Use this plastic, not that plastic: The fight for truly sustainable packaging

In today’s Big Story Podcast, you may have noticed a lack of plastic bags at some of your favourite stores, as many places in Canada phase out single-use plastics. In their place you may have been offered ‘reusable’ shopping bags, which are also often made of plastic. You may have used sustainable containers or cups — but unless you were also told how to properly dispose of them, it probably didn’t make a difference.

Natalia Lumby is a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University. She researches sustainability in packaging, particularly in the food and beverage industry.

“At the end of the day it’s legislators working together with the people who provide products into the market and packages into the market,” says Lumby.

Moving towards less and more sustainable packaging is necessary. The question is all in how we do it, and how we communicate that to people who are just trying to get through their shopping, or takeout, or coffee run. So, what actually makes packaging sustainable, and how can we make these products actually work for consumers?

You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.

You can also find it at thebigstorypodcast.ca.