Food packaging waste

27 September 2022

Food packaging has been identified as the biggest source of waste worldwide – thus having a huge negative impact on the environment – and a threat to human health, due to the chemicals migrating into food and drinks from Food Contact Materials (FCMs).

SAFE’s overall objective is to improve the awareness of citizens and the packaging standards as a necessary condition to ensure a safer environment and reduce health risks.  Our action will aim to ameliorate the legislation by advocating for a better framework for food packaging where food contact materials potentially dangerous for health and environment are banned and more ambitious targets for recyclable packaging are applied.

SAFE has also designed a pilot project regarding food-packaging waste in urban areas targeting European cities. With the goal of increasing citizens’ awareness and promoting the use of reusable food packaging, we have launched the campaign Un emballage, Plusieurs Usages (FR) / ‘Curb Pastic, Curb Waste‘ (EN) / ‘Bedwing Plastic, Bedwing Afval‘ (NL) in Brussels. SAFE has gathered consumers and shopkeepers together in a dynamic network where signle-use packaging is reduced.

Past Activities (click to see)

11/05/2019 (Ixelles, BE)

SAFE kicked off its sustainable packaging campaign ‘Un Emballage, Plusieurs Usages’ at the Flagey market (Ixelles, Belgium) on 11 May 2019. With this first event, SAFE’s team officialy launched its food packaging campaign in Brussels with the support of the LIFE programme of the European Commission, the EU Green Week and Bruxelles Environnement. On this day, we raised awareness about plastic consumption and single-use packaging waste. We used this opportunity to promote our network ‘Un emballage, Plusieurs Usages’/’Curb Plastic, Curb Waste’ that will be launched in Brussels in the coming weeks.

The network ‘Un emballage, Plusieurs Usages’ will allow consumers to get and use reusable packaging in a number of partner shops. Each time a reusable packaging is used in one of these shops, a discount will be offered by our partners. Moreover, reusable packaging will be available to consumers, who will be informed about the environmental and health impact of plastic consumption and single-use packaging.

31/06/2018 (Amsterdam, NL) & 7/07/2018 (Saint-Gilles, BE)

On 30 June and 7 July,  SAFE’s team was out in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and in Saint-Gilles (Belgium) to distribute reusable packaging kits and to engage citizens on the excessive use of plastic food packaging, its environmental and health impact and how to reduce it. This awareness raising activity, organised in collaboration with Ekoplaza and La Maison Eco of Saint-Gilles, is part of a wider campaign led by SAFE and supported by the Commission’s LIFE Programme to sensitize citizens on the issue of excessive food packaging. The campaign’s goal is to make people understand the cruciality of the issue and, more importantly, to empower them to be a part of the solution of this environmental and health crisis.

16/05/2018: Round Table at the European Parliament on “Food Packaging and the Circular Economy: Making Health and the Environment a Priority” – Minutes

Round table at the European Parliament “Food Packaging and the Circular Economy: Making Health and the Environment a Priority”, organised by SAFE and hosted by MEP Piernicola Pedicini and MEP Claude Turmes, 16th May 2018, Brussels – Belgium

Video Message Recorded by MEP Morin-Chartier for SAFE’s Round Table 

Since she could not attend SAFE’s Round Table in person, MEP Morin-Chartier recorded a video especially for the event. In her speech, MEP Morin-Chartier echoed SAFE’s position regarding the need to reduce the amount of plastics used in the European Parliament and announced the Parliament’s goal of accomplishing a zero-plastic environment by summer 2019.

Food packaging waste