Rethinking Plastic Waste: Torus Pak’s Rickard Gillblad on Why Sustainable Packaging Starts with Smarter Choices
Written by Jason Phillips
For years, plastic has been cast as the villain of modern sustainability, blamed for everything from marine pollution to landfill overflow. But Rickard Gillblad, CEO of Torus Pak, believes the debate around plastic, especially in food packaging, has become one-dimensional. “We need to separate reality from perception,” he says. “The issue lies less with plastic itself and more with how wastefully it’s used and discarded.”
Torus Pak specializes in advanced food packaging systems, which are designed to extend shelf life, improve transport efficiency, and minimize food waste. Having spent decades studying both packaging technology and consumer behavior, he argues that public conversations about sustainability often focus on what looks good rather than what is good for the planet.
“People have learned that plastic is bad,” he says, “so they decide to avoid food packaged in plastic. But what they often don’t realize is that plastic is the very thing protecting that food, keeping it safe from spoilage long enough to reach their plate.”
He discusses what’s often called the carbon footprint paradox in food consumption, the idea that producing, transporting, and cooking food may contribute more to emissions than packaging.
“One perspective suggests that much of the environmental impact comes from the food itself rather than its packaging,” Gillblad explains. “Processes such as raising livestock, processing, shipping, and refrigeration are commonly discussed in relation to their potential environmental impact. If a little plastic prevents that food from going to waste, it’s actually reducing the total impact.”
The research estimates that roughly one-third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted each year, representing nearly 10% of global carbon emissions. Packaging, especially plastic, plays a vital role in slowing that loss. Without airtight, durable barriers, perishable goods spoil faster, forcing farmers and retailers to overproduce.
Gillblad warns against simplistic policies like blanket bans on plastic. He says, “Banning plastic may not always benefit the environment, particularly if it leads to more food waste.”
Even the industry’s well-intentioned innovations can backfire. He recalls visiting a major trade exhibition where a cellulose-based food tray was marketed as eco-friendly. “It looked sustainable, but inside it had a plastic coating,” he says. “That made it a poly-material, much more difficult to recycle.”
This “eco-aesthetic,” as Gillblad calls it, can lead both consumers and companies astray. “We need to do what is good for the environment, not what appears to be good,” he says.
At Torus Pak, Gillblad promotes the concept of functional sustainability, minimizing waste while maximizing efficiency. He stresses that the goal is not to celebrate plastic but to use it intelligently. “Plastic has value when it prevents waste,” he says. “But not everything needs layers of wrapping. Responsible packaging is about balance.”
He illustrates his point with a simple example. He says, “Packaged food items in single servings may seem wasteful, but they can help individuals or small families reduce food spoilage. So, even if the packaging footprint increases slightly, it could help lower the overall carbon impact, highlighting a broader perspective to consider.”
Consumers, he believes, must think beyond the bin. “When we throw away the packaging, we forget the role it played,” he says. “That piece of plastic might have saved kilos of food from being lost before it ever reached us.”
He also sees a cultural dimension in how people eat and shop. “Eating has always been one of our most enduring social experiences,” he reflects. “It’s part of how we connect as humans. Plastic is not something to celebrate, but if it helps protect the food that sustains our societies, then it serves a vital purpose.”
Ultimately, Gillblad’s message is of perspective. “We should reduce plastic wherever possible,” he says, “but we must do it intelligently. The goal is a world without waste.”
