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Plastic has been used for food and drink packaging for decades. Pre-packed and freshly prepared takeaway food is often served in plastic packaging to preserve the contents, but is plastic packaging the best option for food?
Since the introduction of the Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) — affecting all packaging that doesn’t contain at least 30% materials — food service businesses have been forced to rethink their packaging strategies to avoid the rising cost of plastic packaging.
While the tax provides a clear incentive for manufacturers and importers to use more recycled plastic, it’s raising the price of plastic packaging for businesses.
With plenty of alternatives available, let’s find out if your business could save money with eco-friendly food packaging instead.
Several different kinds of plastic are used to package fresh and pre-packed food items. Each has a Resin Identification Code (RIC) that identifies the type of plastic resin the packaging is made from:
Typically used for drinks bottles, ready meal containers and produce trays, polyethylene terephthalate (PET, or PETE) is one of the most popular thermoplastics used for food and beverage packaging.
Recyclable? Yes
HDPE is a rigid plastic that has higher strength and durability than LDPE. It’s often used for packaging products that require greater protection, such as plastic milk bottles and washing detergent.
Recyclable? Yes
PVC is a thermoplastic that has various applications, as it can be manufactured to be flexible or rigid. Most cling film is made from PVC, but it’s infrequently used for food packaging as PVC cannot be recycled at home.
Recyclable? No
LDPE is a lightweight and flexible plastic that’s most commonly used to package items like bread, frozen foods, and fresh produce. It provides a moisture barrier and helps preserve food on the shelves of shops and supermarkets.
Recyclable? Yes
Polypropylene is a rigid plastic that’s commonly used for hot and cold food packaging, including yoghurt pots and takeaway containers. However, many kinds of plastic takeaway containers aren’t safe for use with hot food.
Recyclable? Yes
Polystyrene has good insulation properties, making it a popular choice for fast food outlets for packaging items requiring temperature control. It’s most commonly clamshell containers used to serve fast food items, but it’s being banned from October 2023 due to the negative impact it has on the environment.
Recyclable? No
Some other plastics can’t be categorised under any other resin identification codes, but they are uncommonly used with food products. If you come across packaging with this number, it probably isn’t recyclable.
Recyclable? No
Health, safety and hygiene will always be a priority for businesses in the food service sector. Knowing which plastics to use with your food and drinks can keep your customers safe, but it all depends on how the packaging is used.
For example, customers need to know if it’s possible to reuse plastic takeaway containers safely and reheat last night’s takeaway. Still, much of this information isn’t made available at the point of sale.
Most of the plastics mentioned above are technically considered “food grade”, but the only true food-safe packaging is made from natural, biodegradable materials that won’t impact the health of your customers or harm the environment.
A recent study found that we ingest thousands of tiny plastic particles yearly. These take the form of microplastics that are invisible to the naked eye. Findings like these further indicate that we need alternatives to plastic packaging for our food and beverages to avoid causing your customers harm, even if we had the best intentions with your packaging selection.
The safest plastics for food and drinks are bioplastics. Unlike non-biodegradable plastics, bioplastics like polylactic acid (PLA) are derived from plants like the by-products of sugarcane harvesting. They are naturally biodegradable and don’t have any of the typical environmental drawbacks of traditional oil-based plastics.
As eco-friendly packaging experts, we supply bioplastic packaging for various applications:
PLA makes an effective, eco-friendly lining for takeaway boxes and trays. It can greatly improve moisture, oil and grease resistance where needed most. Not only does this improve recycling rates, but it also makes the packaging 100% biodegradable, which is a huge plus considering the PE-lined trays would need to be recycled or end up in landfill.
PLA can also be used to create transparent windows for your packaging when you want to show off your food items. Just check out our salad boxes and sandwich bags.
Lining coffee cups with PLA helps prevent leaks while retaining heat, keeping your customers’ warm beverages hot and fresh. You can create an awesome, plastic-free experience for your customers with biodegradable coffee cup lids. Once they’ve been used, PLA-lined cups can be composted domestically or commercially, while PE-lined coffee cups can easily be recycled. All are available in a range of sizes and styles.
