Impact of Food Packaging Materials on the Environment

Abstract

Food packagingencloses food contents to protect them from tampering or contaminationfrom physical, chemical, and biological sources, with active packaging being the standardpackaging system used for preserving food products. This study aims to examine the impactof fo od packaging materials on the human environment. Three Research questions guided thestudy. To achieve this, the descriptive survey research design was adopted. The study focusedon Odeda local government area. The simple random sampling technique was used to select150 community members within the study area. A four point Likert Type Rating ScaleQuestionnaire type, ‘Impact of Food Packaging Materials on the Environment’, was used tocollect data from the selected respondents. The descriptive statistics of frequency counts andthe simple percentage were used to analyze the demographic data and the research questions.Findings revealed, amongst other things, that food packaging materials significantly affect theenvironment if not rightly disposed of. To thi s end, the study recommended that Governmentshould ensure the provision of disposable vehicles which would help collect waste and,importantly, there should be a campaign towards the appropriate disposal of food packagingmaterials by the people; this cam paign should, amongst other things, address the need for anenvironment that is free for harmful substance for human habitation.