Reducing
Food Packaging
Food
packaging is a big problem in North America as well as
elsewhere around the world, with landfills filling up and
recyclers facing a glut of materials to process. It’s
hard to say just how much of the 130 million tons of paper,
plastic and metals that get tossed or sorted for recycling
in major U.S. cities is from food packaging, but the percentage
is no doubt sizable. The main problem is in the psychology
of marketing: Manufacturers know that products in big flashy-looking
packages attract more buyers.
A 1994 European
Union directive requires companies operating in its 27
member nations to take back and recycle (or otherwise deal
with, taking the burden off of local communities) at least
60 percent of their packaging waste, including that used
for food items. But no such “producer pays” laws,
which provide incentive for manufacturers to cut back on
waste to begin with, exist in the United States or Canada.
As such, it falls to consumers to patronize stores and
manufacturers that minimize packaging.
One way to take
a bite out of packaging is to buy as much in bulk as your
family can keep up with. It may take longer to get through
that gigantic box of cereal you got at Costco, but think
of all the cardboard and plastic your bulk purchase saved
over buying several small boxes. Similarly, instead of
sending the kids off to school every day with a new juice
box in the lunch bag, how about a safe metal or plastic
reusable, washable container that you can refill each morning
from the gallon jug you keep in the fridge?
Another way to
forego packaging is to reduce time spent in large supermarkets
where wasteful product packaging rules. Most natural foods
stores have large bulk-buying sections so you can haul
away in large paper or plastic bags the equivalent of many
containers of beans, pastas, rice or other staples. Frequenting
local farmers’ markets—armed with your reusable
shopping tote, of course—is another way to keep food
packaging out of your home. The website Local Harvest offers
a free searchable database of farms across the U.S. that
run Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs and
participate in farmers’ markets.
It’s worth
noting that we tend to toss away too much food packaging
where a quick rinse would make the same cans, jars and
jugs useful storage containers or quality recycling fodder.
Soup cans, for example, can easily be recycled into new
steel and are collected universally by municipal recycling
programs. And while you’re buying soup, opt for the
family size cans and save leftovers instead of buying single-serving
containers. Even when packaging material is recyclable,
there’s no reason to waste it, as even recycling
uses resources and costs money.
Beyond shopping
and sorting more responsibly, individuals also have the
power of their voices to pressure food makers to cut back
on packaging. You can also try to persuade your elected
officials to look into the feasibility of enacting “producer
pays” laws in your community, city or state. And
you can talk to co-workers, friends, relatives and others
about the importance of buying in bulk and reducing waste.
Networking® magazine
thanks EarthTalk for their syndicated column made available
to our readers. If you have a question, send it to Earthtalk,
c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport,
CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/ or
:earthtalk@magazine.com
Read past columns
at www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php
