PLASTIC contamination is one of the most overlooked issues linked to climate change, researchers warned on Sunday, saying it should be a central focus of efforts to reduce food waste.

Diverting food waste from other rubbish would reduce climate impacts by between 89 per cent and 99 per cent of landfill-related climate impacts, according to a study published by Nature Food.

The study compared the annual impacts of landfilled food waste with the impact of alternative recycling pathways, using life-cycle analysis modelling to compare outcomes.

It also found that using other non-landfill solutions could reduce nutrient pollution in water bodies.

Further findings included that microplastics persist in compost, which the University of Vermont scientists said could lead to 20,000 tonnes of pollutant ending up in US agricultural soils each year.

Lead author Kate Porterfield said that a large proportion of wasted food still in packaging “goes bad before it even reaches the consumer.”

She called for the implementation of mechanical “depackers” to separate the food from the packaging before it goes to landfill, while food waste goes to “beneficial reuse, like composting or anaerobic digestion.”

About a third of all food produced worldwide is wasted every year according to the UN.

Phil Holtam, director of the food waste social enterprise Sussex Surplus, said there was “a little bit of a misconception that [plastic packaging] is unnecessary.”

He claimed plastic was a “necessary tradeoff” and essential to extending the shelf life of fresh produce, particularly for smallholder farms.

“That’s where the tension lies because as environmentalists we want to reduce food waste but we also want to prevent needless use of plastics,” Mr Holtam said.