We’ve created a range of custom ice cream and soup packaging such as tubs, pots and bowls lined with PLA to increase moisture resistance, allowing you to serve hot and cold food items without worrying about leaving your customers in a sticky mess. Pair these with our biodegradable cutlery and napkins (also made from bioplastics) for a totally green takeaway experience.
Interest in branded packaging? We can custom print your boxes, bags, cups and containers! Get a FREE quote in just 48 hours.
Plastic packaging is everywhere, but it comes with a high environmental cost. Plastic packaging is Europe’s largest single source of plastic waste, and food and beverage packaging accounts for 40% of the total.
As useful and as cost-effective as it may be, plastic packaging waste poses several challenges for businesses in food service when it comes to sustainability:
Plastic packaging can take centuries to decompose. This creates a huge amount of irremovable landfill waste that will be around long after the packaging has served its purpose. For this reason alone, biodegradable packaging makes much more sense if it’s intended for single-use.
Plastic always finds a way into the natural environment, no matter how carefully it’s disposed of. Not only does this contribute to litter in city centres and microplastics on beaches, but it also creates a huge amount of pollution in manufacturing.
As of October 2023, single-use plastic packaging products will be banned, including plastic-based plates, bowls, trays, containers, cutlery and more. Swapping out plastic packaging makes good business sense to avoid being caught out by the changes in legislation.
Understanding the environmental impact of plastic packaging is crucial for food service businesses to make informed choices about sustainable packaging alternatives.
Featured: Completely plastic-free packaging for BAOHAUS
If you’re not keen on plastic food packaging, plenty of sustainable alternatives exist. Each has its advantages, but all can be used to help protect your customers and the planet:
Cardboard: Made with at least 80% recycled materials, our cardboard packaging is biodegradable, compostable and recyclable. Some products, like our food-grade pizza boxes, feature a greaseproof and oil-resistant Kraft paper lining — perfect for cheesy pizzas!
Paper: Also made from totally natural and sustainable resources, it makes the perfect choice for takeaway bags. While the use of plastic bags is in steep decline, paper bags make a perfect eco-friendly alternative for takeaways and deliveries.
Bioplastics: A much greener alternative to regular plastic, bioplastics are made from plant-based materials (PLA) that degrade naturally over time. Bioplastics are particularly useful for hot and cold drink containers, as they can be used as biodegradable coffee cup lids or to line the inside of paper beverage containers.
Glass: While suitable for home use, glass isn’t a great option for takeaways for obvious reasons. It’s an excellent option for storing food in your fridge or cold drinks if your customers want to avoid using plastic at home or preserve last night’s takeaway food.
Bagasse: Made from the dry, fibrous pulp that’s produced after crushing sugarcane to extract its juices, Bagasse is fantastic for hot and cold food containers. It’s perfect for soups and oily dishes as the densely-compacted fibres are non-absorbent and will help your food stay fresh and delicious.
There are loads of alternatives to plastic packaging available. Each can help you improve your customers’ experience, hit sustainability goals and help protect the environment with each of your takeaways without compromising on quality or performance. If you’re interested in switching to more sustainable packaging, we’re here to help.
Visit our online shop to discover sustainable takeaway packaging for all kinds of food and drink products. We even have eco-friendly stickers for food packaging!
All of us interact with plastics, whether you’re cracking open a fresh bag of potato chips or diving into a crisply wrapped bushel of homemade chocolate chip cookies. Manufacturers use plastics to package each neatly wrapped food item. This is a wonderful thing!
After all, plastics ensure fresh ingredients stay well-preserved. They also protect our favorite products from contamination. Explore some of the different types of plastics commonly used in food packaging. Moreover, discover just how prominent these plastics are in our daily lives.
One of the most common types of plastics in food packaging is polyethylene terephthalate or polyester. Also referred to as PET, this plastic is known for its strength, lightweight build, and crystal-clear coloring.
The product is responsible for creating the shiny, smooth, and durable coatings you’d find on many of your favorite food products, such as:
Manufacturers easily mold PET into containers like sauce bottles, peanut butter jars, and the soft drink bottles that many of us would find in our pantries or kitchens.
