All our packaging: how to reduce it substantially?

lisasimpson

Defo shop in your local fruit and veg shop. Not only do you cut down on plastic waste but also food waste. Also im not that old mid 30s but i remember growing up shops would have brown papper bags to put the fruit and veg in instrad of the role of plastic bags.
Also aldi and lidl started stocking some wooden toysthe last few years would love to see more of these coming back.
We didnt mad on the pressie at christmas but the amount of waste packaging was crazy. Also use adverts and depop for buying and selling unwanted good or barely used.

Blaizes

Yes (such waste reduced by 25%)

Wibbs wrote: »

Oh they're in the mix B, but I'd bet they're a tiny proportion of it. Take the common mobile phone. Itself chock full of plastic. The box will be made from plastic coated paper, because it feels more "luxurious", the phone will be wrapped in a plastic bag, with a plastic screen protector and the other gubbins like earphones and the like will be wrapped in their own plastic bags. All go in the bin. Hell you have gobshites on youtube doing "unboxing" videos(get an effin life you sad bastard) oohing and aahing at all this waste. That's just phones. Damned near everything we buy is wrapped similarly. Larger household goods have that plus Styrofoam. And cardboard. All into the bin.

What could help is a mass boycott where possible of Chinese produced tat and they do produce a lot of tat. Buy local as much as possible, that at least cuts down on fuel used to get it here. I've seen boxes(plastic) of fruit with more air miles than I have. Personally I studiously avoid buying Chinese stuff as much as possible. Never mind that I baulk at supporting totalitarian states.

A mass boycott of all that Chinese tat is what is needed.I mean we don't need most of the stuff anyway.I often ask myself how did people manage before plastic and they did. If only people could think before they buy but all the tat is so cheap that people just go for it. Per capita our waste is one of the highest in the world, I have felt that in the last few years it seems to be getting worse just by the amount I see going into my bins.Kids birthday party, toys and packing, Easter egg wrapping, Christmas wrapping etc, etc. it's awful.Unable to cope with all the packing this Christmas I've completely changed my shopping habits and so far so good, even gone back to a bar of soap in the shower to cut down on plastic bottles.Small steps but got to do it.And as for China they are moving into Africa now apparently, I worry for Africa if they are going to bring all their filthy pollution to that continent.

Blaizes

Yes (such waste reduced by 25%)

https://wired.co.uk/article/global-total-plastic-waste-oceans

Good article about plastic.We have created the equivalent of one billion elephants worth of plastic or 822,000 Eiffel Towers.

Mind Boggling!

nice_guy80

3rd world countries may be an issue, even though they often reuse useful plastic over and over, but I've noticed a huge increase in littering by the roadside in the last 2 years in Ireland

The amount of stuff thrown out of cars is unbelievable especially at certain points.
Cans
Coffee cups
Chip bags
Hot food fiil lined bags
Sandwich wrappers

PCeeeee

nice_guy80 wrote: »

3rd world countries may be an issue, even though they often reuse useful plastic over and over, but I've noticed a huge increase in littering by the roadside in the last 2 years in Ireland

The amount of stuff thrown out of cars is unbelievable especially at certain points.
Cans
Coffee cups
Chip bags
Hot food fiil lined bags
Sandwich wrappers

Unbelievable, and utterly disgusting. I live near a piece of forestry and the stuff that gets dumped there is appalling. I have a good poke through it though and I will find something with someones name on it yet.

wakka12

Yes (such waste reduced by 25%)

I know that we are the ones consuming the excessive plastic wastage but change needs to start from the top down. Most of us will choose the more convenient route if presented with it but probably not miss it if it was taken from us, if the government introduce laws that make use of excessive plastic unsustainable for supermarkets then we will use less , its handy to pick up a packet of peppers in a clean plastic packet instead of weighing some loose items but if we arent given the option in the first place then we would just get used to it and not mind that little extra inconvience

Yes (such waste reduced by 25%)

I see Germany, which followed Ireland's 2002 decision to charge for plastic bags, has this month decided to ban plastic bans in their entirety, as well as reduce plastic packaging. Is there any argument for not following them? I presume this is a ban on the production and sale of new plastic bags only rather than a ban on using existing plastic bags.


