A s we transition towards a circular economy of plastics, momentum continues amongst industry, government, and the wider community to conserve natural resources, reduce plastic packaging waste and pollution, and improve material resource recovery. In the political arena, we are at a key point in plastic policy, with the introduction in the UK of the Plastic Packaging Tax in April 2022, the revised Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme set to be introduced in October 2025, and the scheduled launch of a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers in October 2027. Beyond these policy measures, there are NGO initiatives taking place that aim to change the way companies design, produce, use, reprocess and reuse food plastic packaging (e.g. the UK Plastics Pact). These measures and approaches have spurred organisations operating within the food industry to remove, reduce and/or redesign food packaging materials with circularity in mind. Delivering innovative solutions that help prevent plastic waste and reduce the climate impact of food plastic packaging have become key priorities. But creating shifts in our food (packaging) system will take time. Plastics have many useful qualities and combinations of these qualities (e.g. lightweight, malleable, sealable and an ability to maintain optimum atmospheric conditions specifically for the food it carries) often give plastic packaging the upper hand when compared with other commonly-used packaging materials. Beyond the material qualities of food packaging, we also need to consider the environmental and social consequences associated with different packaging materials and the food it contains. These are all contentious issues. Besides this, creating shifts in our food system is not just a matter of replacing plastic packaging with another material. As part of the Plastic Packaging in People’s Lives (PPiPL) project, our primary research involved undertaking interviews with food industry representatives from across the supply chain (including packaging manufacturers, technologists, food processors, wholesalers, product suppliers, policy advisors and compliance consultants) to understand what steps they were taking to support our transition towards a more sustainable, circular packaging system. PROBLEMS THROUGH THE SUPPLY CHAIN Primarily, our team looked at the impact of the perception of supply chain actors on the attitudes and behaviours of consumers. This is known as the A-B (attitude-behaviour) gap, which assumes the consumer makes the ultimate purchase decisions and hence determines the success or otherwise of an innovation. We found that manufacturers and retailers alike perceive that consumers are increasingly requesting more sustainable packaging, yet not always choosing them when they are available. For example, whilst consumers may indicate that they expect unpackaged vegetables to be cheaper, they then do not pick wonky vegetables, leading to greater food waste (which inevitably increases prices). Despite such perceptions of an A-B gap, we found that pre-consumption supply chain actors – those businesses involved before a consumer purchases a product 12 | @Nifty Fox Creative 2024
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