Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
material than equivalent smaller ones of an equivalent volume and consequently produces less
waste. Large containers, though, require special handling, and they are not appropriate for
products that need freezing before shipping, unless the product is individually frozen before
loaded into bulk containers.
During distribution and retailing, cardboard from secondary and tertiary packaging and
pallets are the main source of nonfood solid waste. The use of reusable secondary/tertiary
packaging, such as plastic crates, collapsible plastic or wooden containers, and plastic or
metal drums (lined or without liner), are preferable, especially when made of recycled or
recyclable materials.
The main disadvantages of reusable secondary/tertiary packaging are the cost of transpor-
tation and the risk of contamination. Transportation costs can be minimized by using specially
designed nestable, stackable, or collapsible containers and the optimization of logistics. Good
manufacturing practices are needed to curtail the risk of contamination.
At consumer's level
When food products reach the consumer, primary packaging is the culprit of nonfood solid
waste. Following are some actions that the food processor can take to mitigate the creation of
nonfood solid waste after consumption of food products:
Eliminating redundant, superfluous, and unnecessary packaging is the first step to reduce
nonfood solid waste.
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Whenever possible, substituting one-time use containers for returnable ones that can
reduce the need for landfilling, although this is contingent to transportation distance.
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Using packages made of recyclable materials and encouraging customers to recycle.
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Using biodegradable polymers (however, this is currently a limited practice).
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Packaging is covered more in Chapter 12.
ECO-INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
In this chapter, the concept of reusing and recycling has been emphasized on multiple
occasions as an effective approach to minimize the environmental impact of food production,
distribution, and consumption. The success of this concept, however, is definitely contingent
by the distance between the points of production of the solid waste to the point of recycling or
by the point of production of the food product to the point of consumption. For example, if a
certain food is produced in a place that is thousands of miles away from the consumer, it is
unlikely that the environmental impact of using returnable glass containers will be lower than
disposable ones. Similarly, food and nonfood organic wastes, which have high moisture
contents, produced at different steps of food production and distribution can only be
transformed into other valuable products, such as biogas or compost, if the transformation
takes place close to where the waste was generated. A similar situation takes place with the
recycling of cardboard, metals, and plastics, which is appropriate from both the environmental
and economical points of view only when the point of recycling is near the point of generation.
One of the keys for effective reutilization and recycling of materials is proximity and inte-
gration of industries; so the waste products of one constitute the raw material of another. This
kind of integration is possible by applying the principles of industrial ecology and the devel-
opment of eco-industrial parks and eco-industrial networks.
