Sustainable Packaging: Too Green to Keep Fresh?

Sustainable packaging may be all the rage, but it still falls short where it matters most: preserving food. “We are nowhere near a point where sustainable packaging can ensure food safety or extend shelf life,” says Suresh Goel, CEO of Bikanervala, speaking at the 19th Pack Plus event hosted by RX India on July 31 at Bharat Mandapam, Delhi.

Food-grade packaging, he argues, must contend with multiple challenges, from environmental exposure to microbial safety. “At present, sustainable options cannot offer adequate protection. Their application is, at best, temporary, and prohibitively costly,” Goel notes.

Alternatives like biodegradable and jute-based packaging are making inroads but remain niche. “Even now, they are not commercially viable at scale.”

On India’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) rules, which require brands to ensure plastic packaging is collected and recycled, Goel is frank. “No brand can personally guarantee post-consumption recovery. We outsource that responsibility to licensed agencies and pay them per unit collected.”

EPR, introduced under the Plastic Waste Management Rules of 2016 and amended in 2021 and 2022, places the onus for end-of-life waste management on producers, importers and brand owners.

Some innovations, such as edible packaging, have caught public imagination but not industry favour. “It sounds exciting, but it is impractical,” Goel says. “Once exposed to the environment, even the wrapper becomes perishable.”