Transforming Food Packaging Waste: Strategies for Revalorization and Sustainable Solutions
摘要
A thorough analysis of creative approaches to addressing the growing environmental, health, and resource management issues stemming from food packaging waste is presented in the chapter “Transforming Food Packaging Waste: Strategies for Revalorization and Sustainable Solutions.” The chapter integrates Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with research on airborne microplastics to assess the environmental and health impacts of packaging materials over their whole lifecycle, drawing on interdisciplinary approaches. This chapter presents a brand-new framework for classifying packaging according to its capacity to be recycled, composted, and release microplastics. This chapter also highlights innovative techniques, including waste-to-energy, bioconversion, upcycling, and advanced mechanical and chemical recycling, and presents case studies from Germany, India, and the European Union. This chapter provides a roadmap for systemic change toward circular economy models by connecting consumer behavior, infrastructure deficiencies, and policy gaps to actionable recommendations. This chapter highlights the value of policy-driven innovation, industrial symbiosis, and public engagement while bridging the gap between theoretical research and industry practice and offering workable solutions. Its contribution is to present food packaging waste as a scientific and socioeconomic problem that calls for cooperative, multi-stakeholder solutions to achieve sustainable, waste-free futures.