excess packaging

squeaky

It looks as though disposing of all the extra stuff that manufacturers wrap things with is going to us the money to dispose of:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5290060.stm


Time to start leaving it all on the supermarket floor methinks

ailuro2

If they were to pay credits for all the recycled waste and take that away from the general rubbish I bet a lot more people would take a few more seconds to separate their garbage. I do think the councils can help with colleciton of it though since they are in the area anyway- it seems to defeat the purpose using petrol to drive to a recycling station.

Having just started on a recycling box from the council I'm amazed at all the shampoo and toiletries bottles that won't be recycled by the council because they aren't the right kind of plastic (they will only accept a trinagle with one or two in it) Looks like I'll have to find a brand with a recyclable bottle.

Gorgeous_George

I suppose the obvious question to ask is " Why do manufacturers/producers use 'excessive packaging?".

It obviously costs them money so "What's in it for them?"

Ideally, we'd pay to dipose of our rubbish and use less as a consequence. I fear any such move would result in more bonfires and fly-tipping so it's unworkable in a country where the average Joe wants everything for nothing.

The real answer is that the world needs less people.



GG

SusanCarter

Gorgeous_George wrote:

I suppose the obvious question to ask is " Why do manufacturers/producers use 'excessive packaging?".

It obviously costs them money so "What's in it for them?"

I guess one of the factors is the demand for convenience food. Fruit and veg is probably a prime example. It used to all come loose and be put in paper bags. Now people just want to pick it up ready packaged and this uses more packaging. Also I think a lot of packaging is used merely to make the product look more attractive to the consumer.

BTW I'm just making guesses - I don't know if I'm right.

kittiwoz

ailuro2 wrote:

Having just started on a recycling box from the council I'm amazed at all the shampoo and toiletries bottles that won't be recycled by the council because they aren't the right kind of plastic (they will only accept a trinagle with one or two in it) Looks like I'll have to find a brand with a recyclable bottle.

The plastic bottles most viable for recycling and milk bottles and pop bottles. This is because they are made from high density polyethene (HDPE, code 2) and polyester (PET, code 1) respectively and are normally uncoloured or if coloured only in a limited range of standard colours. This makes them much easier to sort because there is no need to find the plastic code in the triangle.

Toiletries bottles can be made from a range of different plastics so someone actually has to find the code on the bottle to check. There are a few systems being developed to sort types of plastics which may increase the range of plastics which it is viable to recycle. The wide range of colours and shades and colours found in toiletry bottles would still present a problem though. It is likely that even with better methods of sorting there would not be large enough amounts of the same type of plastic in the same colours collected to make recycling them viable.

Personally I think councils charging for rubbish disposal could be a very good thing. Some of my housemates aren't terribly good with recycling and I end up fishing cans and bottles out of the kitchen bin. Incidentally these are also the ones in the house who go through the most cans and bottles because they're too lazy to cook form scratch as well as to recycle. I think if they could make savings by making sure they recycled everything they could it would probably be a great motivator.

Potentially it could also reduce use of excessive packaging by manufacturers since it might discourage consumers from buying over-packaged goods. For example if you buy Onken yoghurt it is packaged in a very thin plastic tub which is essentially a waterprood liner to the outer card sleave which is easily detachable for recycling, it's a neat little piece of design but as a consumer all it gives you is a warm glow over your environmentally responsible choice, if you had to pay to get rid of non-recyclable packaging it might give Onken an edge in the yoghurt market and encourage other companies to pursue a similalry innovative approach to packaging design.

ailuro2

I work for a tyre manufacturer and just heard yesterday that there is a machine some other manufacturers use that wraps similar type finished goods in cling film type stuff- this may seem ridiculous, but by wrapping them up it makes them smaller, so more fit onto a lorry,thereby saving fuel costs.

The amount of packaging in a lot of our food is horrendous, I still have to tell the checkout operator I don't want loose fruit and veg put in separate bags.:rolleyes:

And clothes bought in a supermarket need to go in a separate little bag before going into the main plastic bag? I don't think so.

freeloader

This whole packaging thing exasperates me! I can't buy a carton of milk from my corner shop without some fool trying to put it in a carrier bag.

Liney_2

kittiwoz wrote:

Personally I think councils charging for rubbish disposal could be a very good thing. Some of my housemates aren't terribly good with recycling and I end up fishing cans and bottles out of the kitchen bin. Incidentally these are also the ones in the house who go through the most cans and bottles because they're too lazy to cook form scratch as well as to recycle. I think if they could make savings by making sure they recycled everything they could it would probably be a great motivator.

I AGREE! I live in a flat, of which there are 4, we have 2 x wheely bins, 3 x green boxes and 2 x food waste bins in our garden that all 4 flats share. So why does one of my neighbours plonk 3 x bin liners with plastic bottles and tins of paint in them not in the recycling bin? The bin men and recycling men have been today and haven't taken them. I don't think it's my responsibility to sift through their rubbish and put it in the correct bin. I tried to move them but the paint tins are so heavy I couldn't lift the damn things. I already sort the junk mail from the post and recycle...grrrrrrrr!

Liney_2

freeloader wrote:

This whole packaging thing exasperates me! I can't buy a carton of milk from my corner shop without some fool trying to put it in a carrier bag.

We told our corner shop to not offer bags unless someone specifically asked and he thought we were mad and people would laugh at him - I bet any money with all the current hype and press coverage surrounding plastic bags and the green issue he thinks again and a sign will go up before I know it!

JennyB

I think this is such an awful idea - I agree with Gorgeous George that it would just lead to fly-tipping and just littering in general... or people sneaking their bin bags into other people's bins/public bins/recycling bins! I can't believe the people who come up with these ideas get paid. :rolleyes:

The only good thing that would come out of it would be that the councils would be forced to provide better recycling collections. Given that surely we'd be better off fining councils for failing to do so (we do this already?). Yes it's public money but it would go back in the pot as it were and at least local government won't start fly-tipping!

People don't need blackmailing they need decent services.

dutchie

JennyB wrote:

People don't need blackmailing they need decent services.

Actually I disagree with this slightly. People don't need blackmailing but they do need encouragement.

6 years ago when we moved here there was no recycling collection in our area. Many of our neighbours used to laugh at us walking to the local supermarket with all our recycling in boxes and bags. When I would ask them why they didnt stick theirs in their cars when they went to the supermarket(the 5 min walk was too far for them of course, another story) they would say it was too much hassle. Yet now, for 2 years most of the street is recycling because convenient boxes have been provided and get collected.

And why shouldnt rubbish collection be charged on weight? If I reuse, recycle and compost most of my rubbish, why should I pay as much for this as someone who doesnt?