A moan about stupid uses of plastic on packaging!!!

[ChocolateSantaisthebestkind]

DCs just shared a Hotel Chocolat Tiddly Pot and it got me thinking. The pot is a recyclable paper expresso type cup, all good. However, it is sealed with a plastic film lid and a plastic top -- why? A paper top would look just as nice, if not nicer. It just winds me up that we are all trying to reduce plastic waste and people are commenting on people's plastic use and then companies do this! Share your rants here...

Disclaimer Also annoyed because DSis, whose son has profound ANs and needs to use a plastic straw to drink and wears nappies at 7 and a silly woman shamed my sister on SM about her plastic use!

Shrink-wrapped caulis and broccolis.
Anything that's individually wrapped inside a larger box.

Sorry to hear your DSIS was shamed so needlessly. What's the betting the keyboard warrior behind it makes no effort to reduce their own environmental footprint?

Shrink wrapped bananas. If only they came with their own biodegradable packaging that protected the edible bit from not only minor bumps but also muck. Oh, wait ......

I used to work for Whole Foods Market where oranges were peeled and then sealed into plastic containers.

Sigh.

.

Come and work in pharmaceuticals and you will discover that shrink wrapped veggies and coffee pods are the LEAST of your worries!!

Often the use of plastic is to prevent food waste. It is a careful balance. Supply chains can be long and complicated and products have to sustain the journey to the shelf and in the case of fresh fruit and vegetables they need to sustain beyond that in our fridges. Food waste is a serious environmental problem and using plastic helps to keep things fresher and makes us less likely as consumers to throw things out and increase the food waste. Increasingly packaging is better labelled and a great deal of plastic packaging can be recycled either at the kerbside or by taking it back to the supermarket drop off point. If you follow the "reduce, reuse, recycle" mantra then the most sustainable way to shop for fresh goods would be locally and from a market and bring your own bags.