German environment minister calls for plastic bag ban: Environment Minister Svenja Schulze has announced plans for a new law aiming to ban plastic bags and reduce plastic packaging. The Environment Ministry says there has been a 64% decline in plastic bag use since 2015.

Plastic bags: Germany is passing a law to ban them:

Germany has plans to introduce a new law banning the use of plastic bags.

It isn't known when the legislation will come into force, but the country's environment minister Svenja Schulze is welcoming the change.

In 2016, the government made an agreement with German retailers to limit the use of plastic bags. Some retailers opted for more environmentally friendly alternatives and those which did offer plastic bags had to charge customers to use them.

However, Germany's government is looking to take things one step further.

"My ministry will get a plastic bag ban on its way," she said. The minister wants Germany to get away from a 'throw-away society' and to use less plastic.

Leg End Reject

Yes (such waste reduced by 25%)

Banning plastic bags, drink bottles, shampoo, conditioner etc would have a huge impact.

Surely there's an alternative?

Yes (such waste reduced by 25%)

"My ministry will get a plastic bag ban on its way," she said. The minister wants Germany to get away from a "throw-away society" and to use less plastic.

Great idea, but what they really need to be looking at is banning planned obsolescence and outlaw the practice of preventing repair of devices, it's fine to void the warranty if a third party repairs the device.
The issue is the practice of preventing any repairs at all.

We should all be supporting the "right to repair", as an additional way to reduce packaging.

Doing this would have a real impact on reducing the volume of packaging as longer lasting products simply means fewer being replaced unnecessarily as it has been rendered prematurely obsolescent by the manufacturers in pursuit of profit.

Leg End Reject

Yes (such waste reduced by 25%)

Leg End Reject wrote: »

Banning plastic bags, drink bottles, shampoo, conditioner etc would have a huge impact.

Surely there's an alternative?

Here's a great challenge for the chemists out there, produce a plastic material that has similar properties that currently used plastics have that can be shredded easily and mixed with another substance to produce an inert material for on-going use or safe disposal. If the container is thrown away instead of being recycled that it will biodegrade in less than two years or so (once the original contents are removed).

Then introduce a deposit scheme for all the plastic containers that is refunded when the containers are taken to a shredder, possibly at the supermarket for a refund.

Ubbquittious

Deleted User wrote: »

Here's a great challenge for the chemists out there, produce a plastic material that has similar properties that currently used plastics have that can be shredded easily and mixed with another substance to produce an inert material for on-going use or safe disposal. If the container is thrown away instead of being recycled that it will biodegrade in less than two years or so (once the original contents are removed).

Then introduce a deposit scheme for all the plastic containers that is refunded when the containers are taken to a shredder, possibly at the supermarket for a refund.

Or come up with something that doesn't involve destroying the packaging. Maybe create loads of standard size packages that can be washed by machine and reused.

Blaizes

Yes (such waste reduced by 25%)

Deleted User wrote: »

"My ministry will get a plastic bag ban on its way," she said. The minister wants Germany to get away from a "throw-away society" and to use less plastic.

Great idea, but what they really need to be looking at is banning planned obsolescence and outlaw the practice of preventing repair of devices, it's fine to void the warranty if a third party repairs the device.
The issue is the practice of preventing any repairs at all.

We should all be supporting the "right to repair", as an additional way to reduce packaging.

Doing this would have a real impact on reducing the volume of packaging as longer lasting products simply means fewer being replaced unnecessarily as it has been rendered prematurely obsolescent by the manufacturers in pursuit of profit.

Would be much better to repair but problem is that if cost of repair is as much as buying a new item, people will choose new item. Am all for repairs though, even down to mending clothes.My kid has a small tear in a coat rather than buy a new one I’m getting the old one mended. It saves me the hassle of shopping for a new one and the child loves the coat. Plus it’s one less item to go to clothes recycling.

Mrs OBumble

Leg End Reject wrote: »

Banning plastic bags, drink bottles, shampoo, conditioner etc would have a huge impact.

Surely there's an alternative?

Glass. Which costs a lot more to transport 'cos it's heavier.

