Which packaging type for a 12-ounce, single-serve container of orange juice would you choose as the most sustainable option:
- Aluminum/canned, made with recycled material;
- Carton, described as biodegradable/compostable;
- Glass, 100% recyclable; or
- Plastic, described as biodegradable/compostable?
If you were like the U.S. consumers surveyed by food scientists in a University of Massachusetts Amherst study, you’d prefer glass and believe it was the most sustainable choice. And you all would be mistaken.
Dr. Alissa Nolden and Nomzamo Dlamini, a food science doctoral candidate, recently published a paper in the journal Sustainability. The study aimed to understand the motivation behind consumers’ packaging choices, while also weighing price, lifestyle and other attitudes. In turn, the data can help industry experts understand what consumers think, believe and prefer, and educate them on how to make more sustainable choices.