Healthy People, Healthy Planet: Eco-Friendly Packaging
added 07/21/09
Our personal health and the health of our planet are critical components of our well-being. Decisions made in the Co-op aisles can have lasting effects on both. From packaging to production, ingredients to meal planning, food choices are an everyday way to make a change for the better. Through this series, “Healthy People, Healthy Planet,” Co-op Dietitian Mary Choate and Sustainability Coordinator Emily Neuman offer their insights on how to choose wisely, for personal and planetary health, as you shop for food. Drawing upon the latest science, common sense, and practical experience, they hope to bring some clarity to the often-challenging subject of “what to eat.”
by Emily Neuman
Co-op Sustainability Coordinator
Have you ever stood in an aisle of the Co-op comparing products, trying to figure out which item’s packaging is most eco-friendly?
More and more companies are striving to provide their products in packaging that carries a small ecological footprint.
Eco-friendly packaging is:
- Lightweight (material minimization) and contributes to a high product-to-packaging ratio
- Made without the use of confirmed or suspected environmental toxins
- Made of renewable and/or recycled content
- Reusable, recyclable, compostable, or edible at end of service
- Effective (i.e., it increases the likelihood that you’ll consume the product before it spoils or is damaged)
Consider an apple peel. It may be the most eco-effective packaging material in our stores. Apples have a high product-to-packaging ratio, the packaging is made entirely of renewable resources, it is compostable at home (or edible), and it is highly effective.
Understanding Producers’ Choices
Few human-made packaging solutions come close to the elegant simplicity of apple peels. Human solutions, as a rule, are complicated. Witness the shoppers who participate in the Co-op’s monthly Gimme 5 recycling program as they puzzle over manufacturer’s food packaging decisions. Why do some yogurt companies use #2 plastic, some use #5, and some use #6? Which is best?
As a sustainable business leader, Stonyfield Farm has shared the story of its packaging decisions; the Stonyfield journey provides a context for understanding food packaging in the U.S. today.
Stonyfield Farms
Ten years ago, Stonyfield Farm commissioned a life cycle assessment (LCA) of their yogurt packaging. The results of the LCA indicated that Stonyfield should switch from HDPE (#2 plastic) containers to polypropylene (#5 plastic), noting that “one of the most beneficial characteristics of #5 plastic is that its structure allows the container to be made of thinner walls while maintaining the same structural integrity.” Stonyfield—and many other yogurt producers—have switched to polypropylene.
The LCA also recommended that Stonyfield switch from injection-molded to thermoformed cup manufacturing. Stonyfield has made the switch, as have several other yogurt companies, on 6- and 8-ounce cups.
Meanwhile, Stonyfield has been working with a company called Preserve to improve consumer access to #5 plastic recycling. In 2008, Stonyfield helped the Co-op connect with Preserve to recycle all rigid polypropylene packaging that we collect from shoppers and in-store operations. On behalf of its shoppers, the Co-op has sent hundreds of pounds of #5 plastic to Preserve this year. (See Gimme 5 Update.)
Like many companies, Stonyfield is caught between following through on sustainable principles in their product presentation and delivering the convenience that consumers demand. As stated on their website, “One of the key findings [of the LCA] showed that the choice of container size has a greater impact on environmental burdens than either the choice of cup material or the cup manufacturing process. The 32 oz. containers (quarts) consumed 27% less energy to produce and distribute than the 8 oz. containers. If all Stonyfield Farm yogurt were sold in 32 oz. containers, the annualized energy savings would be equivalent to 11,250 barrels of oil.”
The Smart Consumer
Notably, Stonyfield continues to offer most of its products in single-serve containers instead of the quart size and recently expanded its single-serve “YoBaby” line.
Does Stonyfield offer YoBaby products in multi-serve containers? No.
Does it advertise that its whole, plain yogurt in 32 oz. containers is a good baby option? No.
Can our shoppers recycle YoBaby containers at Gimme 5 collections? No. They are made from polystyrene (#6 plastic).
Where Stonyfield has stopped, the smart consumer can start. As Stonyfield recently pointed out on their lids, buying one quart of organic yogurt rather than the equivalent volume in single-serve containers gives the consumer more yogurt for less money with less packaging.
What Do You Think?
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