The influence of packaging attributes on recycling and food waste behaviour – An environmental comparison of two packaging alternatives

Abstract This paper analyses how user behaviour influences the environmental comparison of two different packages for minced meat - a lightweight tube and a tray. The direct and indirect environmental effects are evaluated using simplified LCA. A number of packaging attributes with regard to food waste and recycling behaviour are analysed for the packages, and then used for the scenario calculations. The results show that the tube is the superior environmental alternative when only the direct effects are considered. When indirect effects and user behaviour are included in the comparison, the tray is the better alternative due to higher recycling rates and, most importantly, less food waste during the process of emptying. However, the environmental impacts due to the food waste in the tube may be compensated for, if the longer shelf-life of the tube results in lower wastage in the households. It is concluded that indirect environmental effects and user behaviour should be included in environmental assessments of packaging to obtain meaningful results.

[1]  Helen Lewis,et al.  Packaging's Role in Minimizing Food Loss and Waste Across the Supply Chain , 2015 .

[2]  Yrjö Virtanen,et al.  The Role of Household Food Waste in Comparing Environmental Impacts of Packaging Alternatives , 2014 .

[3]  Patrik Söderholm,et al.  Norms and economic motivation in household recycling: Empirical evidence from Sweden ☆ , 2009 .

[4]  Fredrik Wikström,et al.  Environmental impact of packaging and food losses in a life cycle perspective: a comparative analysis of five food items , 2011 .

[5]  M. Saier,et al.  Climate Change, 2007 , 2007 .

[6]  Serenella Sala,et al.  Consumers and their behavior: state of the art in behavioral science supporting use phase modeling in LCA and ecodesign , 2016, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[7]  Rabbe Thun,et al.  Framework for Sustainable Food Packaging Design , 2013 .

[8]  I. D. Hooge,et al.  Consumer-Related Food Waste: Causes and Potential for Action , 2015 .

[9]  Ian D. Williams,et al.  Social, cultural and structural influences on household waste recycling: A case study , 2006 .

[10]  Stephen L. Vargo,et al.  Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing , 2004 .

[11]  Friederike Ziegler,et al.  Food Production and Emissions of Greenhouse Gases , 2010 .

[12]  Yann Leroy,et al.  Exploring the environmental impacts of olive packaging solutions for the European food market , 2014 .

[13]  Niels Jungbluth,et al.  The role of flexible packaging in the life cycle of coffee and butter , 2009 .

[14]  Alaster Yoxall,et al.  Attributes of packaging and influences on waste , 2011 .

[15]  Stephen Clune,et al.  The influence of packaging attributes on consumer behaviour in food-packaging life cycle assessment studies - a neglected topic , 2014 .

[16]  Darren Perrin,et al.  Issues associated with transforming household attitudes and opinions into materials recovery: a review of two kerbside recycling schemes , 2001 .

[17]  Ole Jørgen Hanssen,et al.  Sustainable packaging design: a holistic methodology for packaging design , 2010 .

[18]  Fredrik Wikström,et al.  A life cycle perspective on environmental effects of customer focused packaging development , 2008 .

[19]  Karin Östergren,et al.  FUSIONS Definitional Framework for Food Waste , 2014 .

[20]  B. Edvardsson,et al.  Service portraits in service research: a critical review , 2005 .

[21]  M. Löfgren,et al.  Winning at the first and second moments of truth: an exploratory study , 2005 .

[22]  Helén Williams,et al.  Potential environmental gains from reducing food losses through development of new packaging – a life‐cycle model , 2010 .

[23]  Helge Brattebø,et al.  Dynamic metabolism modelling of urban water services--demonstrating effectiveness as a decision-support tool for Oslo, Norway. , 2014, Water research.

[24]  Jan M. Kooijman.  Environmental assessment of packaging: Sense and sensibility , 1993 .

[25]  J. Jelsma.  Designing ‘moralized’ products , 2006 .

[26]  Ole Jørgen Hanssen,et al.  Environmental impacts of product systems in a life cycle perspective , 1998 .

[27]  Olivier Jolliet,et al.  Life cycle assessment of spray dried soluble coffee and comparison with alternatives (drip filter and capsule espresso). , 2009 .

[28]  Per-Anders Hansson,et al.  Waste of organic and conventional meat and dairy products—A case study from Swedish retail , 2014 .

[29]  Ernst Worrell,et al.  The paradox of packaging optimization – a characterization of packaging source reduction in the Netherlands , 2013 .

[30]  Greger Henriksson,et al.  Uncertainty Regarding Waste Handling in Everyday Life , 2010 .

[31]  Annika Olsson,et al.  Elucidating the Indirect Contributions of Packaging to Sustainable Development: A Terminology of Packaging Functions and Features , 2016 .