Challenges Associated with Cleaning Plastic Food Packaging for Reuse
Reuse of plastic packaging for food is a promising route to reduce the environmental burdens, but presents particular challenges due to the need to avoid cross-contamination of contents. This study investigates the challenges associated with cleaning and assessing existing recycled PET (rPET) food-t...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Waste |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2813-0391/1/1/3 |
| _version_ | 1797607006956158976 |
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| author | Samsun Nahar Mala Sian Ryan Larder Fiona L. Hatton Elliot Woolley |
| author_facet | Samsun Nahar Mala Sian Ryan Larder Fiona L. Hatton Elliot Woolley |
| author_sort | Samsun Nahar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Reuse of plastic packaging for food is a promising route to reduce the environmental burdens, but presents particular challenges due to the need to avoid cross-contamination of contents. This study investigates the challenges associated with cleaning and assessing existing recycled PET (rPET) food-to-go (FTG) pack forms and provides recommendations to enable a shift towards reusable food packaging systems. Pack forms were fouled under controlled conditions and washed in accordance published guidelines. Three fouling media were selected to represent food residue typically found in FTG packs. Investigated parameters included fouling type and quality, wash and rinse times, and detergent dosage. Cleanliness was assessed using adenosine triphosphate (ATP) swabbing and the effect on the material properties was studied via tensile testing, IR spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. The results demonstrate that cleaning effectiveness is dependent on the quantity of fouling, the duration of the wash cycle and the dosing of detergent indicating the potential to optimise parameters for different fouling conditions. It is also concluded that ATP testing is an inappropriate cleanliness assessment method for food packaging due to many opportunities for it to produce false negative readings, its high cost, and slow response. The rPET material properties remained largely unchanged apart from a slight increase in stiffness, however packaging suffered significant deformation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:22:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d9b3b06460bf49569cae966537b77b76 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2813-0391 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:22:17Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Waste |
| spelling | doaj.art-d9b3b06460bf49569cae966537b77b762023-11-17T17:48:30ZengMDPI AGWaste2813-03912022-09-0111213910.3390/waste1010003Challenges Associated with Cleaning Plastic Food Packaging for ReuseSamsun Nahar0Mala Sian1Ryan Larder2Fiona L. Hatton3Elliot Woolley4Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE113TU, UKWolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE113TU, UKDepartment of Materials, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UKDepartment of Materials, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UKWolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE113TU, UKReuse of plastic packaging for food is a promising route to reduce the environmental burdens, but presents particular challenges due to the need to avoid cross-contamination of contents. This study investigates the challenges associated with cleaning and assessing existing recycled PET (rPET) food-to-go (FTG) pack forms and provides recommendations to enable a shift towards reusable food packaging systems. Pack forms were fouled under controlled conditions and washed in accordance published guidelines. Three fouling media were selected to represent food residue typically found in FTG packs. Investigated parameters included fouling type and quality, wash and rinse times, and detergent dosage. Cleanliness was assessed using adenosine triphosphate (ATP) swabbing and the effect on the material properties was studied via tensile testing, IR spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. The results demonstrate that cleaning effectiveness is dependent on the quantity of fouling, the duration of the wash cycle and the dosing of detergent indicating the potential to optimise parameters for different fouling conditions. It is also concluded that ATP testing is an inappropriate cleanliness assessment method for food packaging due to many opportunities for it to produce false negative readings, its high cost, and slow response. The rPET material properties remained largely unchanged apart from a slight increase in stiffness, however packaging suffered significant deformation.https://www.mdpi.com/2813-0391/1/1/3sustainable consumptioncircular economysingle use plasticsfood and drinkwaste reduction |
| spellingShingle | Samsun Nahar Mala Sian Ryan Larder Fiona L. Hatton Elliot Woolley Challenges Associated with Cleaning Plastic Food Packaging for Reuse Waste sustainable consumption circular economy single use plastics food and drink waste reduction |
| title | Challenges Associated with Cleaning Plastic Food Packaging for Reuse |
| title_full | Challenges Associated with Cleaning Plastic Food Packaging for Reuse |
| title_fullStr | Challenges Associated with Cleaning Plastic Food Packaging for Reuse |
| title_full_unstemmed | Challenges Associated with Cleaning Plastic Food Packaging for Reuse |
| title_short | Challenges Associated with Cleaning Plastic Food Packaging for Reuse |
| title_sort | challenges associated with cleaning plastic food packaging for reuse |
| topic | sustainable consumption circular economy single use plastics food and drink waste reduction |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2813-0391/1/1/3 |
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