The LGA’s report – the third in its series on the theme of ‘War on waste’, is itself a wasted opportunity. Worse than that, according to Jane Bickerstaffe: “The report is naive and shows a singular lack of knowledge of the modern supply chain and what it takes to feed a nation of 60 million people.
“Ranking retailers on 29 products is nonsense. It’s not comparing like with like. Products have different supply chains and different amounts of transport packaging. Some products have a short shelf life, others are made to last longer. The amount of packaging has to reflect this.”
The UK uses less packaging per head than many other major EU countries: UK 147kg per person; Germany 158kg per person; France 162kg per person, and about 85% of packaging is already recyclable.
Despite this high rate, and continued efforts by the industry to lower its environmental impact, Jane Bickerstaffe advises: “In the context of the larger challenge of climate change, packaging recycling is the wrong target. Recyclability is only one part of a product’s environmental footprint, and not the most important one.
“Product wastage and energy use are much more important. If the product that’s inside the packaging is wasted, that’s the environmental disaster.”
Food packaging has a vital job to do in these days of recession, with shoppers feeling the pinch, not least because it helps keep food costs low and reduces wastage. It takes a huge amount of resources, energy and water to produce food in the first place.
It’s imperative that this effort isn’t wasted and that food reaches us in good condition. It must be transported, warehoused, retailed and then transported again and stored at home in the fridge, freezer or cupboard until we’re ready to use it. On average, there are 10 times more resources and energy in food than in its packaging.
Bickerstaffe continued: “Environmental issues are complex and all of us need to work together to tackle them – that means industry, consumers and local government cooperating. Promoting one sector’s interests above the others is pointless and counter-productive – it’s the environment that suffers.”
Source: Incpen
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024