Goodbye, single-use wrap; hello, bioplastics. Malaysia’s ambitious roadmap to phase out single-use plastics by 2030 faces challenges such as food waste and rising food prices. Bioplastics could be the answer – but they will need to be developed, managed and disposed of with care. Traditional petroleum-based plastic packaging is strong, versatile and durable but not fully recyclable or biodegradable. It contributes approximately 5.4 percent of global food-system greenhouse gas emissions – far more than any other part of the supply chain, including transportation. Without effective packaging, though, food waste may increase. And it’s already a big problem: Malaysia wastes 17,000 tonnes of food daily. Every kilogram of food thrown into landfill produces the equivalent of 2.5 kilograms of greenhouse gas.
It leaves policymakers to choose between the two evils of plastic-waste emissions and food-waste emissions.
Malaysia’s roadmap encourages local industries to embrace biodegradable and compostable plastic alternatives. These products protect food as effectively as petroleum-based plastics, but they are designed to degrade in a controlled environment of high temperature and sufficient oxygen and require industrial composting.
