It’s easy to view a pre-packaged salad or a bag of apples as a harmless purchase, but when you realize that millions of tons of debris wind up in our world’s oceans every year, much of which is plastic litter, you might want to think twice about how much plastic you purchase. From single sweet potatoes to tubes of toothpaste, it seems like stores will put anything and everything in unnecessary plastic these days, and one Instagram account is fed-up with this waste.
Below, you’ll find a list of photos from the Pointless Packaging page, which aims to call out companies which could be much more sustainable, as well as a conversation we were lucky enough to have with Ariana Palmieri of Greenify-Me. Keep reading to learn more about minimizing your own waste, and be sure to upvote the pics that remind you that our planet deserves better.
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if only Bananas came in some sort of natural biodegradable packaging
it's a tradition in some countries to eat 12 grapes at New year's eve!!! You eat one with every chime
Ok... hear me out... imagine going to wherever with the Corona light and lime. And you don't have a knife to cut said lime.
You pay 30 euro cents for the cutlery and what ever the cost is for the meat you select to be cooked there and then. Morrisons is trying something similar to this where you can visit the counters and buy a pizza, a salad or some fresh cooked chicken to eat in a designated seating area. They are still setting it up where I live. This one probably lets you buy something a seasoned steak medium rare and 2 sides and the cost is added to the price of the cutlery then you can go and sit in the dining areas inside or outside depending on the weather
I 50% get this one... it's not a whole pineapple sliced up and put into a package. It's a few bites you can grab and go and not get sticky. It's not a banana in its own wrapper... This is also good for packing inside lunches for quick and convenient healthy snacks. Do I think this is the best use of plastic? No. Do I think this is the worst use of plastic? Also, no.
This is one of the biggest wastes of plastic I have ever seen in my life. Just get a big (bowl? Tin? Container?) of Nutella and call it a day
I’ve thought about this one, and I honestly think it’s so people are less likely to accidentally throw them away. The cost of mailing new hardware or driving to the store for replacements, etc, must seem higher than the extra plastic here. At least that’s the conclusion I came to recently while putting to get her something from IKEA.
Notfornuthin but chiles are the one fruit/vegetable I'm guaranteed to put in a plastic bag when shopping.
Ok ik it's not the point, but is no one gonna talk about the ripeness scale!!!
Judging by the stem, it's already turning because the moisture can't escape
I've seen this in the mall here a few times with high end sneakers. I *think* the point is not to have you try those on but ask for a pair (set aside by size) to try on. It forces salesperson-customer engagement and cuts down on the number of people trying on numerous different shoes while helping polute the earth through plastic waste. You know.. corporate think stuff.
You should be able to touch and smell produce. That's how you tell if something's fresh, plus it's a sensory experience that can help boost sales. Produce should be washed before consuming anyway.This list is making me sad.
this one is non traitée, so the peel is safe to eat as well i guess this explains the packaging
I don’t think I can look at any more of these without getting annoyed… I just can’t! This list is also a good reminder to be more conscious of what I buy, too, even though I generally try to be careful!
Pretty sure these need to be compartmented like this or they'll start eating each other.
Look at the sweating in the bag! The poor artichoke would last much longer on an open shelf and not be a mold hazard
I'm assuming, because there are so many examples of individually wrapped fruit and vegetables on this thread that they're priced per unit rather than weight?
Now I know a good insult for a British guy who looks like a gross, shapeless, lump of flesh: A Cumberland Sausage.
Do I even want to know how they "wrote" MERRY CHRISTMAS on the outside of an APPLE?
Not a fan. Though, it does cut down on the random hands digging through the bean pile.
I can't speak for each individual fruit because I can't tell what variety they all are, but the major commercial varieties of most fruits are the 'major commercial varieties' because of how easily they transport. Red Delicious apples (for example) are mealy and taste like nothing but they are extremely durable in transit. The apples which were cultivated for flavor rather than durability are MUCH better, but are hard to get unless you go to the orchard yourself or they go through the logistics chain handled with kid gloves.
Quite normal for a vanilla bean. They're expensive and you don't get much.
I understand getting a pre cut coconut because opening those needs experience and the right tools if you don't want to cut your own leg off
This is a cleanliness/hygienic issue. Are you more likely to use that on your face or pull one from the pile that everyone in that room before you could've touched?
Obviously a lot of these are terrible and there's no excuse, but the pre-cut fruit and veg ones are essential for disabled people who don't have use of or have limited use of their hands and can't physically peel/cut fruit and beg themselves.
Right and legit! But ... some 60 % or so is sold that way. I'd be surprised if that many people are disabled in a way preventing them from cutting vegetables. It's laziness and price-drivery that mainly cause these things to be so omnipresent currently.
Load More Replies...For the argument that this is for sanitation: Well, since most of these offenses are with Waitrose, Morrisons, and big grocery stores like that, have UV light hand sanitizing stations at the entrance turnstile. The turnstile won't let you in until you put your hands in the box. For the argument that this is for people with disabilities: 1. Some of this packaging is difficult even for able handed people, so that's not a solid argument. 2. Fruit and Veg cutting stations in the produce sections of these big grocery stores. Hand your produce over and have someone prep it for you.
Fruits and veg literally grow in DIRT. They are not supposed to be sanitized. You're supposed to take them home and wash them. All this plastic is not making things better. COVID germs sit on plastic exactly the same as they do on a piece of fruit.
Load More Replies...Actually, much of over packaging originated in 1982 in Chicago with the "Tylenol Murders". Nothing has been the same since! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tylenol_murders
Obviously a lot of these are terrible and there's no excuse, but the pre-cut fruit and veg ones are essential for disabled people who don't have use of or have limited use of their hands and can't physically peel/cut fruit and beg themselves.
Right and legit! But ... some 60 % or so is sold that way. I'd be surprised if that many people are disabled in a way preventing them from cutting vegetables. It's laziness and price-drivery that mainly cause these things to be so omnipresent currently.
Load More Replies...For the argument that this is for sanitation: Well, since most of these offenses are with Waitrose, Morrisons, and big grocery stores like that, have UV light hand sanitizing stations at the entrance turnstile. The turnstile won't let you in until you put your hands in the box. For the argument that this is for people with disabilities: 1. Some of this packaging is difficult even for able handed people, so that's not a solid argument. 2. Fruit and Veg cutting stations in the produce sections of these big grocery stores. Hand your produce over and have someone prep it for you.
Fruits and veg literally grow in DIRT. They are not supposed to be sanitized. You're supposed to take them home and wash them. All this plastic is not making things better. COVID germs sit on plastic exactly the same as they do on a piece of fruit.
Load More Replies...Actually, much of over packaging originated in 1982 in Chicago with the "Tylenol Murders". Nothing has been the same since! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tylenol_murders
