Food packaging wastes amid the COVID-19 pandemic: Trends and challenges

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 crisis generated changes in consumer behavior related to food purchase and the management of food packaging. Due to the intensification of online purchases for home delivery, there has been an increase in the use of food packaging (mostly non-biodegradable or non-renewable). Moreover, the fear of contamination with SARS-CoV-2 through contact with materials and surfaces has led to an intensified disposal of food packaging, promoting a setback in waste management. Scope and approach The purpose of this short commentary is to address the impacts of increased use and disposal of food packaging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Technological solutions have been presented as tools to minimize the environmental impacts of the increased volume of disposed food packaging (namely, the development of biodegradable food packaging) as well as to minimize the occurrence of cross-contamination (namely, the incorporation of active antiviral components). Key findings and conclusions The consumer behavior in the COVID-19 pandemic requires actions concerning adoption of bioplastics for single-use food packaging. Polylactide (PLA) stands out for high production viability, performance comparable to those of petroleum-based thermoplastics, and carbon neutral life cycle. Moreover, active components including organic compounds (resveratrol, luteolin, myricetin etc.) and metals ( e.g ., copper, zinc, silver) can mitigate cross-contamination. Therefore, there are opportunities to reduce food packaging-related environmental footprints while also decreasing the occurrence of surface-mediated cross-contamination.

Opportunities for single-use plastic reduction in the food service sector during COVID-19

“…In October 2020, Nova Scotia became the third Canadian province to implement a provincial wide plastic bag ban ( Government of Nova Scotia, 2019 , 2021 ). Unfortunately, interest in reducing SUPs came to a standstill in many jurisdictions during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Patricio Silva et al, 2020 , 2021 ; Prata et al, 2020 ; de Oliveira et al, 2021 ; Kochańska et al, 2021 ). Nova Scotia announced its first three cases of COVID-19 on March 15, 2020 and promptly called for the closure of all in-person dining in restaurants.…”

Grafted Lactic Acid Oligomers on Lignocellulosic Filler towards Biocomposites

“…PLA and LA copolymers (e.g., block copolymers [ 14 ]) may be used for biomedical or pharmaceutical [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ] applications. However, the main market of these polymers is packaging [ 19 , 20 ].…”

An Evaluation of the Potential of Essential Oils against SARS-CoV-2 from In Silico Studies through the Systematic Review Using a Chemometric Approach

“…Their antiviral properties have been increasingly researched due to the current COVID-19 pandemic scenario worldwide. According to Queiroz de Oliveira et al [101], the pharmaceutical and food industries are highly interested in finding EOs with potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. However, in vitro and in vivo studies about this subject are scarce in the literature.…”

“…In the study by Senthil Kumar et al [56], eudesmol was present in the EO from P. graveolens and showed significant inhibitory effects of ACE2 on epithelial cells. This compound has been suggested for incorporation into biodegradable food packaging to mitigate viral cross-contamination [101].…”