Wasted and spoiled food is a growing problem both globally and in SA. It’s estimated that about a third of the total food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted annually.

Anton Hanekom, executive director of Plastics SA, points out that plastic packaging plays an important role in preventing food waste, breakage and spoilage and even, ultimately, in protecting the environment.

“Plastic packaging increasingly answers the multiple needs of modern consumers and their changing lifestyles and demographics by ensuring food quality and safety along the supply chain and at home!” A number of studies continue to prove that plastic packaging has a far smaller environmental footprint than other materials with the same or similar purpose, he says.

“Producing plastic packaging requires less energy and generates less waste, with lower carbon emissions in general and it takes 10 times more resources to make and distribute food than are used to make the packaging to protect it which is why good, protective packaging is vital to protecting food during storage and transportation.”

Hanekom’s assertions are supported by a European study titled Stop Waste Save Food, published in 2020, which revealed that 3% of a typical product’s carbon footprint lies within the packaging, while 97% is within the food. “Proper packaging results in less greenhouse gas emissions; even if more packaging is being used, less food is being wasted leading to a lower overall carbon footprint,” he says.

Plastics tend to get a bad rap, primarily because they are a visible pollutant. Currently, only about 22% of all locally manufactured plastic products are recycled into new plastic products. Plastics SA has been front and centre of efforts to grow the amount of plastic being recycled, driving cleanup projects and education campaigns to teach South Africans the importance of proper waste disposal and the value that can be unlocked through recycling.

The industry believes plastic recycling rates will increase as the impact of its various campaigns result in a greater awareness around the need for recycling. “As a country and as an industry, we need to continue with our efforts to change the traditional, linear mindsets of ‘use and dispose’ so that we can keep materials in the value chain for as long as possible,” he says.

This article appeared in Business Day on 30 August 2023.