Blaizes

Yes (such waste reduced by 25%)

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Leg End Reject wrote: »

Banning plastic bags, drink bottles, shampoo, conditioner etc would have a huge impact.

Surely there's an alternative?

Glass. Which costs a lot more to transport 'cos it's heavier.

Couldn’t the alternative be that we bring our own reusable containers to the shop and fill our own shampoo, get our own pasta etc. There are some of these shops already in Ireland though not many. It’s a great idea to me at least.

Blaizes

Yes (such waste reduced by 25%)

Blaizes wrote: »

Would be much better to repair but problem is that if cost of repair is as much as buying a new item, people will choose new item. Am all for repairs though, even down to mending clothes.My kid has a small tear in a coat rather than buy a new one I’m getting the old one mended. It saves me the hassle of shopping for a new one and the child loves the coat. Plus it’s one less item to go to clothes recycling.

Many "consumer" items are deliberately made cheap and short lived to ensure repeat purchases as well as the overpricing of spares, or in the case of Apple the non availability of spares and active blocking of repairs.

Just think of all the packaging that could be saved in people kept stuff for longer.

Dravokivich

Blaizes wrote: »

Couldn’t the alternative be that we bring our own reusable containers to the shop and fill our own shampoo, get our own pasta etc. There are some of these shops already in Ireland though not many. It’s a great idea to me at least.

So if I was getting something from the shops after work, I'd have to bring that stuff with me? Theres not much of an incentive for occasional shopping there.

Blaizes

Yes (such waste reduced by 25%)

Dravokivich wrote: »

Blaizes wrote: »

Couldn’t the alternative be that we bring our own reusable containers to the shop and fill our own shampoo, get our own pasta etc. There are some of these shops already in Ireland though not many. It’s a great idea to me at least.

So if I was getting something from the shops after work, I'd have to bring that stuff with me? Theres not much of an incentive for occasional shopping there.

Yeah, get what you’re saying maybe you could pay a deposit on shop containers, bring them back at your next shop, shop would probably have to sterilize the containers. I don’t know exactly how this could be made work but I do think we should be looking at alternatives to what we have now because the plastics uses are insane. Household bins brimming with plastic it’s awful.

yellowlabrador

every town or area used to have a mineral bottling plant using refundable bottles with a deposit. The same with the local milk. It's time to look at how things were done in the not too distant past. We should also look at plastic as fuel rather than recycling. Recycling isn't always cost effective. After all, plastic is made out of oil.

Graces7

Yes (such waste reduced by 25%)

My shopping comes in cardboard boxes. not bags. I flatten them out and they go atop garden beds and parts needing cultivation. And mulch down. Same with any paper. Only ever one plastic bottle. Milk carafes and meat trays get used as seed trays and mini greenhouses and one 2 litre one is now a berry gathering tub; still has the handle. some become freezer containers.

Less waste now I am housebound.

yellowlabrador

Graces7 wrote: »

My shopping comes in cardboard boxes. not bags. I flatten them out and they go atop garden beds and parts needing cultivation. And mulch down. Same with any paper. Only ever one plastic bottle. Milk carafes and meat trays get used as seed trays and mini greenhouses and one 2 litre one is now a berry gathering tub; still has the handle. some become freezer containers.

Less waste now I am housebound.

That is not really recycling though only giving them more use,the plastic still needs to be disposed of eventually and when you buy again, you get more of the same. Also, cardboard is often taped together with plastic and there are chemicals in the cardboard that can be harmful. the milk bottles and meat trays have various different plastic components, some are not recyclable. Only one type of plastic can be recycled.A lot of packaging is made from different components and thus unrecyclable.

Graces7

Yes (such waste reduced by 25%)

yellowlabrador wrote: »

That is not really recycling though only giving them more use,the plastic still needs to be disposed of eventually and when you buy again, you get more of the same. Also, cardboard is often taped together with plastic and there are chemicals in the cardboard that can be harmful. the milk bottles and meat trays have various different plastic components, some are not recyclable. Only one type of plastic can be recycled.A lot of packaging is made from different components and thus unrecyclable.

awesome negativity! really awesome! bravo!

recycling it certainly is.

