Loose distribution of food: a life cycle-based assessment of waste prevention and impact reduction potentials

Abstract

Waste prevention has been the priority of the European waste management strategy for a long time. It represents in fact, even before recycling, a more direct option for the efficient use and the saving of natural resources. In this framework, the goal of this study is to evaluate, by using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), the environmental convenience of an alternative method for the large-scale retailing of dry food products based on loose distribution recently introduced in Italy with the aim to reduce waste generation. In particular, this study focuses on three specific products: dry pasta, breakfast cereals and rice. For each product, some baseline scenarios, where the distribution is made with single use packaging, were compared to some waste prevention scenarios, in which the product is distributed loose (through gravity bin dispenser). The comparison was carried out considering both waste generation and the potential impacts on the environment and the human health. Results show that loose distribution of dry pasta allows to reduce the amount of waste up to 50% and the majority of the potential environmental impacts only when it is compared with single use cartonboard boxes but not with single use polypropylene bags. Loose distribution of cereals allows to reduce significantly both the amount of waste (up to 87%) and the environmental impacts compared to the distribution with single use packaging made of high-density polyethylene bag put into a cardboard box (bag-in-box). Finally, loose distribution of rice allows to reduce the amount of waste up to 86%. Moreover, in the waste prevention scenarios the majority of the potential impacts is reduced. In particular, the reduction is bigger in comparison with baseline scenarios where a primary packaging including a cartonboard box is used.