	Article Directory		Article Submission Service		Article Marketing Blog		Publishers		Member Log In

Article Directory :: Reference & Education Articles

Less Food Waste And Better Food Packaging

By Mark Etinger

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 19Feb2012
Word count: 452
Viewed: 36 time(s)

Get Free Content For Your Site

Think about all the food you consume in a day. Now think about what portion of that food you toss out. The night before garbage collection, most families and businesses take a look into the refrigerator to see what food has passed its prime. Sometimes we feel as though it's impossible to eat everything we've purchased. We buy way too much and most end up in the trash. The amount of food wasted in America alone is mind boggling. America generates more than 34 million tons of food waste every year! The only waste we generate more of each year is actually paper and neither amount is something to be proud of.

At least a good amount of the paper waste is able to be recycled. Less than three percent of the food thrown out in 2010 was able to be recovered and recycled. Only three percent. The other 33 million tons are now just sitting in a landfill, taking up space. Not only does wasted food have an effect on the economy, it also impacts the environment. Both families and businesses alike spend a great deal of money on food - we do need to eat in order to survive. Since most of the garbage we dispose of is food, think about how much money you're throwing away each day. Individual families certainly have an impact, but think about larger corporations, restaurants, grocery stores, and cafeterias. They play a much larger factor.

Both food itself and food packaging have quite the impact on the environment. Food sitting in a landfill quickly rots and turns into a source of methane, a greenhouse gas that can destroy the atmosphere. Fifty percent of global methane is created by human-related activities. Landfills account for twenty percent of the methane emissions.

Solutions for our "garbage problem" need to happen on both sides: people need to purchase and throw out less and packaging corporations need to create less hazardous food packaging for food. Recently an Israeli company developed a biodegradable package that will perish within 180 days. As of now, most food packaging is made of plastic, which can take nearly a thousand years to break down. But the main reason we actually need to rely on plastic is that other materials are not strong enough to seal food and keep it fresh and free from contaminants. The Israeli company is still testing materials to ensure they are safe for food use, but this is a big step in the right direction.

With today's technology combined with smart shopping, we can help reduce the amount of food waste and food packaging that's taking up landfills across America.

http://www.NEPack.com/ is your packaging corporation. Offering stand up pouches, roll stock, barrier films, laminated films, food packaging and more!

EasyPublish™ this article - publishers click here