Browsing by Subject "substitution"

Both the ever-increasing littering problem and climate change mitigation have driven towards to develop more sustainable packaging solutions for food. Thus, a sustainability of a food package is a complex issue and needs careful analysis in order to ensure the paramount, the food safety. The recent research has concentrated to find novel solutions to replace for instance plastics as a packaging material. So far there has been very little data about the used food packaging materials and their volumes, especially in product groups, not only as single items. This thesis analysed the single food items sold in the Finnish supermarkets, by categorising the data into product groups and analysing the obtained product data further. The analysis focused to identify product groups for possible packaging material substitution, especially single-use plastics (SUP). Pre-determined criteria were used to identify the most interesting product groups for further research. The criteria included (i) sufficient volumes, either in packaging material weight in grams or in sales share, (ii) the suitability of the polymer type for recycling, and (iii) the possible impact of the SUP directive. The EU’s SUP directive (Directive (EU) 2019/904) sets several restrictions for the SUP use also in the food packaging industry. Therefore, there is a need to substitute some of the most harmful packaging materials. In most cases the main driver for substitution is the environmental impacts, especially littering and its prevention. This thesis concentrates to find possibilities to diminish the littering problem from the packaging material perspective.

Forests play a central role in climate change mitigation actions, and substitution, that is the use of wood products in place of fossil intensive materials, has been recognized as a potential way to avoid emissions. While there are studies estimating the substitution impact of products, i.e., the avoided emissions, there is a lack of studies integrating market perspectives into substitution estimation. To contribute to this research gap, this study explores the market assumptions of substitution through the theoretical lenses of value chains and microeconomic theory on demand. The objectives are to recognize powerful decision-makers in the value chains, to establish a better understanding for the current state of substitution in the markets, and to explore the determinants of demand of the wood-based products. To limit the scope of this study, the use of pulp-based products was examined in the cases of packaging and textile sectors. Semi-structured interviews with 14 experts were arranged to discuss their views on substitution and demand of the pulp-based products in the chosen sectors. Additionally, a Likert scale was filled at the end of each interview to supplement the interview answers and enable elasticity and cross-price elasticity analyses to examine substitution. The sample of respondents was chosen through the use of snowball sampling and a matrix to recognize potential interviewees. First, the findings of this study suggest that in both sectors, the decision-making power on materials is held by the operators at the end of the value chain whereas the forest sector is located at the beginning of the chain. Second, in both sectors, there is willingness to find more sustainable material solutions, but the tools for this are lacking. In the case of packaging sector, the barrier capacities of plastic are unattainable with fiber-based materials, meaning that reducing plastic use does not always imply switching the feedstock itself. In the textile sector, the production of wood-based textile fibers is not yet scaled enough for it to compete with similar materials. However, the analysis of elasticities indicates that some substitution can be expected in both sectors. Third, a number of important determinants of demand were identified, yet no single factor could be identified as the most important one. This study concluded that there is room to improve the market assumptions for substitution impact estimation. In packages, the market preferences of fiber-based packaging in some uses give a rise for interpretational issues, while plastic reduction goals do not always imply switching to wood feedstock. In textiles, the new man-made cellulosic fibers (MMCFs) are expected to mostly substitute for viscose and fill the cellulosic gap from stagnating production of cotton instead of substituting for synthetic fibers. To conclude, it is central to integrate market data and concepts better into future substitution impact analyses to facilitate more realistic estimates.