If you’ve ever enjoyed a carton of ice cream or a splash of milk in your morning coffee, you’ve likely encountered high-density polyethylene plastics. On a chemical level, HDPE is a thermoplastic polymer comprised of petroleum.
It is one of the world’s most versatile plastics. As such, petroleum features in an impressive variety of applications. When it comes to food packaging, you can find this jack-of-all-trades plastic in your:
You can also find HDPE in products like water bottles, margarine and butter tubs, and box liners. Its high impact resistance and melting point are part of what make HDPE plastics so popular.
If that wasn’t enough, the durable plastic’s reputation for tensile strength and impressive density-to-strength ratio also contribute to the material’s incredible usability and longevity.
You can find this next plastic near all your favorite goodies. Whether it’s fresh cookies from the school bake sale, those beautifully arranged brownies on your mom’s prized treat tray, or a jar of homemade raspberry preserves, polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, is probably close by.
Like HDPE, PVC is also a thermoplastic with a long grocery list of applications. It’s popular among custom chemical manufacturing plants due to its unique formula, which allows it to be either flexible or rigid. PVC also has excellent dimensional stability, is oxygen permeable, and has a high impact strength.
Further, this plastic acts as an effective barrier to grease and oil. Perhaps this characteristic makes PVC an ideal choice for food products like tubing for beverage systems, blister packaging for gum, seals on metal lids, food foils, and cling wraps.
Low-density polyethylene is another plastic found in a variety of food packaging. Casually referred to as LDPE, this material is a thermoplastic. Its formula comprises a compound called ethylene monomer. Its chemical makeup makes LDPE:
LDPE is a great material for a wide range of manufacturing applications. Manufacturers often use it to create various containers, wash, and dispense bottles, plastic computer parts, and molded lab equipment. However, this highly durable material is also a valuable asset in the creation of numerous types of food packaging.
Some of these products include:
You can also find LDPE in bread and frozen foods packaging and flexible lids. In short, it’s a very versatile plastic that you can use for various purposes.
If you enjoy slapping a dollop of sour cream on all your ready-to-eat meals or making cheesecakes from scratch, you likely encounter polypropylene, or PP, plastics regularly. Similar to its counterparts, PP is a thermoplastic. It’s durable, shiny, and can withstand heat.
Chemically, PP is an addition polymer created through a combination of propylene monomers. Regarding food packaging, PP is in your sour cream and cream cheese tubs. You might also find it in your yogurt packets. You can thank PP plastics for keeping your food fresh with those vacuum-sealed skins.
It’s also a popular choice for the durable and convenient chip bags we love to stock our pantries with. With that said, this plastic rose to fame for its role in microwaveable plastics. Its ability to withstand harsher temperatures comes from its impressively high melting point.
Backyard BBQs, restaurant kitchens, and grocery stores have a purpose for polystyrene, or PS, plastics. Whether you’re drinking from a red plastic cup with your pals or packing to-go orders at your restaurant job, PS plastics are everywhere.
Like most of the other plastics mentioned in this guide, PS is a thermoplastic. It’s naturally transparent and can come in solid form or as a rigid foam material (think Styrofoam cups). PS is ideal for a variety of commercial purposes, so the list of food packaging that uses the plastic is extensive.
Here are a few of the PS products you might be familiar with:
And the list goes on and on. Basically, PS is another commonly used plastic you’d find in most of your food packaging and containers.
There are other types of lesser-known plastics like the polycarbonate plastic Nalgene. These plastics are super hard and durable, making them the perfect ingredient for products like baby bottles and cooler jugs.
There are also cutting-edge plastic materials like polylactic acid or PLA, which derives from organic, renewable matter like sugar cane and cornstarch. You can find these plastic components in biodegradable and eco-friendly versions of products like straws, to-go packages, plates, and bowls.
In short, you will likely interact with at least one of these plastics, whether you’re eating an entire tub of ice cream, feeding your baby, or drinking an extra dry cappuccino from your favorite coffee house. Each plays a role in creating the food packaging that houses our most beloved snacks, beverages, and meals.
Please visit our website for more information on this topic.
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