Our society’s love of convenience for their meals drives the need to have sustainable packaging ideas for food. This article covers the following topics:
- Why sustainability is important
- Why offer eco-friendly food packaging
- Why sustainable food packaging is better overall
- How to dispose of sustainable food packaging
Importance of Sustainability
“Sustainability” has become such a common word in the media. But what does it mean to be sustainable?
At its most basic, living sustainably means that we should not live in such a way as to harm future generations or our natural environment.
The EPA goes into excellent detail on this topic. Their two main points are:
- Humans survive and flourish by using resources from our environment.
- To support present and future generations, we must exist in productive harmony in our environment.
Why Offer Eco-Friendly Food Packaging?
With the fast pace of life, consumers are more interested in quick and easy meals. Since 2017, food deliveries have more than tripled. Since the arrival of COVID-19 in the United States, the market has more than doubled.
Developing alongside this has been the market for meal kits and heat-and-eat meals (a.k.a. grab-and-go). Although statistics vary, global growth for these meals is expected at about 5% per year from 2020 to 2027.
All of this is leading to much more food packaging in our environment. We do not have an unlimited amount of space for landfills. Furthermore, throwing away material that could leach toxins into the earth might end up harming all of us.
To protect future generations and our home planet, we must use more compostable and recyclable materials.
Why Is Sustainable Food Packaging Better for Us and the Environment?
Sustainable food packaging must not contain allergens and toxins that contaminate the food it contains. It’s better for the environment because it doesn’t leach harmful chemicals into the landfill when it becomes trash.
Another aspect of sustainable food packaging is packaging volume. By reducing the size of food packaging, we:
- Use less material
- Use less energy to produce it
- Use less energy in transportation (due to lighter truckloads)
- Have less waste in landfills
How to Dispose of Eco-Friendly Food Packaging
Once you are committed to purchasing food in sustainable packaging, you need to be aware of a few things before throwing away the packaging:
- Remove any stickers from the packaging
- Remove any food residue from the packaging
- Compost food instead of throwing it in the trash
Of course, if the packaging indicates it’s recyclable, and you have a pick-up service or drop-off location for recyclables, remove the food residue and put the packaging in the recycle bin.
Help Your Customers Live Healthier and More Sustainably
When you use sustainable food packaging for heat-and-eat meals, you’re helping your customers, the environment, and your business. Customers love living a more eco-friendly life, and they’ll reward you with increased sales and profits.
More sustainable options are available from LK Packaging, like COMPOSTA food packaging from Kraft paper (with no plastic). It is marine-safe and compostable, so it eventually breaks down in the landfill. LK’s #ReadyFresh line also has items that are marine-safe and compostable.
If you’re a distributor, grocer, or restaurant, get more information about the Cooking Bag Program here. For other questions, please get in touch with us and we will respond promptly.
