Designing a novel sustainable packaging for fresh produce

Abstract

Fresh produce is most commonly stored in corrugated fibreboard containers post-harvest. However, corrugated fibreboard containers and packaging fillers like foams that serve as a cushion for fresh produce are a single-use product that is costly and not environmentally friendly. Reusable plastic containers are an alternative to corrugated fibreboard containers but due to its high transmissibility of forces that lead to damage of the content as well as its high upfront cost to manufacture and implement, the adoption of reusable plastic containers is low. With the improvement in additive manufacturing technology, this study aims to develop a novel plastic container by evaluating the performance of various lattice configurations and ventilation holes via simulation. The proposed lattice structures and ventilation hole designs translated the characteristics of cushioning materials into a container’s feature while providing adequate cooling effieciency. The preliminary results show that the proposed design can sufficiently protect, and cool the fresh produce by reducing the transmissibility of forces, increasing its cooliung efficiency and material consumed. This is in hopes of reducing the consumption of corrugated fibreboard containers and developing a sustainable practice in the food packaging industry by adopting the use reusable plastic containers.