Disposable food packaging

Disposable food packaging comprises disposable items often found in fast food restaurants, takeout restaurants and kiosks, and catering establishments. Typical disposable foodservice products are plates, bowls, cups, utensils, doilies and tray papers. These products can be made from a number of materials including plastics, paper, bio-resins and bamboo.

History

In 1908, Dr. Samuel J. Crumbine^[1] was a public health officer in Kansas. He was on a train when he witnessed one of his tuberculosis patients taking a drink of water from a common dipper and water bucket (a publicly-shared way of drinking water) in the car. Right behind his patient was a young girl who drank from the same dipper and bucket. This inspired him to launch a crusade to ban publicly-shared or common utensils in public places. Taking note of the trend Lawrence Luellen and Hugh Moore invented a disposable paper cup called the "Health Cup" and later renamed the "Dixie Cup".^[2][3]

Single-use cone cups were followed the by commercialization of single-use plates and bowls, wooden cutlery, and paper food wraps. By the 1930s these products were widely used to feed the men and women who worked on the remote dams, bridges and roads of the Works Progress Administration. In the 1940s they were used to feed defense factory workers.^[4]

After World War II, foodservice packaging materials like plastic and polystyrene foam were developed. The unique properties of these materials (insulation and weight reduction) and their ability to be made into a variety of shapes and sizes, provided foodservice operators, and consumers, with a wider variety of packaging choices.^[4]

A major development in disposable foodservice packaging happened in 1948 when the newly founded McDonald's Restaurant closed its doors to revamp its menu. Along with changing their menu items, the restaurant wanted to change the way it handled dishwashing and dishwashers, car hops and wait staff, and storage, breakage and (customer) theft of table ware. When the McDonald's re-opened their restaurant six months later, their meals were no longer served with the use of glasses, plates or cutlery, and would be taken away from the restaurant by the customers.^[4]

Sanitation

The use of disposable foodservice packaging is a step toward preventing foodborne disease. By being used only once, these products significantly reduce food contamination and the spread of diseases.^[5]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Food Code authoritatively spells out the sanitary and health advantages of single-use foodservice packaging: "A food establishment without facilities...for cleaning and sanitizing kitchenware and tableware shall provide only single-use kitchenware, single-service articles, and single-use articles for use by food employees and single-service articles for use by consumers." The Food Code further states "in situations in which the reuse of multiuse items could result in foodborne illness to consumers, single-service and single-use articles must be used to ensure safety." ^[5]

Materials used

disposable foodservice packaging can be made from a number of materials each with its own uses and benefits.

Aluminum

Aluminum is used to manufacture foils, wraps, bags, containers, and trays.

Plastic and foam

Many disposable foodservice products can be made of plastic: cups, plates, bowls, trays, food containers and cutlery, for example. Plastics are used because the material is lightweight and holds the temperature of hot/cold food and beverages.

Polystyrene is in one of the most common types of plastics used for foodservice packaging. In its foamed form, polystyrene is often incorrectly referred to as "Styrofoam." Styrofoam actually is the trademarked brand name for building materials, pipe insulation and floral and craft products made by The Dow Chemical Company.

Paper and paperboard

Disposable foodservice products made from paper include cups, plates, bowls, napkins, carryout bags, trays, egg cartons, doilies and tray liners. In addition to paper and paperboard products, molded fiber products are made from recycled paper and are formed under heat and pressure into plates, bowls, trays and cup carriers

Alternative materials

A number of manufacturers are now making disposable foodservice products from a combination of natural starches, recycled fibers, water, air, and natural minerals.^[6] These composite products include cups, plates, bowls, cutlery, sandwich wraps, food containers and trays.

The material used to make these kinds of disposable foodservice products is primarily PLA or polylactic acid. Some products are made from a mixture of PLA and pulp fibers that are molded into disposable foodservice items with heat and pressure. Others are made from a composite or mixture of starch and other materials, such as limestone and recycled fibers, to give them additional strength.^[6]

Cost

By reducing the need for equipment and additional labor, disposable foodservice packaging is an economical alternative to multiuse items and eliminates the need for dishwashers and other support equipment (racks, carts, dollies, shelving, bins) It can also save money on water and energy used by dishwashers and can eliminates the need to replace reusables that are broken, damaged, stolen or accidentally discarded.^[7]

Environmental concerns

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, paper and plastic foodservice packaging discarded in the country’s municipal solid waste stream accounted 1.3 percent in 2007 (by weight) of municipal solid waste.^[8] The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also says that an often-cited waste prevention measure is the use of washable plates, cups, napkins … instead of the disposables variety. (This will reduce solid waste but will have other environmental effects, such as increased water and energy use.)

Litter composition studies conducted in many states across the country have found that foodservice packaging items make up 20 to 22 percent of our nation’s litter stream.^[9]

Most foodservice packaging can be recycled, but isn’t for a variety of reasons. According to the Foodservice Packaging Institute the biggest barriers to recycling foodservice packaging items are public health and economics.

Once used, foodservice packaging is considered contaminated, and thus much of it is unfit for recycling, unless it is cleaned and sorted. Some places have successfully found ways to recycle such packaging including, but they've met with limited success.^[10]

Collection costs, the value of scrap material, and increased energy expenditures create an additional economic barrier to recycling foodservice packaging. While recycling foodservice packaging is difficult, recycled materials are being used in some foodservice packaging.

Notes

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ "Dixie Cup Company History". Lafayette College Libraries. August 1995. http://academicmuseum.lafayette.edu/special/dixie/company.html. Retrieved 2011-10-05. 
3. ^ Food and Drink Quarterly, Vol 4 Issue 4, "Package Perfect" By John Burke
4. ^ ^{a b c} Foodservice Packaging Institute, "A Brief History of Foodservice Packaging", 2006
5. ^ ^{a b} http://www.foodsafety.gov/~dms/foodcode.html^{[dead link]}
6. ^ ^{a b} Foodservice Packaging Institute, "Single-Use Foodservice Packaging: A Tutorial", 2007
7. ^ Library
8. ^ Municipal Solid Waste | Wastes | US EPA
9. ^ Library
10. ^ http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_plastics/sec_pfpg.asp?CID=1436&DID=5228