“If they are properly disposed of,” Hunnes says, “they can breakdown in months to humus and co2.
If it does, it’s important to properly dispose of them. Your town may not recycle biodegradable plastics.
So, your town may accept a #6 plastic bottle, while your neighbor’s won’t. “Some bio-based plastics can be made entirely from plant starches or made from plastic compounds mixed with plant starches,” Hunnes says.Ī report from Sierra Coating Technologies, LLC, a manufacturer of packaging, found that while recycling technology is improving, it’s your individual municipality that determines which materials get recycled and which don’t. Many of the packages that contain plant-based products contain multiple types of materials. While we can praise companies and towns for boosting recycling programs, we still have a long way to go. Some towns, mine for instance, banned plastic bags from supermarkets, restaurants, and other local retailers. Mega retailers Walmart and Amazon have made a conscious effort to reduce the number of boxes and packing materials used in shipping products. “If we make enough noise, companies will hopefully start to listen,” she says. Both didn’t respond.ĭespite that, Hunnes would like to see all of us advocate for better packaging by contacting companies to ask them to use biodegradable containers.
While researching this article, LeafScore reached out to Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat. She also buys the “ground meat” from Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat because both packages are slightly better than the packaging of their pre-formed burgers. “I prefer to get trail mix in bulk and then put it into my own reusable containers at home.” “I get so sad when I see trail mix divided into one ounce packages within a larger package,” she says. For instance, avoid packages containing multiple single-size servings. If plastic packaging is the only option, she recommends buying in bulk. When it comes to packaging, Hunnes encourages consumers to look for compostable packaging whenever and wherever it’s available. Hunnes devotes an entire chapter to this in her new book, Recipe for Survival: What You Can Do to Live a Healthier and More Sustainable Life, which comes out in January. Once in the ocean, it will photodegrade into smaller pieces (microplastics) that fish and other sea-creatures eat.” The rest ends up in the landfill where it will never break down and may often end up in the ocean. “Much packaging, especially plastic, does not get recycled properly and only seven percent of plastic in the U.S. “Yes, sadly, there is far too much single-use plastic packaging in the world,” Hunnes says. The popular plant-based Beyond Meat and Impossible Burgers sold at Costco, and in most supermarkets, are packaged in non-biodegradable plastic containers, sealed in plastic wrap, and covered in cardboard. However, many of the plant-based burgers we buy come in plastic packages that resemble beef, chicken, pork, and fish containers. “Shifting away from animal-based foods add up to 49 percent of the global food supply without expanding croplands,” Dana Hunnes, Ph.D., MPH, RD, and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Community Health Sciences at UCLA, says, “and would also significantly reduce carbon emissions and waste byproducts that end up in our oceans.” Plant-based burger packaging isn’t sustainableĮating a plant-based diet is a giant step towards lowering our carbon footprint. That’s according to a study from the Plant Based Foods Association, which also found 63 percent of consumers buying plant-based meats keep coming back as repeat customers.Įating a plant-based diet is good for our health and for the health of the planet. In the past year, our consumption of plant-based foods grew by double digits over the prior year.
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