Food Waste & Sustainable Packaging Carol Zweep, NSF International

PFAC Fall Conference November 7, 2016

Overview

NSF Organization & Services

Food Waste

Food waste in Canada & globally

Initiatives in other countries

Packaging protects products & prevents waste

Sustainable Packaging

Packaging waste

Approaches for sustainable packaging

Examples

Future trends

Closing remarks

NSF Organization and

Services

Our Mission

NSF International is a global, independent, public health and safety organization.

Our mission and focus has always been protecting and improving human health.

NSF International is dedicated to being the leading global provider of public health and safety-based risk management solutions while serving the interests of all stakeholders, namely the public, the business community and government agencies.

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Core Divisions

NSF

Around

the Globe

NSF provides services in 168 countries with 75 office and laboratory locations.

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CANADIAN OFFICE – GUELPH, ON

(GFTC SINCE 1996)

Services

• Certification & Verification – Food Safety Systems Certification, Agriculture, Organic

Certification (QAI), Label Claims (Non-GMO Project, Gluten Free)

• Food Safety and Quality Consulting – GMP/HACCP/GFSI Gap and risk assessment, FSMA compliance

support, product recall support, food fraud assessment

• Technical Services – Product & Process Development – Packaging – Label Compliance (various countries and commodities)

• Training & Education – online and customized on-site training, live webinars

Food Waste

Food Waste in Canada

• According to recent estimates, average Canadian household throws out between $1,000 and $1,500 worth of food each year (equivalent to bag of groceries for every four or five bags purchased)

• But 850,000 Canadians use food banks every month

• In Canada, $31 billion worth of food ends up in landfills or composters each year with 47% of food waste happening in the home (Value Chain Management International, 2014 report)

Source: CBC News, CBC News, A $31B problem: How Canada sucks at reducing food waste (Oct 26, 2016) & How you can cut waste, save money and eat well (Oct 29, 2016)

Investigating Food Waste

• CBC Marketplace spent six months investigating the food thrown out by supermarkets (aired on Oct. 28 on CBC Television)

• Marketplace found dozens of bins full of food behind two Toronto-area Walmart locations.

• "Food waste is part of the food policy that we're going to deal with in the next year or two," Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay told CBC News.

Source: CBC News, CBC News, A $31B problem: How Canada sucks at reducing food waste (Oct 26, 2016) & How you can cut waste, save money and eat well (Oct 29, 2016)

Global Food Loss/Waste

• Study suggest that roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally, amounting to about 1.3 billion tons per year (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN)

• Food is lost or wasted throughout the supply chain, from initial agricultural production down to household consumption

Source: Study conducted for the International Congress SAVE FOOD! at Interpack2011 Düsseldorf, Germany

Initiative by other countries

• France banned food waste, forcing supermarkets to sign agreements with charities so no edible food ends up in the trash

• Italy's Senate has passed a law that makes donating food easier for businesses and offers tax credits to supermarkets and farmers who donate

• September 2016, US EPA announced US first national food waste reduction goal of 50% reduction by 2030

• The United Nations is adopting a similar objective as part of the new Sustainable Development Goals

Source: CBC News, CBC News, A $31B problem: How Canada sucks at reducing food waste (Oct 26, 2016) & How you can cut waste, save money and eat well (Oct 29, 2016)

Packaging & Food Waste

• Packaging can play a large role in preventing food waste

• Under packaged food can result in damage and food spoilage

• Over packaging can lead to additional costs but increased material weight can have negative impact on the environment

• Designed properly, packaging provides longer shelf life (more time in the supply chain) and encourage consumer purchase

• Keeping food fresh is a key challenge for the packaging industry

• New packaging technologies such as active packaging (oxygen and ethylene scavengers) can extend shelf life

Packaging Protects Products, Prevents Waste

A study in Europe called How Packaging Contributes to Food Waste Prevention finds that packaged fresh goods have a smaller environmental footprint than unpackaged food (even if the packaging is not recycled).

