By the end of this year there will be one tonne of plastic for every three tonnes of fish in our oceans, according to a forecast made by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a think tank, in 2016. Pretty much all seabirds are now thought to have some plastic in their stomachs (indeed, who can forget that BBC Blue Planet programme in 2018 – the one with the seabird chicks being fed plastic?).
The environmental impacts are well-reported but new research continues to cause concern. Just this month the University of Brighton and citizen scientists from the Upper Itchen Restoration Community Interest Company revealed tiny plastic and fibreglass particles in the headwaters of the River Itchen – one of England’s most iconic chalk rivers. The potential impact on this crucial ecosystem could be disastrous.
And it’s not just birds, turtles and fish that are at risk from pervasive plastic pollution. A study just published in the journal, Plos One, showed that we inhale over 70,000 microplastic particles a day. The levels of the smaller diameter ones we breathe in are 100 times more than previous estimates. Studies raising alarm bells of the human health risks of these plastics continue to pile up.
Plastic continues to be demonised. This has raised awareness and, to a certain extent, given politicians a welcome shove in the back (consider for example that 100 countries, including the UK, supported an ambitious global plastic treaty involving caps on production and bans on certain plastics and chemicals used in their production).
However, the narrative created has been one of ‘plastic bad: anything else good’. I have for instance read reports and research in which supermarket buyers admitted that they switched from plastic packaging to things like paper or aluminium without a second thought for the unintended consequences – like higher costs, problems with recycling the new material, shorter shelf-life or higher greenhouse gas emissions.
In other words, any nuance has been nudged aside, allowing brands to greenwash us into thinking paper or glass, aluminium or compostable packaging is ‘better’ than plastic.
And this means ‘plastic-free’ has become a badge of honour on food packaging and in the public relations strategies of major supermarkets and food brands. And, as ever, the big brands have pushed the boundaries and pulled the wool over our eyes.
Examples include the ‘paper’ packaging that is actually lined with plastic in order to prevent it going soggy. Everything from ‘paper’ trays for ready meals and sandwiches to new-fangled bottles for beer, wine and whisky made from paper have been touted as ‘greener’ – a way to rid the world of pernicious plastic.
The illusion created is that these are replacing plastic, but in many cases the plastic liner is a footnote in any marketing. What’s more, sticking plastic to paper often makes the whole package harder to recycle (paper mills will take something that is 10% plastic and 90% fibre but would prefer the plastic to be just 5%). Some of the ‘paper bottles’ are made up of 41% plastic.
Some companies have now started calling these ‘fibre-based’ packaging, ignoring the plastic in headlines but noting that there is a liner on there. Others are now lining their packaging with ‘aqueous coatings’ and are not keen to divulge exactly what these are comprised of.
For example in 2023, Marks & Spencer launched “the first fully recyclable coffee cup on the high street”. The cup had a (Flustix) plastic-free accreditation that “ensures even if the cup ends up in landfill it will break down and leave no harmful plastics behind”. The cups were rolled out more widely in March last year but the reference to them being “plastic-free” was (quietly) removed as Flustix shifted from a ‘plastic-free’ to ‘less plastics’ certification too.
Paper mills I have visited hate the idea of dealing with paper lined with something secret that is tricky to get unstuck. The coating can for example break down and leave ‘flecks’ in the final recycled paper products, which means poorer quality and lower prices. “There is a lack of consistency,” Rob Tilsley, fibre operations group leader for James Cropper, a specialist paper converter and maker, told me on a visit to the Cumbria site last year. “The ones we want are made from virgin fibre with a [plastic] PE-liner,” he adds, “those are the ones we can absolutely deal with.”
Those are the ones you will find in most coffee shops. Don’t get me started on the complexities of compostable cups, because as you can see a lot of the things you hear in relation to packaging are unclear, muddied by marketers or blatant greenwashing. Trying to do the right thing is tough so your best option is simply to try and reduce the amount of packaging you use. So, for example, take a reusable cup for your morning latte, or better still: sit in, take a break and enjoy your brew in a proper mug or cup.
The WL GLOSSARY is written by journalist David Burrows, who specialises in sustainable business. Throughout the series, we look to break down the woolly, misleading, and mendacious terms, language & logos in our food system – and provide citizens with information that they can use to make more empowered choices.
A practical question: We are organic growers and sell hundreds of kg of leafy green things every year – – mixed salad leaves, kale, spinach, chard, and more. We have been using plastic bags for about 48 years to package these leafy greens, though we have dramatically reduced our use of other plastics. We’ve experimented with paper wraps, and with no wraps, and basically we have not got good results. Would cellophane be a better ecological choice? I don’t have the resources to answer this question.
How does Riverford package its salad leaves, baby spinach, herbs, etc.?
Richards at Radford asks a good question. We as consumers try to buy rice, pulses, spices , soaps etc packaging free. However, many fresh items come in plastic packaging, we go with “recycle in store “ options but don’t know how much is genuinely going to be recycled. As the article says a lot of confusion
As a Riverford customer, I can confirm that salad leaves come in home-compostable “plastic” bags. When finished, we either throw the bag onto our compost pile or return it with our boxes to Riverford, who will compost it on the farm.
We’ve been trying to avoid plastic for years; from returning packaging to the supermarket or online shop, to discovering and supporting our local refill shop. Being a Riverford customer also hugely helps to reduce our plastic consumption. Delicate produce like salad leaves is tricky to source plastic-free, but a clear, home-compostable bag seems to be the best option, if you have the facilities to compost. However, it needs to be clearly marked as putting this stuff in with the recycling is terrible as it can contaminate the recyclate.