Packaging and Waste

One way the snack in your bag contributes to environmental degradation is through packaging waste.

Of the 1.73 million tonnes of domestic waste that was generated in Singapore in 2015, one third of it was packaging waste. This is predicted to rise with increasing population and growing consumption (NEA to introduce mandatory requirements for more sustainable packaging and waste management , 2016). The problem of waste comes with a host of environmental problems including the production of methane, production of toxins with incineration that causes air pollution and acid rain, as well as serving as a breeding ground for diseases.

To reduce the waste generated, the Singapore government has put into effect the Singapore Packaging Agreement, which will be activated within the next three to five years. This means that there will be mandatory requirements on the packaging of consumer products.

Some of the proposed measured incudes packaging weight restrictions, recyclability of packaging, and recycled content of the packaging (Tan, 2016).

Not all packaging are made the same

As with meat, fish, and vegetables, not all packaging are made the same.

Packaging materials vary in recycle-ability, with multi-material based packaging harder to recycle. Even if the materials are recyclable on their own, they might not be once they are mixed in together. This is as technology is currently unable to separate of the layers of plastic and foil pressed together, and even if they do, they are prohibitively expensive. For example, chip bags are usually made of 7 layers of processed metals and plastics.

When you are planning to recycle, try to choose packaging made of single material.

Always go big

When it comes to packaging,

1. The smaller the packaging, the more materials it uses.
2. The smaller the packaging, the more mix of materials it needs to use, in order to increase durabiltiy. As explained above, packaging composed of mixed materials are harder and more costly to recycle, if at all possible.

Packaging-free around the world

Did you know that zero waste grocery stores exist?

Zero-waste grocery stores are grocery stores selling 100% package free foods. This means that they do not provide packaging with their groceries so that you can shop trash free. They are currently available in Berlin, Vienna, Barcelona, and in some parts of the United States and Canada. They carry with them the philosophy pf pre-cycling – which is to pre-empt waste from bags and packages by not offering them at all.

Watch the video here. 🙂

What can you do?

Since we do not have one of zero-waste grocery stores in Singapore, we would probably not be able to get our snacks without packaging.

However, there are still things we can consider when consuming these delicious snacks.

1. Given an option, choose products with less packaging, and that are made of a single material.
2. Recycle the packaging, especially the outer layers that do not have contact with food
3. When purchasing snacks without packaging, bring your own bag.