生鮮食品包裝之循環經濟研究- 以臺灣家樂福為例

Abstract

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Global projections warn that plastic production will double by 2050 despite current policies and the use of alternative materials. Packaging for food and beverages is one of the major demand drivers of the global plastic demand, and experts suggest that solutions to tackle plastic waste generation and pollution must rely on new economic models and policies to prevent and reduce plastic. Taiwan has one of the highest recycling rates in the World; nonetheless, pollution is still a problem. Some environmental organizations point out Supermarkets as responsible for generating a considerable amount of plastic waste. However, there is limited knowledge of the challenges and opportunities that retail companies face to attain plastic packaging use prevention and reduction. This study focuses on the retail sector in Taiwan, taking the case of Carrefour Taiwan to analyze, from the business perspective, the barriers and enablers to reducing and eliminating primary plastic packaging for a specific and limited range of products: fruits and vegetables. The main purpose is to understand which factors prevent and enable the reduction of fresh produce packaging, to what extent those factors can be controlled by the retail company, and detect opportunities to reduce plastic packaging and, consequently, achieve a Circular Economy guided by the Waste Hierarchy Principles. The methodology combines qualitative data and a model adapted from Ma et al. (2019b). The results provide an overview of organizational, operational, technical and technological, stakeholder-related, legal, and commercial considerations.