Has COVID-19 slowed down our quest for making packaging more sustainable?

2020 was supposed to be the ‘year of sustainability’, building on the momentum of last year where climate action and reducing plastics pollution were at the forefront of discussions.

However, since the outbreak of COVID-19 focus has quite rightly shifted towards overcoming the pandemic.

Most companies have been focussing on ensuring the safety of their staff and customers, managing elevated demand for essential items, and supporting their local communities.

This has mean that the packaging supply chain has had to become more flexible as demand has proven to be unpredictable.

With this in mind, it is not surprising that we have already seen signs that many consumers have rethought their preference for ‘packaging free’ consumption. With hygiene and safety being more prominent in consumers’ minds, some food retailers have gone back to increasing packaging and individually wrapping fruits and vegetables.

Some foodservice chains have also halted use of personal cups because of the risk of contamination, bringing back up the use of disposable paper cups and single use alternatives.

There is a risk that the low oil price may lead to an increase in the use of virgin plastic materials and in some places, single use plastic bags have become widespread rather than reusable ones.

It’s hard to anticipate what the impact of COVID-19 will be on sustainable packaging, but one thing we can say for sure is that in the short term, our behaviours and habits have been transported to the ones we had 10 years ago.