Food Systems Lab is pleased to announce that we have received a grant from the Trans-Atlantic Platform Social Innovation Call for a new project titled Social Innovation Management for Bioplastics (SIMBIO). We will use a social innovation approach to address the environmental and social challenges of bioplastic packaging throughout its entire supply chain from production to end-of-life management in collaboration with researchers from Brazil, Poland, and the United Kingdom.
Bioplastic packaging made from bio-based polymers has a large potential impact on both food systems and waste management systems worldwide. As plastic pollution is a global problem, the solution needs to be developed with a global context and cannot be isolated to one region or country. This requires close collaboration of research team members on both sides of the Atlantic to work on a solution to bioplastics that is viable and scalable to multiple locales. We will engage stakeholders throughout the supply chain who influence and/or are impacted by the production, use, and end-of-life management of bioplastic packaging, including those who are normally excluded from design and decision-making processes across three continents.
Through this project that will take place over the next two years, we plan to explore the following research questions:
- What are the social and environmental roles of bioplastic packaging in the global context of sustainable food production and consumption?
- What is the current understanding of bioplastic packaging for food from the perspectives of consumers and businesses?
- Under what circumstances is bioplastic packaging the best option for storing and transporting food?
- What are alternative products with lower environmental footprints that can be used instead ofbioplastic packaging?
- How does the resource extraction and industrial processing for producing bioplastic packagingaffect food security, the ecosystem, and the well-being of those impacted?
- If the quantity of bioplastic packaging increases substantially, how will these products impact theformal and informal recycling, composting, and waste management sector?
- If bioplastic packaging is the best option for certain scenarios, what are product design parameters,processes, policies, and supporting systems that need to be in place to manage a supply chain of these packaging materials that minimizes negative environmental and social impacts?
Building on our experience from running a food waste social innovation lab in Toronto, we will be using a similar methodology for this project, following a three workshop format to understand the problem on bioplastic packaging, design solutions, and prototype promising solutions. Summary reports and journal articles will be written as we progress through this research.
