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Saving food Flexible plastic packaging allows more food to get from the farm to the table. Original packaging
New packaging
Result
Sold loose
Perforated polyethylene bags
Lasted 15 days unpackaged versus 36 days in bags
Polystyrene foam tray with cling wrap
Vacuum packing in oxygen barrier film
Shelf life extended from four days to up to 30 days
Sold loose
Lasted four days sold Modified atmosphere packaging with perforated loose versus 20 days in packaging polypropylene film
Paper bag
Biaxially oriented polypropylene film
Food waste reduced from 11.0% to 0.8%
Sliced at counter and wrapped in paper
Polyester tray with a polyethylene and polyester lid
Food waste reduced from 5.00% to 0.14%
Sold loose
Polyethylene shrink wrap
Shelf life extended from three days to 14 days
Sold loose
Perforated bags
Bagging leads to a 20% reduction in in-store waste
Bananas
Beef
Bell peppers
Bread
Cheese
Cucumbers
Grapes
Sources: Denkstatt’s “How Packaging Contributes to Food Waste Prevention” (cheese, bread), McEwen Associates/ Flexible Packaging Association’s (FPA) “The Value Of Flexible Packaging in Extending Shelf Life and Reducing Food Waste” (bananas, bell peppers), Packaging Technology Integrated Solutions/FPA’s “The Role Of Flexible Packaging in Reducing Food Waste” (beef, cucumbers, grapes)
wasted food accounts for 25% of U.S. freshwater use and 4% of U.S. oil consumption. An oft-cited industry rule of thumb is that packaging represents only 10% of the energy required to make and deliver food to the consumer. This figure is from an Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment report that includes nonplastic packaging such as the cardboard boxes used to transport food. Any reduction of that 10% can’t come at the expense of the other 90%, plastics advocates point out. “The most important thing we can do for sustainability is protect the food inside,” Dow’s Wooster says. Improved food protection through better packaging can yield real environmental benefits. The Austrian consulting group Denkstatt looked at steak packaged in a vacuum skin instead of the traditional combination of foam tray and film. Food waste declined from 34% to 18%, resulting in a 2,100-g CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas reduction per steak. In a recent study, Trucost took this example further and found a $606 decrease in environmental costs per metric ton of steak. Generally, pricey foods such as meat reap a bigger benefit from packaging because they are more resource-intensive to produce than bulk goods such as rice.
OCTOBER 17, 2016 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN
35
but the industry is trying to simplify packages to facilitate recycling. Dow, for instance, has developed a standup pouch made entirely of polyethylene. The package, Dow’s Wooster acknowledges, doesn’t have great barrier properties. But it does have one food application, Tyson frozen chicken sold in Mexico, and it’s being rolled out for a big nonfood use: Seventh Generation dishwasher pods. Bernard Rioux, who heads global marketing for DuPont’s packaging resins business, says a single superpolymer may be unnecessary because different kinds of polyolefins can be recycled together. “Meat packaging can be purely polyolefin based,” he says. Rioux adds that one good step in the direction of single-polymer packaging would be getting rid of the metallized layers needed for high-barrier packaging. Amcor’s AmLite technology is precisely along these lines. It involves applying a micrometer-thick silicon oxide layer to a polyolefin film. The silicon oxide has a lower carbon footprint than aluminum and performs just as well, Amcor’s Clark says. “It is essentially like a thin layer of glass on the inside of the plastic.” Juice pouches and other flexible packages made with the AmLite technology can have a 40% smaller carbon footprint than conventional metallized pouches, according to Clark. Similar technology is already used in plastic wine bottles, where it reduces the weight of the bottles by up to 90% and allows for 30% more wine to be loaded onto each truck. In rigid applications, Clark claims, the technology has also proven to be more compatible with recycling than polymer barriers. Applications such as this that use less material are the plastics industry’s go-to strategy for minimizing cost and environmental impact. According to Trucost, if the industry could reduce materials consumption in food and beverage applications by 30%, $7.3 billion in environmental costs could be avoided. To do that, chemical companies will have to come up with materials that can do the same job with less. This is one of the reasons tougher, metallocene-catalyzed polyethylene has been gaining in popularity. According to ExxonMobil’s Shulman, one classic failure that occurs in plastic packages, such as large sacks for rice, are pinholes that come from the stress of shipping. With newer high-performance polyethylenes such as ExxonMobil’s Exceed XP, “you no longer get those holes,” she says. That same quality, Shulman says, allows companies to downgauge a product such as the shrink wrap for beverage six-packs by about 50%. Compared with a cardboard carton, she adds, such a wrap delivers a 70%
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. DuPont’s Rioux says the industry is reaching the limit in terms of how much traditional downgauging it can do. He advocates another emerging approach to making films thinner, called coextruded biorientation. Biaxial orientation—stretching polymer films to align their polymer chains—is not new. Biaxially oriented polypropylene is used in most potato chip bags. But it hasn’t been used on multilayered film until now. The trick, Rioux says, is keeping the polymers in the amorphous state during the
