Food Packaging News – September 2018
September 26, 2018 7:50 amFood Packaging News – September 2018
Food packaging is something that affects us all. Whether it be something that we use every day or consciously try and avoid, it still has an effect on our lives regardless of how much we use it. There are those that aim to be plastic free, but there are many that aren’t even aware of biodegradable alternatives. In this post, we go through some of the most recent news stories related to food packaging in order to inform our customers of a few trends in the market. For more information about our bio-packaging, visit our page on Food Packaging UK
Do people actually care about their packaging is recyclable?
The majority of society (we would like to think) understand the process & details of recycling, but how many of us actually modify purchasing behaviour because of it? As much as we recycle, how many people will choose to not buy a product because of the packaging it’s in? A recent study by YouGov on behalf of ThoughtWorks reveals that 62% of the public is more concerned about how environmentally-friendly their food packaging is compared to the price.
It marks a considerable change in buying attitudes as shoppers become more aware of the impact packaging, and in particular non-recyclable plastic packaging, can have on the environment.
This changing opinion isn’t limited simply to consumers. Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tescos, Iceland and others have all announced major pledges to change their packaging to either plastic-free or recyclable plastic over the next 5-10 years.
The third most important issue to consumers just below the cost was how much food we waste. Almost half of those asked (48%) said that food waste would be a major consideration for customers within the next decade.
“Brits historically throw away around 11% of the value of the food they buy each week.”
There was also a renewed focus on the quality and the location of the local food that’s being bought with 36% saying they would start considering where the food has come from and 34% agreeing that supporting local growers and farmers would be crucial over the next few years.
These changing attitudes extend far beyond our supermarkets as well. The British public showed overwhelming support to a recent Treasury appeal on how our taxes could be used to tackle the problem of plastic waste.
The government has itself set a ban on all avoidable plastics within the next 20-years.
A Defra spokesman said: “We are committed through our 25-year environment plan to eliminating avoidable plastic altogether by the end of 2042 so we leave our planet in a better state than we found it.
“We are exploring a range of options, and have already introduced a world-leading ban on microbeads, and set out plans to extend the 5p plastic bag charge, improve recycling rates and explore plastic-free aisles in supermarkets.”
Tags: Food Packaging News - September 2018Categorised in: Uncategorized
This post was written by Sarah Wirth