Recent research by the Sustainable Initiatives Fund found that approximately 25 million Styrofoam meat and vegetable trays are going to Canterbury landfill each year.
Recent research into plastic waste by SIFT showed that about a third of plastic packaging consumed annually by New Zealand’s households is recovered for recycling but there are a number of plastic products that cannot be recycled at all – products such as expanded polystyrene (meat and vegetable trays), cling film, bread bags and other flexible plastics like food wrappings. It is estimated that millions of black meat trays are thrown away by households every year. However, they do not break down; they remain intact for hundreds, possibly thousands of years.
Styrofoam Meat and Vegetable Trays
- These cannot be recycled.
- They do not break down in the soil.
- There is currently no known re-use for them.
- They cannot be burned because they emit black toxic smoke.
- Meat trays are usually contaminated with meat juice and need to be sterilised before used for anything.
Take Action
As yet a viable solution to Styrofoam meat and vegetable trays has yet to be found but in the meantime you can reduce how many of these go to landfill by buying meat from the butcher wrapped in butcher’s paper, fruit and vegetables from the farmers’ market or from the supermarket as long as it is not wrapped in plastic.