The study finds that proper packaging results in less greenhouse gas emissions. Even though more packaging is being used, less food is being wasted, leading to a lower overall carbon footprint.

Packaging Protects Products, Prevents Waste

A review of packaging that reduces food waste by EUROPEN (The European Organization for Packaging and the Environment) concludes:

“Packaging is part of the solution to tackle food waste. Packaging prevents food spoilage, ensures food quality and safety along the supply chain and at home, informs consumers on how to use and store packaged food products, increases shelf-life and provides portion sizes answering the multiple needs of consumer lifestyles and demographic changes.”

Packaging & Food Waste

Food Recovery Hierarchy

End of Life Options

Recycling Incineration Gasification (CO + H2)

Biogasification (anaerobic digestion)

Composting -Industrial & Home

(aerobic)

Use of compost in soil

Chemical Mechanical

Landfill SOLID WASTE

Waste to Energy

Science of Biodegradation

Carbon substrate or

“food” +

micro-organism

O2

No O2

Water + CO2 Humus + Heat

CO2 + Methane Humus + Heat (little)

AEROBIC COMPOSTING

ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

Note: Methane is 21X strength as GHG than CO2

Sustainable Packaging

Environmental Awareness

• Increase in media coverage

• Investors interested in socially responsible

• Companies incorporating sustainability in their business focus

• Consumers demanding “green” products and packaging

• Require sustainability initiatives that support environmental responsibility and economic benefit

Consumer Packaging Visibility

Packaging Waste

Consumer products generate significant waste

• Packaging is a visible and significant part of the environmental waste issue

• In 2013, Americans generated about 254 million tons of trash of which 34.3% was recycled and composted

• In 2010, Canadian households produced 25 million tonnes of non-hazardous solid waste of which 32.4% went was diverted (recycling or composting)

Total Municipal Solid Waste, 2013 254 Million Tons (before recycling)

Source: US Environmental Protection Agency, Advancing Sustainable Materials Management:

Facts and Figures

Consumer Confusion

Eco-Labelling

What is the best option for sustainable packaging?

DEPENDS ON THE PRODUCT NEEDS

SPC Definition: Sustainable Packaging

1. Is beneficial, safe & healthy throughout its life cycle

2. Meets market criteria for performance and cost

3. Is sourced, manufactured, transported, and recycled using renewable energy

4. Maximizes use of renewable or recycled source materials

5. Uses clean production technologies

6. Is made from materials healthy in end of life scenarios

7. Is designed to optimize materials and energy

8. Is recovered and used in biological or industrial cradle to cradle cycles

Green Washing

Want to protect/preserve the product

Want to minimize environmental impact

Don’t want to mislead the consumer about the environmental benefits of the product

7 Sins of Green Washing

Declarations, labels and claims provisions are available in ISO 14021 Environmental Claims: A Guide for Industry and Advertisers (Competition Bureau Canada) US FTC Guidelines on environmental marketing claims (FTC 260)

No Easy Answers

• A single-criterion approach cannot be used

• Lightweight from fossil resources vs heavier package from renewable source

• Heavy container reused many times vs light container used once then recycled

Life Cycle Assessment

• Measures the environmental impacts of products, processes or services, through production, usage, and disposal

• Goal is to compare the LCA of products to choose the least burdensome one

• BUT expensive and time consuming exercise that uses industry average inputs and becomes outdated with changes in technology

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard 14040

LCA Identifies All Steps in a Package Life Cycle

Raw Material Extraction

Transportation

Raw Material Processing

Filling & Packaging

Distribution

Retail storage Transportation

Package Conversion Consumer Use

Disposal, Recycling or Reuse

Chemical Pollution

Mineral Depletion

Energy Use

Water Use

GHG Emissions

Life Cycle Examples

1. Review of Lifecycle Inventory Study for Half-Gallon Milk Containers (ULS Report, October 2007)

Conclusion: Based on study of half gallon containers (delivering 10,000 container uses) HDPE containers use less energy to produce, create less post-consumer solid waste, and generate lower GHG emissions than glass or PLA bottles

2. Life Cycle Assessment of coffee consumption: comparison of single-serve coffee and bulk coffee brewing (Quantis, 2015)

Conclusion: Bulk brewed coffee has greater environmental impact due to amount of coffee required (including consumer waste) and electricity for brewing. This despite single-serve coffee generating more packaging waste.

