Buying environmentally conscious

Plastic packaging can be greener than cardboard

Plastic bags can be more environmentally friendly than cardboard boxes, as a new German study has now shown (symbolic image).

(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

Which food packaging is the most environmentally friendly? There is no simple answer to this question. Plastic can sometimes be greener than cardboard. One example is pasta packaging, as a study commissioned by the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union shows.

Although the production of paper from wood is less energy-intensive than the production of plastic from crude oil, this is only the case as long as the quantity ratio is the same. If more material is needed, energy consumption increases. More material means higher emissions during production and transportation. According to the study, a paper bag is only slightly more environmentally friendly than a plastic bag; the plastic bag is even more environmentally friendly than a cardboard folding box.

For fruit and vegetables, reusable nets are the most environmentally friendly, and paper and cardboard trays are more environmentally friendly than plastic trays. The study by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in Heidelberg took into account the carbon footprint, non-renewable resource consumption and the release of pollutants.

Reusable nets are the most environmentally friendly packaging for fruit and vegetables.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

Transport route plays a role
For yogurt and similar products, disposable jars completely failed in all the categories assessed. The environmental impact was almost ten times greater than that of all other packaging options. The reusable jar (maximum 100 kilometers from filling to retail) and the plastic-saving 3K cup are in first place ex aequo. However, a reusable jar should not be transported too far; after 500 kilometers it is only as good as a conventional plastic cup.

For mustard or mayonnaise, a plastic cup performs better than a disposable jar. For strained tomatoes, it is greener to use a composite cardboard pack than a glass bottle or can. The latter weighs less and can be recycled - provided the waste has been properly separated beforehand.

Packaging made from a single material is more ecological
When it comes to canned vegetables, shrink-wrapped products are more environmentally friendly than tin cans and disposable jars with screw-on lids.

As a rule of thumb, customers can assume that packaging made from a single material is more environmentally friendly than composite materials. Disposable jars are greener than reusable jars if the transportation route remains within reasonable limits. The weight of the packaging has a major impact on the footprint.