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How Throwaway Plastic is Failing to Solve Europe’s Food Waste Problem

Food waste represents a major failure of our economy.

The associated costs of food waste in the EU wasestimated at EUR 143 billion in 2015, equivalent to theoperational budget of the EU.

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Plastic packaging is often heralded as a meansof avoiding food waste but it has not provided acomprehensive solution.

Growth in the application ofplastic packaging has increased alongside the growth infood waste, with Europe’s total demand for plastic risingto 49 million tonnes per year, of which 40% is used forpackaging.

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A new report from Friends of the Earth Europe and Zero Waste Europe argues that food packaging is not helping to prevent food waste and could in fact be creating more.