Approaches for Sustainable Packaging

• Reuse/Repurpose

• Reduce

• Recycle

• Use renewable source materials

• Use responsibly sourced materials

• Review manufacturing process

• Optimize package design

• Examine distribution system

• Create a corporate sustainability plan

Source: www.durhamyorkwaste.ca

Practical Steps to Sustainability

Reuse/Repurpose: • Containers reused for numerous cycles (reusable bulk containers

i.e., plastic vs fiber corrugated boxes) • Making items from packaging waste (i.e. TerraCycle, Eco-Connect

Bottle System)

Practical Steps to Sustainability

Reduce: • Eliminate unnecessary packaging

• extra secondary pkg, single large vs multi small packages • Light weight materials

• thinner gauge, less material • Source alternative materials

• flexible vs. rigid packaging • Design package to minimize material usage and minimize scrap during

production • case style selection, cut out waste for boxboard, thermoform vs

injection

Practical Steps to Sustainability

Recycle:

• Promote package recycling through material choices and package design

• use of recycled content & recyclable materials, consider avoiding use of multilayer materials

Canadian Waste Diversion Rate (2010)

Province % Waste Diversion

NL No data

PE No data

NS 42

NB 22.4

QC 28.7

ON 22.9

MB 15.8

SK 13.2

AB 15.4

BC 35.4

YT,NT,NU No data

Source: Waste Management Industry Survey, Statistics Canada

Material Recovery

• Promote consumer recycling (How2Recycle program)

• Design for recyclability (adhesive, inks, full body

sleeves) and separatability (optic sensor separation)

• Better recycling of polymer waste (bottle to bottle recycling i.e. Ice River Springs)

Practical Steps to Sustainability

Renewable Source: Bio-based polymer - polymers based on materials produced by

living organisms Why develop bio-based materials for packaging? • Reduce carbon footprint – plants use CO2 • Renewable resource – compared to petroleum based

materials • Alternate end-of-life scenario – biodegradation or recycling

Bio-based Polymers Categories

COMPOSTABLE

Starch based polymer

Polymer from Chemical or Renewable Source i.e. cellulosic film, PLA, PHA, some polyesters

NOT COMPOSTABLE

Polymer with Renewable Source Component i.e. PLA blended with conventional plastics

Conventional Polymer from Renewable Source

Fibre based

Renewable Source

Compostable Coffee Pods

PlantBottle™ made from renewable resource (30%)

New Developments- Biopolymers

Improve production efficiency

• Use less energy, have less CO2 emissions

Non-food feed stock

• Methane, waste water, agricultural waste (corn cob, stover), switch grasses

Sustainable farming practices

• Non-GMO seeds, no carcinogenic chemicals, soil fertility testing and residue management to avoid soil erosion and water quality issues

Chemical Recycling

• Depolymerize - economics to process PLA back into lactic acid are attractive

Practical Steps to Sustainability

Responsibly source materials:

• Using recycled content

• Using certified fiber

• Material health

Forest Certification Programs

Practical Steps to Sustainability

• Minimizing waste, reduce energy and water consumption in the manufacturing process

• Optimize package design to:

– Reduce product damage in the distribution system (primary, secondary, tertiary)

– Increase in filling/packing line efficiency

– Maximize product/packaging volume ratio and packaging efficiency in unit and distribution packaging

– Maximize shelf life, minimize product waste

Practical Steps to Sustainability

• Transport efficiency

– Minimize transportation distance

– Minimize transport impact i.e. ocean instead of air travel, transport by rail instead of truck

Practical Steps to Sustainability

Create clear corporate sustainability plan

• Build a business case, build a team

• Review currents practices

• Devise metrics to track progress and savings

• Create systems that lead to identification of current problems and drive the continuous elimination of waste

