Environmental impact and management of food packaging at the University of Lethbridge with respect to sustainability and students’ choices

Abstract

Food packaging is a vital component of food security. The growth of distribution networks due to globalization has meant that packaging is safer and guarantees the quality of the product to its final destination. The objective of this study was to examine potential effects that use and disposal of food packaging has generated at the University of Lethbridge, with respect to the environment. The study employed an environmental matrix method to measure significant aspects in the operations of the system, a model to calculate the generated emissions and a survey that measured the perception of students and their preferences for the packaging materials. The project results indicate that operations such as transport and landfill have generated the highest emissions while recycling has helped to decrease emissions. Survey results consistently show that students understand that the university has made significant changes to improve sustainability and know that they are a fundamental part of caring for the environment.