Nothing I can do re what food comes in. I leave that to you. I simply keep all I can useful and out of circulation. It is all part of a much wider picture after all. All my seeds grow happily in chicken portion trays. perfect ! saves buying plantpots etc. ditto milk bottles. so it is very much recycling

fergiesfolly

Yes (such waste reduced by 25%)

Do away with double layers of packaging ( cereal boxes for example) where possible.
Ditch the outer cardboard box and have a thicker biodegradable plastic bag instead.

CelticRambler

Blaizes wrote: »

Couldn’t the alternative be that we bring our own reusable containers to the shop and fill our own shampoo, get our own pasta etc.

The number of people in my family alone who can't remember to bring a reusable bag with them when they go shopping :rolleyes: suggests that that idea's not likely to work very well ...

Deleted User wrote: »

I presume this is a ban on the production and sale of new plastic bags only rather than a ban on using existing plastic bags.

Could be either. I recently travelled to Tanzania, where being in possession of a (non-woven) plastic bag is an offence. Over the border in Kenya, it's OK to continue to use whatever bags you've got, as long as it doesn't look like you intend to pass them on to someone else as part of "trade".

I have no real problem with either of those strategies, but they pale into insignificance compared to the quantity of plastic bottles - mostly "spring" water - sold and dumped everywhere. I really don't understand how plastic bags, straws, cups, cutlery, etc have become such bogey men, yet my local supermarket has a whole aisle devoted to the sale of water-in-bottles. :mad:

Graces7

Yes (such waste reduced by 25%)

fergiesfolly wrote: »

Do away with double layers of packaging ( cereal boxes for example) where possible.
Ditch the outer cardboard box and have a thicker biodegradable plastic bag instead.

Box is needed as cereals crush easily; tried that in my cupboard here to save space and CRUMBS!

yellowlabrador

an even bigger problem is mixed plastic. A milk carton can contain 3 different types of plastic. My yogurt pot in front of me has a see through lid, a different plastic container, a cardboard wrapper and an aluminium inner lid. This all needs to be seperated, added to that, it has to be clean. The plastic lid is not widely recycled. We can put presurre on shops, my local eurospar is now using all paper bags at the hot counter, it can't be recycled but it can decompose. Another thing we don't always think about is clothes. I knit a lot and I always used DK wool. I've switched to only natural fibres, when I realised that DK wool releases micro fibres when washed. I personnally think that polution is a bigger problem than global warming, and we need to turn things round by creating demand for change. It's not so long ago that most people would have not had so much plastic in their daily life.
I've noticed changes in the fresh food dept in Aldi. A lot more cardboard is being used.

scamalert

No, it's currently acceptable

it would be more interesting to actually see some results published how many places recycle in Ireland, as in melt plastic back for reuse, and not cramp containers full of crap that either gets buried in landfill or sent to some 3rd world countries to sort the crap, as US, Australia are doing.

yellowlabrador

scamalert wrote: »

it would be more interesting to actually see some results published how many places recycle in Ireland, as in melt plastic back for reuse, and not cramp containers full of crap that either gets buried in landfill or sent to some 3rd world countries to sort the crap, as US, Australia are doing.

all our recycling gets sent abroad.I think a lot goes to Holland for incineration.

fergiesfolly

Yes (such waste reduced by 25%)

Graces7 wrote: »

Box is needed as cereals crush easily; tried that in my cupboard here to save space and CRUMBS!

But biscuits come in plastic packaging and they aren't crushed.
I think boxes are used to create the illusion of more volume. Most cereal boxes are only 80% full

fergiesfolly

Yes (such waste reduced by 25%)

fergiesfolly wrote: »

But biscuits come in plastic packaging and they aren't crushed.
I think boxes are used to create the illusion of more volume. Most cereal boxes are only 80% full

Contents "settle" during transit, in other words the big flakes break up and fill the voids lower in the packaging.
Crushing the box reduces the volume by a large amount, depending on the contents but all you get are crumbs.

Graces7

Yes (such waste reduced by 25%)

fergiesfolly wrote: »

But biscuits come in plastic packaging and they aren't crushed.
I think boxes are used to create the illusion of more volume. Most cereal boxes are only 80% full

Interesting but they are in rows or compartments, not floating loose?