melt phase to prevent crystallization. “You have to control 50 different parameters to make it work. But it works,” he says. Premium plastics made with coextruded biorientation might not be the “superpolymers” the “New Plastics Economy” report had in mind, but they do help ease the environmental burdens of plastics. Industry and its critics may disagree on a lot, but no one can argue with charging good money for a plastic that will only be used in small amounts. ◾
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OCTOBER 17, 2016 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN
37
manager Ronald Lash remarked, “It has become less of an exclusive club and more of a valuable asset to all of its members, regardless of their degree or employment in academics or industry.” ACS has also expanded its focus to better serve a wider range of chemists. “I have seen ACS become more concerned with public perceptions of chemistry and the working conditions of chemists,” wrote professor Steven Schildcrout. “It has broadened its membership base to include those in various chemistry-related fields and at various levels of training.” However, several have mixed feelings about ACS’s growth. Some members worry that newer chemists may be overwhelmed by ACS’s size. Others contend that an increased emphasis on organizational needs has shifted the focus away from members. Professor Thomas Willard wrote, “Mostly it seems to me ACS has grown much bigger, providing its services to a much larger constituency but, in the process, has become less personal.” Others, such as Hoffman, noted that there is still work to be done in the way of diversity. “Women are still not appropriately represented among the winners of the various honors and awards,” she wrote. “We must try to see that they are nominat-
ed, and perhaps the nomination process should be simplified in some way.” Multiple members cited technological advances as having transformed not only ACS but the field as a whole. Electronic communication and manuscript submission and review have increased the speed at which information is exchanged. Printed program books at national meetings have been gradually discontinued in favor of online versions, and SciFinder has taken the place of printed chemical abstract volumes. But these new conveniences may have a flipside. “Unfortunately, participation in our local section has become very limited, probably due to the many competing activities and the fact that the vast amount of information available via the internet has reduced the benefits of personal contact,” wrote biochemical research director Stephen Coburn. Despite the uncertainty of some of these changes, members felt largely positive about the future of ACS. Many have noticed an increased emphasis on mentoring members and helping connect them with employment. Professor Wendell Dilling noted that governance procedures have been updated to make them more fair. Emeritus members say they are continu-
ing to take advantage of their connection to ACS. Professor and consultant Rich Chapas said the connection to the ACS community is his primary reason for staying involved over the years. Dilling wrote, “My volunteer activities with ACS are a way to pay back for the advantages I have received in my chemistry career.” More than a few respondents cited ACS Publications as their primary link to new developments in chemistry. “About 17 years in retirement, I thoroughly enjoy being an ACS member,” wrote research director H. Georg Schmelzer. “The wealth of continuous information is fantastic; I am really thankful.” Patent services supervisor Jean Bostwick wrote, “I like to keep current, even in my 80s, with the chemical and, to some degree, biological fields as they evolve today.” Many emeritus members are still active teaching or conducting research in their given fields. Still more continue to attend national and regional meetings, both as observers and as participants. And they say that the feeling of excitement in being a part of ACS never gets old. As professor Donald Lyman wrote on the cusp of his 90th birthday: “After 67 years as a member, I still feel the way I did in the beginning.” ◾
ACS NEWS
When Medicare Isn’t Enough Millions of Americans rely on Medicare for health insurance, but does the program provide enough coverage for your life’s needs? The American Chemical Society (ACS) wants to help you answer that question at our free Understanding the Basics of Medicare Supplement Insurance webinar. Topics will include: • The basics of Medicare Supplement Insurance and Medicare Advantage Plus • When to buy Medicare Supplement Insurance • An overview of Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans A – N • How Medicare Supplement Insurance can benefit ACS members and their family Don’t miss this free webinar! Understanding the Basics of Medicare Supplement Insurance Wed., Oct. 26 from 2-3 p.m. EST Register today at ACSplans.com/medicare Speak directly with an insurance specialist at 800.247.1771
ONLY YOU KNOW WHAT MATTERS MOST We’re here to help Endorsed by the Board of Trustees, Group Insurance Plans for ACS Members Your Colleagues Working For You! Benefts underwritten by Transamerica companies: Transamerica Life Insurance Company and Transamerica Financial Life Insurance Company (for NY residents).
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