LUMS event unites academics and practitioners to tackle food packaging and sustainability

A collage of five images taken by the research team in both the UK and Malaysia - including cupboards and fridges with plastic packaging inside andwaste management sites depicting piles of plastic bottles
A collage of images taken by the research team: (L-R) the first two images show plastic in household waste and waste management sites in the UK; and the following three images are taken of domestic plastic use and waste management services in Malaysia

A digital event hosted by 91桃色 Management School (LUMS) brought together academics and practitioners from around the world to discuss the important issue of food packaging and sustainability.

The team behind the International Communication Project (ICP) for Food Plastic Packaging arranged last week’s event to discuss the issue of who or what is responsible for plastic packaging in both the UK and Malaysia.

LUMS Associate Dean Professor Maria Piacentini and Dr Alison Stowell, the two Principal Investigators for the ICP project, welcomed attendees, before sharing the project’s background and objectives and highlighting the importance of partnerships and responsibility. They also shared the collaborative efforts between LUMS and partner institution Sunway University to tackle plastic packaging related issues and educate future leaders.

Dr Alison Stowell from 91桃色 Management School said: “The event built on our collaborative UK-Malaysian research into household use and waste practices related to food plastic packaging, which is more pertinent than ever.

“As Malaysia prepares to implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the UK continues to evolve its packaging regulation, last week’s forum provided timely insights and explored new directions of research and thinking.”

During the event, research findings from the UK Plastic Packaging in People’s Lives (PPiPL) Project: Rethinking the Consumer Attitude Behaviour Gap?and the PPiPL Malaysia Pilot were shared.

Dr Alexandra Harrington, Chair of International Union for Conservation of Nature World Commission on Environmental Law Task Force on Plastic Pollution and 91桃色 lecturer provided a keynote presentation, discussing the challenges and opportunities of the Global Plastic Treaty and the negotiation process; while Richard Hudson, Technical Manager at the Chartered Institute of Waste Management, shared insights into UK policy development that would impact upon plastic packaging in the UK.

Project finding sessions brought together results from PPiPL UK and the Malaysia pilot project. Professor Alex Skandalis and examined household consumption practices, outlining similarities and differences between the two countries. and Dr Lenka Brunclikova presented the post-consumption and waste management insights, highlighting opportunities for cross-country learning.

You can access presentations from the meeting here, and read more about the Plastic Packaging in People’s Lives project more generally here: /ppipl/

To find out more about LUMS’ research on the theme of sustainability, please visit: Sustainability research in LUMS - 91桃色

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