Have you ideas on too much packaging?

Question

So, I was reading an article and also an answer here on Yahoo about how there is too much packagin. One way of dealing with it, so it is claimed, is to simply take all the packaging off at the till.

This seems a little irresponsible to me and embarrasses the check out person and makes a mess.

Thining about it too, surely uou need some kind of packing if the items have a high carbon mileage - not all fruit and veg comes from England.

So I thought, wouldn't it be a good idea, besides having one of those boxes where you bring and dispose of your plastic bags, to have a box where you can unwrap your gods and then put the unwanted stuff in?

I think it could be a viable idea and I'd like to write to supermarkets about it, but I'd like your views first.

Answer 1

I think thats a good idea but I think focusing on less packaging or biodegradable packaging would be more effective. Even if you take it off at the market, there's still too much packaging to begin with. Not just in the supermarket but in general.

Answer 2

Honestly ? - I wouldn't do it.

you could just recycle at home if you wish...

Answer 3

Either that or we need to see waaaay more degradable packaging and less plastic used.

Answer 4

Recycling the packaging would definitely help out, especially in supermarkets because they waste so much.

Answer 5

i think it is a great idea and have not thought about leaving the pkg at the supermarket

i have thought many times of the waste involved in doing the pkging in the 1st place but it is to promote the product + the manufacturers /advertisers are not going to change that unless they have too.  Really why does a plastic tube of cream have to be in a cardboard box. if it shows the product is a higher quality than the ones without the boxes why not just put a lot more into the graphic design on the tube...when you think about it most tubes (or whatever the product is) are not that exciting and are rather redundant...that becomes even more obvious when we travel or look at pictures of items from other countries that have really exciting forms/lines.

Answer 6

Someone would still have to dispose of the trash! So why not take it home with you and recycle it or reuse it yourself! It seems alittle odd! Also it would be an incredible mess at the supermarket!

Our supermarket has a garbage bin when corn is in season so you can husk it while your shopping! Guaranteed the floor is covered in silk and corn husks and it seems like more of a mess! Then someone has to go up and clean it too! Its a disaster, I think your suggestion would become that too!

Answer 7

You know what, that's a great idea!  I can't count the number of times that I go shopping and have a millions bags because the items I am purchasing have so much packaging.

Answer 8

i think its a good idea, and have left the odd package at the shop before now,

Answer 9

Whoa! I thought this question had to do with a girl's rear end until I got to the supermarket bit. Actually, I'm still unsure...

Answer 10

It's a catch 22......It's kind of like buying a book on conservationism but printing the book takes how many trees?

Salesman DO have a conscience........It's the people who made a wrong decision after the fact that didn't do their homework.

Answer 11

The better way to handle it is to call the company and ask why they use so much packaging.  If it really has to travel that far, maybe it is time to choose something else.  A new craze here in the states it the 100-mile diet.  You basically do not eat anything that came from farther than 100 miles of your home.  Maybe it should extend to a 100 mile lifestyle, where you don't use anything from that far away?

Personally, I would try to find an alternative to that product that does not use that much packaging.  If I could not, then I would contact the manufacturer.  I wouldn't concern myself with the markets since they aren't the ones who do the packaging (usually, but if they did somehow, I would contact them, too).

Answer 12

Wouldn't it be better to have far less packaging in the first place. Recycling is better than throwing stuff away but it's better still not to use the stuff in the first place. Why do we need to buy fruit and veg which is wrapped up in cellophane on a polystyrene tray. it's pointless. And as for stuff like childrens toys, you get a massive box with a small plastic toy cellophaned into the middle of it. Just get rid of the packaging altogether.

Answer 13

It might cause a blockage at the door, and some things take a long time to unwrap.  Some of them even need a sharp knife, and a store is unlikely to leave one just hanging on a piece of string, for safety reasons.  I don't think the staff will appreciate the idea either.  They already have enough boxes to tear up and get rid of.  But I don't see any harm in writing to them.

Answer 14

It is but a living for me but the over abundance of wasted resources and the extravagant use of retail and jump off the shelf packaging is certainly worth reducing by law in my opinion. it is the greedy salesman who oversells to pad his pocketbook instead of telling customer with big huge egos NO but then there are very few salesmen with a concious. If it can be recycled it should be.