UnPlastic My Food: Plastics in Take-Away Packaging, Consumer Behaviors and Eco-Packaging Possibilities

Careful design of takeaway food packaging is needed to ensure that it protects, preserves, and contains the contents within. Since WWI, plastic has been used as a material for packaging. However, there is a growing awareness that plastic packaging pollutes environment, kills wildlife, and even poisons human health. As new eco-consciousness trends lean in with plastic concerns, there are increasing efforts to find ecological alternatives to plastic takeaway food packaging. In this thesis, I will examine takeaway food packaging, explain problems and responses to plastic, explore consumer behavior regarding packaging, showcase up-and-coming eco-packaging, and test my own alternative takeaway food packaging. My goal is to provide an insightful discovery into the current state of packaging design and provide examples to provoke or pivot the consumer conversation towards creative solutions for a more sustainable and healthy future for takeaway food consumers and the planet.