Creamy roasted garlic pasta

This article is going to sound chaotic. It is a brain dump of my research and observations, mostly in relation to my work (I work with a compostable packaging company, specifically as an environmental, social, and governance advisor) and also the result of my interest in human health. Significant changes are going to impact the packaging landscape in Australia near term, aligning with leading international counterparts (minimum recyclability content for e.g.). A lot of us are bored of seeing statements like ‘check locally’ to determine whether your soft plastics can be recycled. The transparency around such schemes also requires improvement.

At the same time, with an increased mainstream media focus on PFAS, which are the new microplastics, expect to see laws that will remove or limit specific chemicals from food packaging. This, I believe, is the result of scientific research that demonstrates the public health impacts of these additives in plastics and other packaging materials, which have very real public health sector costs.

This article compiles the key takeaways from the current packaging reform underway in Australia and also discuss the chemicals that are in food packaging, what to avoid and Awhy recycling is not the best solution. Much of what we write here has recurring themes of interconnectedness and plastics, the food system is one such subject. Large multinational corporations are controlling our food supply, and in part with packaging companies, poisoning the public. I will also share links for you to read further.

Where possible, avoid pre-made meals from the supermarket and take-out foods, especially packaged in plastic, in particular where foods are hot. Just because something is in the market, does not mean it is safe. If you struggle to find meal ideas or are not super into cooking, we have started posting meal plans in our Instagram stories each week, which you can access via our meal plan highlight which includes recipes and ideas for food pairings to include a variety of macro and micronutrients. Food is powerful, it can either prevent disease or cause it and I think this is a really important thing to consider.

Plastic food packaging and human health

Around 16,000 identifiable chemicals are used in plastic. A quarter of them are classified as hazardous in some way, while almost 11,000 haven’t been assessed for safety at all. Plastic "Tox" EP 1: Plastics & Health – Are Phthalates Making Us Infertile? with Dr. Shanna Swan is a video everyone needs to watch. Shanna H. Swan, Ph.D., is one of the world’s leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologists. Her book, ‘Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race’ is an important read for anyone concerned about the environment, pollution, fertility or declining public health.

Not specific to Australia and Aotearoa, New Zealand, the banning of resins 3 (PVC), 4 (LDPE) and 6 (PS) is not just about what can be feasibly recycled. These plastics are considered the ‘least safe’. Styrene, for example (used in PVC and Polystyrene (PS)), is classified as probably carcinogenic to humans. It was classified in 2018 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The National Toxicology Program lists styrene as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen. Studies date back to the 1970s. We also know, well, not everyone yet, that chemicals in plastics migrate into foodstuffs, leading to chronic human exposure. These articles from The Guardian discuss recent research, Recycled and reused food contact plastics are ‘vectors’ for toxins – study and Are plastic containers safe for our food? The answer is no.

What about plastic recycling?

Manufacturing petrochemical plastics and recycling plastics is also inherently dangerous. This piece published in The Guardian, Toxins hidden in plastics are the industry’s dirty secret – recycling is not the answer, explains why we need to know more about what goes into manufacturing plastics, and this article speaks to a ruling in the U.S. designated the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic as posing an ​“unreasonable risk” to the well-being of factory workers and nearby residents. There is also this article, “It’s As If They’re Poisoning Us”, which details the health impacts of plastic recycling in Turkey, which is subject matter more of us need to be aware of if we are going to get behind government initiatives to increase recycling capacities. Advanced recycling is another term to be aware of; this approach basically involves using chemicals to recycle; the industry just does not want to call it chemical recycling because that is not marketable.

The push to control plastic waste and chemicals in food packaging: What you need to know

In September, I attended the DCCEEW Webinar: Stakeholder Update on Packaging Regulatory Reform. Reform is coming. It was stated in the opening that 30% of the plastic in use in Australia is packaging, and this is an issue because the Australian government, like other governments, has various commitments to reducing plastic waste. These are Australia's 2025 National Packaging Targets (the 2025 Targets). The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) is the organisation charged by the government to facilitate the delivery of the 2025 Targets, to be achieved by 31 December 2025. To save you from opening the link, the 2025 Targets are:

— 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging

— 70% of plastic packaging is recycled or composted

— 50% of average recycled content included in packaging (revised from 30% in 2020)

— the phase-out of problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic packaging

This report, the Australian Plastic Flows and Fates Study 2020-21 National Report, which was commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, states that 3,791,000 tonnes of plastics were consumed in Australia. Only 371,300 tonnes of plastics were recovered, with 334,000 tonnes being recycled and 37,300 tonnes sent to energy recovery (this is incineration). This means the national plastics recovery rate, being a combination of recycling and energy recovery, was 14.0%. It was stated that this figure which was an improvement (12.3% in 2019-2020) was the result of strong growth in the recovery of business-to-consumer packaging (consumer packaging). Of the 371,300 tonnes of plastics reprocessed, 57.1% was reprocessed in Australia. The rest was exported.

What will the packaging reform look like?

I think it is important to also keep in mind that when we consider The 2025 Targets, the definition of recyclable will become evidence-based and will be determined by kerbside access, which is in turn determined by what recyclers will accept at their facilities. While much of the focus is on bottles and takeaway packaging, there was no specific mention of all the other packaging in supermarkets, for example. But we should expect that if the targets are to be achieved, the below will apply to ALL food packaging. The below are responses to statements during the webinar.

— There is a desire to see states and territories unify their waste management approach to reinstate confidence in residents to even participate (in recycling)

— ReMade in Australia. This appeared to be a branded initiative to get buy-in from the public to recycle

— The government is seeking to develop a national framework for recyclable content traceability, a consistent set of global rules

— Acknowledged that there are brand owners - either unaware or free riders gaining competitive advantage from those who are contributing to improving environmental outcomes. This is because APCO is not mandatory, and many businesses care more about their profit margins than participating in a programme to achieve The 2025 Targets

— The government wants to see mandatory packaging design guidelines and chemical additive control (this includes PFAS) to achieve recovery targets and support the transition to a circular economy. This is required because not just anyone should be able to decide what packaging is produced. If the government wants to eliminate problematic plastics, they must stop the production of these materials and products rather than downstream thinking about what to do with them

— Regulation will be clear, national, and mandatory. It needs to be. I work in packaging, and it is challenging when each State has different rules for what can be recycled

— The industry (food and beverage manufacturers, supermarkets, manufacturers, distributors) must be responsible for the materials they place on the market

Ultimately, the government wants to see waste reduced and packaging materials kept in use and circulated at their highest value. This is, by definition, the circular economy. However, the current plan fails to acknowledge the role of aluminium, paper, glass or bioplastics (non-fossil-fuel-based plastics) in achieving The 2025 Targets. There is also limited conversation around the health impacts of using PET or RPET for food packaging and the public health implications of recycling it.

I saw a post on LinkedIn recently (but lost because I did not save it), someone saying they loved Pringles but not the tube. You can’t recycle it. It was not designed to be recycled. The company could package their product differently. They chose not to because, legally, they are not required to do better. However, in the United Kingdom, they are trialling a paper tube that can be recycled, so we’ll see. There are solutions. Perhaps Pringles can give some of us hope. In the meantime, avoid what plastics you can, especially when the food or beverage is exposed to heat, takeaway coffee, for example, PET water bottles outside on a summer's day. Health is a state we must create for ourselves, and that requires being active in our decisions about what we consume and do not. I will leave this article from the Dezeen here, where Matt Millington writes, "We need to design for human behaviour if we're ever to get rid of single-use plastics".