According to statistics, consumer packaging generates the greatest plastic and paper garbage, accounting for around 20% of all waste in landfills. Others refer to eco-friendly packaging as sustainable packaging, green packaging, or environment-friendly packaging. It is the use of environmentally friendly materials in the packaging of a product. A corporation or individual who chooses environmentally friendly packing materials can express its environmental ideals to its customers. The following are the different types of environmentally friendly food packaging you can opt for yourself while packaging food and even encourage others to do the same for the sake of this planet.
1. Stainless Steel
Food-grade stainless steel is long-lasting, rust-free, and resistant to heat, making it an excellent choice for food storage. It can also be reused and recycled. Although stainless steel bento lunch boxes are commonly available, most manufacturers use silicone to prevent leaks, either through a silicone seal with locking steel clips or colourful, BPA-free, food-safe silicone lids. Glass storage jars with stainless steel, airtight lids are ideal for storing bulk commodities such as flours, grains, and spices.
2. Gelatin Films
Because of their benign characteristics, low cost, and consistent film-forming capabilities, gelatin films are becoming more popular for food packaging. Gelatin is generally regarded as safe (GRAS) as a food additive by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Antimicrobial cellulose is used to fill gelatin films, which prevents the growth of common organisms that cause foodborne sicknesses, such as Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli. Because of these active fillers, gelatin films are a safer alternative to traditional plastics. The two main fillers for gelatin food packaging are microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and rosin-grafted cellulose nanocrystals (r-CNCs).
3. Glass Packaging
Glass is a well-known environmentally friendly material. A consumer may choose this style of packaging above others due to its ability to preserve the taste and integrity of a product. Its key advantage is that it may be used repeatedly without losing quality or purity. Bottles with narrow necks and jars or pots with large openings are the most widely used glass containers in food packing. Glass is healthy and safe to use because it is inert.
4. Bamboo
Due to its durability and heat resistance, bamboo is biodegradable and has many other desired qualities for food packaging. Among the food packaging made of bamboo are bread boxes made of bamboo, serving bowls made of bamboo, portable plastic-free lunch boxes with bamboo lids, and countertop glass jars with bamboo covers. Remember those food containers made of bamboo or other plant fibres are less enduring than those made of glass or stainless steel and are more susceptible to wear and tear.
