Reducing Wasteful Food Packaging

Well , many of us try our best to recycle our food and drinks packaging. Perhaps sometimes it could be greater? Hey any effort is better than none at all. Yet a huge stumbling block to do more lies firmly with the food and drinks industry. Until they change, reducing wasteful food packaging is likely to remain a bigger challenge to all of us than needs be.

It’s Not Just About Us Reducing Wasteful Food Packaging?

In addition to us being careful what we buy, the biggest challenge arguably is still outside of our control. There’s a huge benefit that a change in habits by supermarkets could bring. Along with the behaviour of food and drink manufacturers too. Particularly the more profitable organisations, that can absorb some of the cost from doing so. Clearly this may go against the grain of shareholders and owners on the basis of reduced profits and dividend payments. So perhaps the biggest thing we can do is persuade such organisations to make those changes.

Therefore as much persuasion as we can muster can only help. However it is not all doom and gloom. There are some companies like Galaxy are already using a plant based packaging for their vegan chocolate.

So other companies can do so. At the same time, they can use it to increase sales by stressing the environmental benefit customers make by buying their better packaged products. Yet if most companies did make more of an effort, then it would it easier for us too!

Want to help? Then add your signature to the petition below.

A Few Thoughts on Wasteful Food Packaging?

Its not just about reducing the volume of discarded packaging in your bin. Although that in itself is an issue on the environment. Even if it does get recycled rather than ended up in a landfill, there is a cost for that. One that is financial covering the energy and resources to recycle items then manufacture from the output. Using that energy in the recycling process also adds to the adverse impact on the environment through emissions. We even need to consider the energy to recycle.

Getting manufacturers to switch packaging type where possible would also be of immense help. Changing from plastic drinks bottles to glass would have a huge positive impact. Even if we recycle plastic bottles, each time we do, the quality of the plastic degrades. Eventually they end up as landfill.

Black plastic is also a definite no no as automated conveyors in recycling cannot recognise it. It also ends up going straight to landfill.

You may think that plant based plastics or bioplastics sound environmentally friendly as they can be industrially composted. However they also degrade into micro plastics adding to problems in the oceans and food chains.

Of course not all of it is wasteful. There is the point that some wrapping can prolong the shelf life of perishable items. Examples include cucumber and peppers. Mind you to counter that we can make sure we plan our meals if possible.

What is It Doing to Our Environment

Don’t forget, t isn’t just about changing from non-recyclable packaging either. Single use plastics are polluting the world’s oceans and wildlife. Poor packaging is destroying oceans. We actively ship recycling to other less developed countries. In doing so we are polluting their lands . We see discarded single use masks everywhere, many ending up in the oceans. Animals and their homes are dying. We are running out of room for anymore plastic wastage. It is in our water, air, fish and land. Then it ends up in us too. Surely, it needs to stop?

Making our local environment pleasant and helping Wigan Litter Pickers too.

What Can We do to Help with Reducing Wasteful Food Packaging?

Perhaps supermarkets food producers will change. Maybe this petition will help them to do so. Although we can help whether it is successful or not. We could also try and shop from a local green grocers or farm shop from time to time. We do have a great local and inexpensive greengrocer in Pemberton!

Saving the amount we discard in our bins; brown, green and blue. How many of us have kicked ourselves for missing a brown bin collection? The pain of trying to crush everything in until the next bin round.