{"id":66371,"date":"2022-10-27T23:21:04","date_gmt":"2022-10-27T23:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/10\/27\/crunch-time-as-crisp-makers-adopt-plastic-free-packets\/"},"modified":"2022-10-27T23:21:04","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T23:21:04","slug":"crunch-time-as-crisp-makers-adopt-plastic-free-packets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/10\/27\/crunch-time-as-crisp-makers-adopt-plastic-free-packets\/","title":{"rendered":"Crunch time as crisp makers adopt plastic-free packets"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When Del Currie decided to ditch single-use plastic, he had a “nasty secret” \u2014 he couldn’t give up his love of chips. <\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He says his environmentally conscious daughter wasn’t pleased when she found out he was cheating. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She suggested that if he was serious about making a difference, he should start his own crisps company, one that doesn’t sell them in plastic wrappers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“So I said, ‘Okay, I will,'” says Mr. Currie, who previously worked in app development. “It wasn’t so much a decision to create packless chips, there just wasn’t anyone doing any good, so I decided to go for it.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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True to his word, he launched Spudos in March this year, which now supplies chips to more than 65 zero-waste shops in the UK and Republic of Ireland. These are stores that aim to do away with packaging, instead encouraging customers to show up with their own containers, which they fill from dispensers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Spudos buyers then flavor and season the chips in-store using one of the company’s “Spud Dust” shakers. These cylindrical shakers are made of plastic but are designed to be returned to the company’s East London office for refills.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For online orders from customers across the UK and overseas, Spudos packs its crisps and flavors in packets made from a natural material made from wood pulp called cellulose. These decompose in about 45 days.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In addition, you can order a refillable tub, which is made of plastic but can be used over and over again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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While most of us don’t give away chips, or as they say in North America, potato chips, making and selling them is a huge industry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Global sales totaled US$32.2bn (\u00a326.6bn) in 2021, according to one study, and in the UK alone it is widely reported that six billion packets of crisps are consumed each year. Meanwhile, data for the US says Americans typically eat 1.85 billion pounds (839 million kg) of potato chips a year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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One problem with this consumption is packaging — most chips continue to be sold in single-use plastic packaging that isn’t recyclable. These can take decades to finally decompose.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The biggest names in crisps say they will need extra time to switch to more eco-friendly packaging.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the UK, by far the best-selling brand is Walkers, which produces 14 million packs of crisps a day. In 2018, the fact that the packaging wasn’t recyclable made headlines when environmentalists began sending the packaging back to the company.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Walkers’ owner, US giant PepsiCo, says it will transition to using recycled or renewable plastics by 2030.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Meanwhile, it’s smaller chip makers who are leading the way when it comes to greener packaging, like Canadian company Humble Potato Chips. It was launched by Alicia Lahey and her husband Jeff earlier this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Their compostable chip packs are also mostly made from cellulose and are certified plastic-free. They are said to have comparable durability to plastic bags and are now available in both Canada and the US.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“We started Humble Potato Chips for our son, Wilder,” says Ms. Lahey. “When he was born, we began to hope for a future that wasn’t just our own.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Our goal is to educate people that we don’t have to rely solely on plastic for food packaging, and that we can all help eliminate microplastics from our food systems, human bodies, oceans and soil.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Back in the UK, Herefordshire farmers Sean Mason and Mark Green launched the Two Farmers brand of sustainable crisps in 2018. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The duo spent four years looking for suitable packaging to put the chips on the market. \u201cEventually we went to a packaging show and came across sustainable cellulose film, which we combined with plant-based, biodegradable ink and glue,\u201d says Mr. Mason.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“She [the packaging firm in question] had never made it into crispy packets and took two and a half years to develop.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the end, the cost of the finished packaging had quadrupled to the predicted price. “[But] We try to give people the option if they want to spend a little more for something more eco-friendly. As we scale, costs will come down.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Two Farmers chips are now being sold on Eurostar trains between London and Paris and Brussels, and Mr Mason says they are “in talks to be launched in several European countries in early 2023”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But why isn’t plastic chip packaging typically recyclable? Shelie Miller, a professor of sustainable systems at the University of Michigan, says that’s because “most aren’t just made out of plastic, they’re made out of thin layers of metal and plastic.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe mix of metal and plastic poses a real challenge for recycling systems that need to separate individual materials for recycling. Not only are the packages a mix of materials, but separating two different materials on such a thin package is an incredible challenge from a technical point of view and not economically feasible.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But Prof Miller also warns that there are some problems with biodegradable packaging, such as: This can mean that affected items can no longer be recycled.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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More from the BBC series looking at trade from an international perspective.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Andrew Curtis, manager of scientific and regulatory affairs at the European Snacks Association, which represents chip makers, defends the use of single-use plastics. “Flexible plastics used in our category have a specific purpose,” he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThey are lightweight, thus reducing energy wastage for transport and production, they are hygienic, they comply with current food contact material legislation and, depending on the needs of the product and material selection, can have excellent moisture, oxygen, aroma and UV light barrier properties. “<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Meanwhile, a Walkers spokesman said the UK will soon be “testing new packaging made from recycled plastic, products such as bags, biscuit wrappers and other packaging”. The brand launched a recycling program back in 2018, but it shut down in April this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Prof Miller hopes consumer pressure will lead to more manufacturers moving away from single-use plastics faster than currently anticipated. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Back at Spudos, Del Currie is more outspoken. “Big brands should try harder,” he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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