# Health impacts of foodware and packaging: why does it matter? Foodware and food packaging play a crucial role in our society, facilitating the storage, transportation, and preservation of foods. Food packaging materials range from plastics, paper, and glass to metals and composites. The life cycle of packaging products, from raw material extraction and manufacturing to transportation and disposal, involves energy- and resource-intensive processes and generates large amounts of waste. This results in long-term damage to humans and our planet, with impacts on climate change, ecosystem degradation, and human health. The presence of harmful chemicals of concern in foodware and packaging can further directly expose consumers and the environment, leading to harmful health impacts. *** ### The particularities of food packaging At the end of its life, **food packaging will either be recovered (reused, recycled, composted) or end up as waste (incineration, landfill, or littering)**. Although recycling is presented as the ultimate solution to our environmental issues, it is in reality only a small part of the solution. Recycling - especially plastics recycling - will not be able to address the ever-increasing amount of single-use products. This is an important issue. **Plastics dominate the food packaging market** because they have many advantages: they are cheap, versatile, lightweight, with good protective qualities. While the exact percentage may vary across regions, plastics are estimated to account for 50 to 60% of food packaging products globally. **Plastic-based food packaging is therefore a sustainability hot spot**, with a disproportionate amount of the waste not being recovered ([Geyer et al., 2017](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.1700782)). **Primary food packaging impacts extend to human health** because they are in contact with our food. Ensuring the safety and sustainability of packaging materials is essential for protecting public health. **There is scientific evidence that chemicals in foodware and packaging materials can contaminate food** and water sources, posing health risks. Chemically complex materials with low [inertness ](/misc/glossary.md#inertness)such as [paper](/background-information/food-contact-materials-fcms/paper-and-board.md), [cardboard](/background-information/food-contact-materials-fcms/paper-and-board.md), and [plastics ](/background-information/food-contact-materials-fcms/plastics.md)are of particular concern. *** ### Why It Matters The global production of packaging materials - including food packaging - will continue to grow exponentially, driven by the expansion of global markets. Without a significant change in our consumption habits, and a shift towards more sustainable food packaging materials systems, their contribution to exceeding planet boundaries will continue to grow. The diverse health impacts that can be caused by food contact chemicals (FCCs), is currently underestimated and poorly assessed. As a result, regulatory bodies are basing current regulations on outdated or limited science, meaning that public health is not being properly protected. Transitioning to more **sustainable foodware and food packaging** is therefore crucial for mitigating these impacts. **➡️ But what exactly is "**[**sustainable foodware and packaging**](/background-information/what-is-sustainable-food-packaging.md)**"?** --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://help.upscorecard.org/background-information/health-impacts-of-foodware-and-packaging-why-does-it-matter.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.