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It can happen in what feels like the blink of an eye: Yellow bananas turn brown and mushy, pale green avocado halves develop dark splotches, and crisp leafy greens become wilted and yellow.

The culprit? Ethylene, a naturally occurring plant hormone that drives ripening and can shorten the shelf life of produce, often causing fruits and vegetables to spoil before you can get around to eating them.

Rotten produce is not only costly, but also contributes to the staggering food waste problem in the United States. About 30 to 40 percent of the country’s food supply goes to waste, according to estimates from the Department of Agriculture. Globally, food waste produces about 8 percent of overall greenhouse gas emissions — more than the amount generated by the airline industry.

But there is a simple technology experts say could help keep your produce fresher for longer: ethylene gas absorbers. Here’s what you need to know about how they work and whether they might be right for you.

Pulling ethylene out of the air

Many fruits and vegetables produce significant amounts of ethylene and are sensitive to the gas, which plays an important role in triggering the ripening process.

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At home, you can use ethylene absorbers inside and outside the fridge, placed near or around your fruits and vegetables. These absorbers typically contain a chemical compound that attracts ethylene and binds to the gas, said Randy Worobo, a professor of food science at Cornell University. As they draw the gas out of the air and hold onto it, they can reduce the amount of the hormone that produce is exposed to and slow the ripening process.

Absorbers can come in different forms, including individual packets and storage bags that have the technology built in.

“The principle is good; they definitely absorb ethylene,” said Elizabeth Mitcham, a professor emeritus at the University of California at Davis, whose research focuses on fruits after they’ve been harvested. “The question is, do they absorb enough to have a significant impact?”

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Household absorbers typically have a limited absorption capacity and will eventually become saturated, Mitcham said.

How to use ethylene absorbers

If you’re going to use ethylene absorbers, it’s important to follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Products should come with guidance for use, including when they need to be replaced. But here are some additional tips on how to use them effectively.

Which fruits and vegetables might benefit the most from an absorber?

To decide whether an absorber might be useful, consider which types of produce you’re storing, Mitcham said. The technology could work better to protect green vegetables, which don’t release much of the gas themselves but can be fairly sensitive to low levels of it.

An absorber’s “capacity to absorb ethylene is probably best suited to that kind of a situation, rather than putting it in with your fruits, where it’s just going to get saturated and probably not be able to do very much,” she said.

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Here are some of the fruits and vegetables that produce significant amounts of ethylene, as well as those that are sensitive to it.

• Producers: Bananas, melons (such as cantaloupe, but not watermelon), apples, tomatoes and avocado.
• Sensitive: Greens, carrots, broccoli and cucumbers.

Where do I place it?

Your refrigerator already helps slow down the production of ethylene. Absorbers can be an extra help here. To get the most out of the technology, give it some space to work, said Alexis Hamilton, an assistant professor in the department of food science and technology at Virginia Tech.

An absorber that’s buried in the back of a full drawer might not be able to effectively pull ethylene from areas that it can’t reach, Hamilton said.

If you’re storing produce outside the fridge, you might be doing so because you want things to ripen, so you probably don’t need an absorber. Absorbers might come in handy, though, if what you have on your counter is tropical fruit and you want it to last as long as possible. Those types of fruit typically shouldn’t be stored in the fridge.

How many do I use?

The number of absorbers you need can depend on how much produce you have and on ventilation, Hamilton said.

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A single sachet, for instance, might become quickly saturated if placed among several bunches of bananas. But you could need fewer absorbers if your produce is stored in a well-ventilated space where airflow can help dissipate some of the gas, she said.

How long do they last?

Some ethylene absorbers might come with a color indicator that tells you when they’re saturated, Hamilton said. But if yours doesn’t, be mindful of the product’s instructions and expiration dates.

“You’ve got to keep up with it and set a schedule for yourself of when you’re going to change them out in order to be sure that they’re going to stay effective for the entire time that you’ve got it in there,” Hamilton said.

And keep in mind that there are many other ways, aside from using absorbers, to make your food last longer and help you cut down on the amount of uneaten things you throw away. That includes buying only what you need when you need it and being thoughtful about how you store your groceries.

“If everybody did a little bit of everything in terms of buying less or only what you need, and taking the approach to using up what you’ve got, in addition to ethylene scrubbers, it all helps to reduce food waste,” Worobo said.

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