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GREEN TALK
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 bulkbuying
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 participates in
farmers’ markets.
It’s worth noting that we tend to toss way 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
CONTACTS: European Union Packaging and Packaging Waste
Directive,
http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/121207.htm;
Local Harvest, www.localharvest.org.
(Article courtesy of www.emagazine.com/earthtalk)
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