Reducing plastic packaging and food waste through product innovation simulation.

塑料包装废弃物是最近进入公众意识的一个主要问题，英国政府承诺实施一项25年计划，到2042年逐步淘汰一次性包装。大约41%的塑料包装用于食品，英国每年产生100万吨包装废物。自2007年以来，食品包装的回收率增加了1844%，但目前只有三分之一的食品包装被回收。目前，许多消费者正在抵制塑料包装。然而，由于保质期缩短，这导致食物浪费（和食源性疾病风险）增加。通过消除食物浪费，可以节省多达三分之一的用于生产食物的资源[1]。在英国，每年大约有1000万吨食物被浪费，平均每个家庭（即有孩子的家庭）每年在浪费的食物上花费700英镑。在可避免的家庭食物浪费中，有31%（130万吨）是由包装、包装和份量大小以及家庭饮食习惯不匹配造成的。塑料污染和食物浪费可以通过产品重新设计和其他家庭干预措施来减少。然而，几乎没有证据可以确定减少塑料污染和食物浪费的最佳解决方案。食品工业和消费者有各种可能的解决方案，但无法知道影响和意外后果（没有昂贵，耗时的试验和测量）。这是增强食品系统能力以快速减少塑料废物的主要障碍。愿景该项目通过提供决策支持工具来触发食品行业和消费者的行动，从而减少塑料污染（和食物浪费）。有关减少塑料和食物垃圾（以及与成本和环境影响的权衡）的证据将通过更新家庭模拟模型（HHSM）来生成。HHSM由谢菲尔德大学和WRAP（废物与资源行动计划）进行试点，以快速模拟食品创新的影响，使制造商能够选择最佳创新和干预措施，并优先考虑其开发和部署。该项目将纳入目前的HHSM，数据1）塑料包装的选择和组成（来自Valpak/WRAP），2）围绕包装的家庭行为见解（单一和再利用备选办法）和食物（由团结联盟/妇女行动方案提供），具体的新鲜农产品数据（来自格林威治）3）塑料在供应链中的作用及对环境的影响（通过SCEnATi-食品供应链流程的大数据分析工具（由谢菲尔德提供）。更新后的HHSM将能够量化塑料和食物垃圾的减少，以及各种解决方案的环境和货币权衡。这将通过开发一个优化引擎，并将其与更新的HHSM集成，这将进一步模拟优化方法与应用开发的元启发式算法的结果，这个问题。可能的解决方案包括为消费者提供不同的包装尺寸，或改变包装类型/形状/可重复使用性/耐用性。最成功的解决方案将转化为消费者和行业指南，重点关注与最高浪费和权衡潜力相关的前30种食品。这将使快速的产品和食品系统重新设计成为可能。该指南将开放获取，并通过WRAP和全球行业网络以及开放获取网络工具进行部署。WRAP正在协调自愿协议英国塑料公约和考陶德承诺2025（专注于食物浪费和碳减排）。参考文献：[1]机械工程师学会，“全球食物-不浪费，不匮乏”伦敦，2013[2] Quested，T. E、意大利面条汤：食物浪费行为的复杂世界。“RCR 79（2013）：43-51。[3]Recoup 2018，英国家用塑料系列

THE PROBLEMPlastic packaging waste is a major issue that has recently entered public consciousness, with the British government committing to a 25-year plan that would phase out disposable packaging by 2042. Around 41% of plastic packaging is used for food, with the UK generating 1 million tonnes per year of packaging waste. Food packaging has had a 1844% increase in recycling since 2007, yet still only one third of food packaging is currently recycled [3]. Currently many consumers are boycotting plastic packaging. However, this is leading to a rise in food waste (and foodborne illness risk) due to decreased shelf life. Up to a third of the resources used to produce food could be saved by eliminating food waste [1]. In the UK, approximately 10 million tonnes of food are wasted every year, with the average family (i.e. a household containing children) spending £700 a year on food that is wasted. 31% of avoidable household food waste (1.3 million tonnes), is caused by a mismatch of packaging, pack, and portion size, and household food habits [2]. Plastic pollution and food waste can be reduced through product re-design and other household interventions. However, there is little evidence to determine the best solutions to reduce plastic pollution and food waste. The food industry and consumers have a variety of possible solutions, but no way of knowing the impacts and unintended consequences (without costly, time consuming trials and measurement). This is a major barrier to empowering the food system to enable the rapid reduction of plastic waste. THE VISIONThis project reduces plastic pollution (and food waste) by providing a decision support tool to trigger action in the food industry and by consumers. Evidence concerning plastic and food waste reduction (and trade-offs with cost, and environmental impacts) will be generated by updating the Household Simulation Model (HHSM). The HHSM was piloted by the University of Sheffield and WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) to model the impacts of food product innovation quickly, to enable manufacturers to select the best innovations and interventions, and to prioritise their development and deployment. This project will incorporate into the current HHSM, data on 1) plastic packaging options and composition (from Valpak/WRAP), 2) household behavioural insights around packaging (single and reuse options) and food (provided by UoS/WRAP), with specific fresh produce data (from Greenwich) 3) plastic in the supply chain and environmental impacts (via SCEnATi- a big data analytics tool of the food supply chain processes (provided by Sheffield). The updated HHSM will enable the quantification of plastic and food waste reduction, and the environmental and monetary trade-offs of various solutions. This will be done by developing an optimization engine and integrating it with the updated HHSM which will further the simulation optimization methodology with the findings from applying developed meta-heuristic algorithms to this problem. Possible solutions include offering consumers different pack sizes, or changing packaging type/shape/reusability/durability. The most successful solutions will be translated into consumer and industry guidance focusing on the top 30 foods linked to the highest waste and tradeoff potential. This will enable rapid product and food system redesign. This guidance will be open access, and deployed through WRAP and global industry networks, and open access web tools. WRAP is coordinating the voluntary agreements UK Plastics Pact and the Courtauld Commitment 2025 (focused on food waste and carbon reduction). This allows rapid scaling of the HHSM outputs throughout the UK.References: [1] Institution of Mechanical Engineers, "Global food - Waste not, want not" London, 2013[2] Quested, T. E., et al. "Spaghetti soup: The complex world of food waste behaviours." RCR 79 (2013): 43-51.[3] Recoup 2018, UK Household Plastics Collection