Conservatively, how many bags of snack chips do you figure you’ve eaten in your lifetime? Whether packed in kids’ lunchboxes, grabbed on the run to complement a sub sandwich, or opened up to serve with salsas and dips at a party, snack bags of various sizes are everywhere. Because their design is intended to protect and keep food fresh, they usually are made of polymers—which never decompose. Thus, all those chip bags, supporting the consumption of all those snacks we love, are not only everywhere but also ever-lasting.  

In turn, they are by definition unsustainable, prompting various efforts to come up with a solution. A notable example comes from the British Crisp Co., which has introduced a bag made of paper and coated with Hydropol, a biodegradable plastic alternative. Developed in collaboration with EvoPak, a sustainable packaging supplier, the new packaging is biodegradable and can be recycled, re-pulped, or composted. It does not break down into microplastics, and it has been certified as both non-toxic and marine-safe.

Another innovation instead relies on eucalyptus and the strong cellulose material it produces naturally. Using plant-based inks and lamination, the crisp producer Two Farmers developed a completely compostable bag; it takes about 36 weeks to break down in consumer-level composters or just 11 weeks in industrial compost systems.

Rather than plant matter, bags labeled “Made of Stone” feature approximately 70 percent calcium carbonate, the mineral that can combine into rock and stone, together with a biodegradable resin. Despite the inclusion of rock-like substances, the packaging is flexible and even floats, which reflects the developer’s explicit goal of minimizing the amount of plastic pollution that people regularly encounter in oceans and lakes. As these innovations reveal new alternatives and viable options, the question that remains is whether consumers will accept them and alter their consumption behaviors. The most environmentally conscious customers likely have embraced these notions already, due to their regular efforts to seek out eco-friendly designs. But for other consumers (and snack manufacturers), cost considerations remain a notable potential barrier. For example, the eucalyptus-based packages by Two Farmers cost about 10 times as much as a similar plastic package. 

In contrast, the British Crisp Co. highlights that the costs of its paper packaging are similar to those of existing materials. The underlying technology thus suggests highly promising extensions to other product settings as well, such as dishwasher tablets, pet care products, dry food, and cereals. Furthermore, it has healthcare applications, such that Hydropol provides an alternative for pill casings and even soluble stitches. Such expanded uses are driven powerfully by both consumer and industrial demand. For example, various airlines have announced their efforts to rely on alternative packaging that can reduce the amount of waste they create in serving meals and snacks to their passengers. 

Returning to our opening question, about how many snack bags you have consumed in your lifetime, we can offer you some details to inform your guess: The CEO of British Crisp Co. asserts that in the United Kingdom, people consume more than 8 billion packets of chips each year. If it can convince these customers to embrace its packaging innovation, it arguably could serve as a model for using packaging decisions to achieve positive environmental change.

Discussion Questions

1. Are food industry producers responsible for developing sustainable packaging? What other changes might they make to reduce waste?
2. Beyond cost, what other barriers might exist to consumers’ acceptance of alternative packaging? 

Sources: Casey Flanagan, “British Crisp Co. Launches First Recyclable Paper Chip Bag,” Packaging World, March 29, 2024; Hannah Wallace, “The Snack Bag of the Future Won’t Be Made from Plastic,” Bloomberg, March 27, 2023, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-27/snack-companies-try-alternative-packaging-to-ditch-plastic; Gwen Ridler, “The British Crisp Co. Launches ‘World’s First’ Fully Recyclable Crisp Bag,” Food Manufacture, March 28, 2024; Packaging Gateway, “British Crisp Co. Introduces Fully Recyclable Paper Packet,” Packaging Gateway, April 1, 2024; OpenAI ChatGPT, “Assistance with Research on Packaging Innovations in the Food Industry,” ChatGPT, July 7, 2024.