• Re-assess and refine plan to meet goals

• Celebrate success

Consumer Product Examples of Sustainable Packaging Initiatives

Light-weighting Initiatives

Between 2000 and 2014, the average weight of a 16.9-ounce PET (half-liter) plastic bottle has declined 48% to 9.89 grams This has resulted in a savings of 6.2 billion pounds of PET resin since 2000

New PET RightWeight bottle weighs 7.95g, compared to an average of 12g for commercial

500ml water bottles

Source: IBWA (www.bottledwater.org)

Kraft Salad Dressing Bottle Redesign

Results

• Delivered consumer value (easy to hold, pour & store)

• Maintained shelf life, distribution & line performance

• 19% resin reduction (3MM lbs/yr)

• 18% reduction in shipping of empty bottles

• Eliminated 3.9M corrugated totes/yr

Old New

Daylesford Organic Ecolean Packages

• Daylesford Organic (UK), organic milk is sold in containers made by Ecolean

• 1 litre Ecolean® Air package weighs a mere 16 grams (43-52% lighter than a traditional liquid food carton, bottle or can) and stores flat

Source: www.daylesfordorganic.com, www.ecolean.com

Environmental Comparison - Ecolean Air

Energy Consumption Greenhouse Gas Emission Water Pollution

Outputs for the manufacture of 100 000 packages, 1.0 litre size.

Source: www.ecolean.com

Hunt’s Ketchup Light weight Bottle

• Plastipak (Constar) PET bottle for ConAgra Foods' Hunt's Ketchup was the winner of AmeriStar's 3M Sustainable Packaging Award for 2007

• The bottle is recyclable, lightweight and contains an oxygen scavenger (DiamondClear®).

Nature’s Path Package Change

ECO-PACs (66% less packaging) • 437 tons of paperboard saved/yr • 7,464 million BTUs saved/yr • 1,389,232 lbs of CO2 equivalent/yr • 826,542 gallons of wastewater saved/yr • 248,383 lbs of solid waste diverted/yr

Source: Nature’s Path News Release, September 5, 2007

Nature’s Path Package Change

EnviroBox (package size reduced by 10%) • 4.921 million litres of water/yr • 942,128 KWh of energy/yr • 144 tons of paperboard/yr • 400 tractor trailers removed from highways

Kenco Coffee Package Change

Kenco coffee's Eco-Refill package (UK) delivers a 70% savings in the packaging's carbon impact and uses 97% less packaging compared to the glass jar

Source: www.mondelezinternational.com

Kraft Package Change

Kraft YES Pack (US) is recyclable, uses 60 % less plastic packaging, uses 50% less energy and releases 70% less CO2 emissions during inbound transportation than the previous plastic jug design

Source: www.mondelezinternational.com

Replenish Cleaner Refill

• A reusable, durable bottle for a cleaning product with replaceable, screw-on concentrate “pod” cartridges

• Uses 90% less plastic, oil and CO2 emissions compared to pre-mixed cleaners

• Out of a normal bottle of cleaner, only 5% is cleaner and the rest is plastic and water

Source: Data Monitor, March 2013

Sustainability is…

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Complex and Evolving

Future Trends

Consumer education

- Proposed How2Compost program (GreenBlue)

Material recovery infrastructure & end markets

- Novel marking and sorting techniques

- Flexible packaging diversion

Energy from waste

- New and emerging technologies

Future Trends

Technology and innovation

– Active & intelligent packaging, nanotechnology

– Bio-based polymer development (bacteria use of methane/solid waste, starch from potato processing)

– Renewable source for conventional plastics (100% biobased Plant Bottle™)

– Edible packaging (Ooho!)

Closing Remarks

• Packaging can protect the product and prevent food waste

• Packaging is part of the sustainability issue

• Industry must balance consumer demands for sustainable products with demands for convenience, performance, appearance and cost

• Must not loose sight of producing a quality package that protects a product and delivers it safely to the consumer without misleading the consumer

Mr. Fusion Home Energy Reactor

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