wasted to produce food that is wasted also impacts the climate.
Preventing food waste and reducing plastic use are not mutually exclusive goals. Both are priorities for the Biden administration, which in December released a draft national strategy to cut domestic food waste in half by 2030.
Are there Americans on board?
Consumers are increasingly reporting that reducing their use of plastic and packaging is important to them, but their shopping habits tell a different story. U.S. shoppers bought $4.3 billion worth of bagged salads last year, according to the International Fresh Foods Association. Marketing experiments and independent research both show that price, quality, and convenience drive food choices more than environmental concerns.
Grocery stores are also having to make difficult decisions. Shoppers are frustrated by having to buy produce that is already packaged in plastic and priced. Not selling by weight is easier for stores because employees don't have to weigh each item. But it also often forces shoppers to spend more than they need.
There seems to be a line being drawn between people who are plastic-free and shoppers who prefer the convenience of having fresh salad vegetables delivered to their door.
“The packaging conversation is being held hostage by one side or the other,” said Max Teplitzky, chief scientific officer of the International Fresh Produce Association. He leads the Alliance for Sustainable Packaging for Food, a collection of industry groups founded in January.
The group's priority is to ensure that packaging changes ensure food safety and maintain its quality.
What are the alternatives to plastic?
Here are some new ideas for your produce section.
A bag made from wood. An Austrian company uses beech wood to produce biodegradable cellulose net bags for holding produce. Other companies offer similar nets that disassemble within a few weeks.
Film from skin. Orange peels, shrimp shells, and other natural waste materials are turned into films that can be used like cellophane or made into bags. Edible coatings made from plant-based fatty acids are being sprayed on cucumbers, avocados and other produce sold at many major grocery stores. These work similarly to wax coatings commonly used on citrus fruits and apples.
Clamshell made from cardboard. Plastic clamshells are a $9.1 billion business in the United States, and the number of producers using them is huge. Replacing them will be a big challenge, especially for fragile fruits and vegetables. Many designers are taking on the challenge. Driscoll's has been working on developing cartons for use in the United States and Canada. Meanwhile, the company is increasing its use of recycled plastic in its clamshells in the United States.
Ice that feels like gelatin. Scientists including Ruxin Wang of the University of California, Davis, have invented a reusable jelly ice cream. It is lighter than ice and will not melt. That could eliminate the need for non-recyclable plastic ice packs. After a dozen uses, the jelly ice is thrown away in the garden or trash can, where it melts.
A box with an atmosphere. Broccoli is usually shipped in wax-coated boxes filled with ice. Wet paper cartons cannot be recycled. Iceless broccoli shipping containers use a gas mixture to preserve vegetables instead of cooling them with ice. Ice makes transportation heavier and can introduce pathogens if it melts. Other sustainable, lightweight shipping cartons are designed to remove ethylene, a plant hormone that promotes ripening.
A container made from plants. All the rice field straw, grass, sugarcane stalks and even food waste left after harvesting are turned into biodegradable or compostable trays and boxes.
Problem solved, right?
It's unlikely. Even if all producers and grocery stores started using packaging that could be recycled or composted, America's infrastructure for turning it into something other than trash would still be inadequate at best. Less than 10 percent of plastic is recycled, and the number is even lower for produce packaging, said Eva Almenar, a professor at Michigan State University's packaging department. Only a small portion of packaging labeled as compostable ends up in landfills.
Only 3 percent of wasted food ends up in industrial composting centers. Some states do not have commercial operations that can compost food waste.
“We don't have the right technology, we don't have the collection system,” Dr. Almenar said.
Even if the infrastructure is in place, people's habits are not. “Consumers have no idea what it means to be green, compostable or recyclable,” she says.
The truth is, no one has yet come up with an affordable plastic alternative that can be recycled or composted and keep fruits and vegetables safe and fresh. Plastics allow packagers to change the mix of gases within the package to extend the shelf life and quality of fresh produce.
Scott Crawford, vice president of merchandising at Val d'Or Specialty Foods and a veteran of both Whole Foods Market and Fresh Direct, says, “When you eliminate plastic and switch to fiber, the shelf life is reduced.'' There is a backlash that it will run out very quickly.” “The question is, which side of the balloon are you trying to squeeze?”
The ideal solution, he says, is to go back to the pre-plastic days. This was a time when grocery stores stacked produce by hand and no one demanded that seasonal fruits like blueberries be available year-round.
“I don't think we'll live to see it,” he said.
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