Almost one-third of all the food manufactured every year is either lost, wasted, or discarded. All of this amounts to 1.3 billion tonnes of food waste and a vast amount of money that is put in on a yearly basis. It is well to be noted that food packaging happens to be one solution that has been put to use for decades so as to protect and also prolong the existence of food. That said, plastic plus foil packaging are adding a massive amount of non-biodegradable litter to the environment. A better option lies in the form of sustainable as well as biodegradable food packaging, which can help protect the food from spoilage as well as damage.
Sustainable food packaging can go on to lessen food losses, provide the option for a green economy, and at the same time lessen the impact of waste as far as the planet is concerned.
African packaging sector challenges
One of the significant issues facing the industry happens to be quite a steep cost when it comes to packaging equipment as well as materials, specifically biodegradable products, which, by the way, happen to be a comparatively new concept. Apparently, the machinery that is required to manufacture sustainable food packaging is costly to buy as well as maintain. These elements push the price along with the total value chain in the case of sustainable food packaging, thereby making it pretty difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises to get an entry into the market.
In several countries across Africa, SMEs make up the bulk of food products and packaging, which goes on to suggest that sustainable packaging solutions are indeed vital. As per FAO representative from Zambia, George Okech, enhancing packaging systems will go on to contribute to making the entire food supply chain robust, improve the competitiveness of enterprises, and at the same time help all the actors in the food chain as well as consumers.
It is well to be noted that the industry leaders went on to propose numerous other solutions like shared service centres, government-led training for all kinds of small businesses, better access when it comes to quality printing services, and also better accessibility to food packaging concerning market information.
What lies ahead
The future of this industry looks a lot greener. The fact is that the impact of packaging materials on the environment happens to be a major issue for several African countries, which means that new materials are going to be created as well as used to make sure that most of the food packaging is biodegradable. It is well worth noting that consumers across South Africa are becoming more and more aware of the pollution from plastics that comes from food items. Specifically, single-use, non-recyclable plastics are getting highlighted for all the wrong reasons.
As per Dorothy Tembo, who happens to be the deputy executive director of ITC Foods, African enterprises must lead the pack when it comes to green packaging for Africa so as to preserve the natural environment and at the same time bolster opportunities for people.
Notably, as investors begin to create recyclable as well as biodegradable packaging facilities, the price of sustainable packaging will for sure dip. This means that the food packaging sector will continue to grow in Africa, thereby saving food waste and at the same time reducing pollution in the environment.
An approach that’s collective
Apparently, South African packaging manufacturers have gone on to be a part of the industry collaboration of brand owners, packaging producers, recyclers, retailers, the government, and non-governmental organisations so as to tackle the plastic packaging waste by way of creating a circular economy for plastics.
There happens to be an increasing drive when it comes to reducing the amount of plastic packaging, eradicating problematic packaging kinds, elevating post-consumer collection and recycling, and transitioning away from petrochemical-based products to more sustainable options. The requirement for options that have a lower environmental impact as compared to traditional plastics has indeed developed a growing market when it comes to biodegradable and compostable packaging.
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