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Ethical living

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Excessive packaging and being charged for our waste...

38 replies

CountessDracula · 14/06/2006 11:43

Try unpacking anything with excessive packaging and giving it to the checkout people to dispose of.

Esp things like pears/apples etc that come 4 in a tray with a plastic top and then cling film on top.

Let them pay for the disposal, not us! It might even prompt them to re-think their packaging, you never know.

OP posts:
fullmoonfiend · 20/06/2006 22:44

It would embarrass my kids totally, but I do get to the point where I want to do that thing where you rip all packaging off your goods instore and just dump it at the checkout, saying ''I don't want to have to dipose of this at home,''. Trouble is, the beef isn't with the checkout girls/boys, is it? It's with the companies. And how much notice would be taken if one lone nutrter of a parent did this? Probably just get myself banned from Asda

DominiConnor · 22/06/2006 23:59

Consumer boycotts are typically quite effective. On your own there is nothing plausible you can do, but it wouldn't be too hard for (say) the population of Mumsnet to bully a manufacturer into reducing their waste at bit.

Tortington · 23/06/2006 00:11

you lead us DC rally us round - lets do it.

Tortington · 23/06/2006 00:14

i can't grow my own

i can't even hoover my front room on a regular basis

PrettyCandles · 23/06/2006 00:15

I find frustrating the talk of our local authority about paying for waste disposal on the one hand, but not providing enough recycling facilities on the other. They will collect certain plastics and most paper stuff for recycling, but although they recycle tins they won't accept foil, nor glass, nor batteries. A neighbouring authority are about to go over to fortnightly collection, so one week rubbish one week recycling (I don't see how that will improve things). In order to prevent flies, rodent probelms etc they want all household rubbish to be double-bagged when it goes out into the bin - huh? How will that help increase recycling if you end up putting twice as many plastic bags in the landfill rubbish?

Tortington · 23/06/2006 00:23

i agree - i fail (ironically) to see how one could thoroughly recycle without a car.

i have to take old clothes to the big recycle bin - along with glass.

our council doesnt recycle not bottle plastic.

and everything has a recycle logo on it - so that doesn't help.

one has to research it - and what everyday joe - has the time inclination or give a shitnes to bother. only a few

MummyPig · 23/06/2006 00:30

PrettyCandles, Cambridge City Council tried to do the alternate weeks thing ages ago, mid 90s I think, and had to give up because all the normal waste was getting too smelly waiting to be collected. Mind you that was before all the current incentives for councils to get households to recycle more of their waste, so it might not be so bad at the moment.

I'm like you, in a council area where they say they provide recycling facilities, but it's very limited, and we are encouraged to use plastic bags to separate all the different types.

I really like the idea of a mumsnet challenge to overpackaging in supermarkets. We could co-ordinate it so we all did it the same day, or week maybe (and make sure to save up so the trolley holds a whole month's provisions )

threebob · 23/06/2006 07:23

I buy my veg from the grower down the road and pop it all into a cloth bag to lug it home. If I do get a plastic bag I use it to freeze extra pieces of chicken etc. (I like to buy huge packs of meat because it's less waste per breast/chop)

I give all the non recyclable plastics to a place called creative junk - they supply preschools with all their bottle tops and yoghurt pots. I know it all hits the bin eventually but at least it's educational in the mean time.

I also stand at the end of the checkouts of supermarkets that pack, repacking the bags so I need fewer(if I forget my lifetime bag).

Fullmoonfield - Ds is allergic to bananas and kiwis, but I wouldn't expect the conveyor belts to be free of the allergen - that's why you wash things! What about the latex gloves they wear when they put out the fruit (for H&S reasons), ds is allergic to those too.

Furball · 23/06/2006 07:31

Thought you might be interested in this

DominiConnor · 23/06/2006 09:26

Love to do it custardo, but I'd fail miserably. I'm more of Trotsky than a Lenin. Used to have great fun at board meetings in the City quoting him in dealing with outsiders causing us trouble.
I have the leadership equivalent of dyslexia. I am the opposite of a born leader. The only time people do what I tell them is when I systematically destroy the validity of any action other than what I want them to do.

Not a great way to lead a consumer campaign since I reckon I could do a good one.

Maybe we could do a film. I know people with high level skills in this area, they do stuff like FX for Harry Potter.
We return excess waste to the offices of large firms. Although he's a proven liar and political miscreant, Michael Moore shows us how to do this well.
We'd do it properly. I reckon we could fill the reception area of Nestle with all sorts of mank.

The secret is planning. Not very hard to get jobs as cleaners (for instance). One has access to many areas, and it would take a long time for someone to notice the rubbish was going the wrong way...
Also I assume there are any number of attractive members of MN ? they could distract the bored male security guards.
Better, and more funny would be to fill executives offices with rubbish.
For this we'd have to spend a bit of money.
They will have Internet access of course, and we can plug in webcams to catch their reaction, probably need 4-5 per office to get a good selection of shots. Some webcams are now wireless, so we could put them pretty much anywhere.

Nestle are bad people, so they would be my favoured target.
We'd need an integrated plan to exploit the breach.
First of course we do a deal with a newspaper for an exclusive, a Sunday would be the best. We'd also need lawyers, and I have some of them.

A key aspect of this is no violence. None.

Although the Labour party is very sympathetic to Animal Rights thugs their use of violence has made it impossible for the witless artsgrads to help
much aside from keeping the police off their backs.

With any luck Nestle would sue, adding to the publicity. Google on MacLibel to see how well that will work for them.

Humour is our main weapon.

Given that we'd have committed a criminal offence in lying on our job applications, the rational course is to find some random policeman in rural Wales and surrender ourselves to him. Or maybe each turning ourselves in at the local nick. Maybe a couple could get cheap flights and turn ourselves in at British embassies and demand we be extradidted for our crimes. Turn up already wearing handcuffs from Ann Summers and T shirts with "Nestle Kill 3rd world babies" written on them. Invite local media along to each surrender.

I assume some MNers are disabled. Without sounding too cynical, they'd be great people to turn up at the local nick. We'd have scenes where someone tries to turn themselves in for these heinous crimes but can't get in because of the steps. No reason we shouldn't help their cause.

Bodyshop does well on emulating a concern for the 3rd world. Maybe a brand that caters to women wants in on that ? No reason why a humourist political force shouldn't be sponsored, or at least get some of it's gear supplied.

Guess we need £25-50K, which isn't pocket money, but divided amongst many MNers wouldn't be that much each.

Filming all this would be quite funny. Part of the budget would be to give everyone small cheap video recorders, left on to catch all the stuff.
Though we'd need someone who was good at it, since that's the technically most demanding part of the whole operation.

Pipe dream of course. Web activism hasn't really come to much even by people with much better leadership skills than me.

southeastastra · 23/06/2006 09:29

didn't the WI do a protest this week against packaging? did any MNetters go?

southeastastra · 23/06/2006 09:30

ohh sorry furball same story! woo WI rocks!!

fullmoonfiend · 23/06/2006 14:06

they are an i spiration, aren't they? And I bet we parents spend way more on a week's shopping than them. When I get back from my hols, depending on how much energy I have, I may start those trolley wheels of revolution a-rolling....brothers, sisters, comrades, who's for a spot of supermarket stirring?

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