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The difference is that one is biologically unavoidable and the other is stubbornness in the name of saving production costs.

spaced-out 9y ago
If someone ate an orange or banana and left the peel on a park bench, I'd still consider that littering.
- nxsynonym 9y ago
  and? obviously I don't want heaps of chamber pot contents on the sidewalk either. The point I was making is that, yes all littering is bad, but why does the consumer shoulder the burden when a huge majority of packaging can be avoided?
  - Twisol 9y ago
    Not that I don't agree, but Sun Chips once made an attempt at 100% compostable packaging: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/frito-scraps-loud-sunchips-bag/story?id=11806952 http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/frito-scraps-loud-sunchips-... (Warning, auto-playing video of loud bag sounds) They ended up discontinuing that attempt.
  - spaced-out 9y ago
    Can be avoided, but there's a cost. Wrapping food in plastic makes it easier, and thus cheaper to distribute, and vastly lowers the risk of foodborn illness. If you get rid of plastic packaging, the consumer will bear that cost in other ways. I agree that companies often avoid the negative externalities of their activities, and support things like a carbon tax to fix that. But in the case of littering, whoever creates the mess needs to clean it up.
    - peterwwillis 9y ago
      How exactly does wrapping potatoes and bell peppers and cucumbers individually in plastic make it easier to distribute them? As far as illness goes, any number of steps along the food distribution chain can introduce pathogens, so they still have to be cleaned, separated, prepared and stored properly, regardless of plastic use. On the other hand, if you get rid of plastic packaging, the consumer will bear the benefit in other ways. A lack of plastic in the environment means a healthier ecosystem, which affects their food as well as their quality of life. But this is all a bit of a red herring because goods aren't packaged in so much plastic in order to reduce costs or improve quality. The single most important factor in consumer packaging is "Will this make the consumer want to buy it more".
      - upvotinglurker 9y ago
        In the case of cucumbers, it's to extend the shelf life because otherwise they very easily dehydrate through their skins[0]. (The alternative is waxing the skin.) I've never seen an individually shrink-wrapped potato or bell pepper where I live. I do see sets of 3 large bell papers, or of a pound or two of "baby" bell papers, in a plastic bag, and don't know of any excuse for that beyond convenience. [0] http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/a-lesson-in-packaging-myths-is-shrink-wrap-on-a-cucumber-really-mindless-waste-8340812.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/featu...

spaced-out 9y ago

If someone ate an orange or banana and left the peel on a park bench, I'd still consider that littering.

nxsynonym 9y ago
and? obviously I don't want heaps of chamber pot contents on the sidewalk either. The point I was making is that, yes all littering is bad, but why does the consumer shoulder the burden when a huge majority of packaging can be avoided?
- Twisol 9y ago
  Not that I don't agree, but Sun Chips once made an attempt at 100% compostable packaging: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/frito-scraps-loud-sunchips-bag/story?id=11806952 http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/frito-scraps-loud-sunchips-... (Warning, auto-playing video of loud bag sounds) They ended up discontinuing that attempt.
- spaced-out 9y ago
  Can be avoided, but there's a cost. Wrapping food in plastic makes it easier, and thus cheaper to distribute, and vastly lowers the risk of foodborn illness. If you get rid of plastic packaging, the consumer will bear that cost in other ways. I agree that companies often avoid the negative externalities of their activities, and support things like a carbon tax to fix that. But in the case of littering, whoever creates the mess needs to clean it up.
  - peterwwillis 9y ago
    How exactly does wrapping potatoes and bell peppers and cucumbers individually in plastic make it easier to distribute them? As far as illness goes, any number of steps along the food distribution chain can introduce pathogens, so they still have to be cleaned, separated, prepared and stored properly, regardless of plastic use. On the other hand, if you get rid of plastic packaging, the consumer will bear the benefit in other ways. A lack of plastic in the environment means a healthier ecosystem, which affects their food as well as their quality of life. But this is all a bit of a red herring because goods aren't packaged in so much plastic in order to reduce costs or improve quality. The single most important factor in consumer packaging is "Will this make the consumer want to buy it more".
    - upvotinglurker 9y ago
      In the case of cucumbers, it's to extend the shelf life because otherwise they very easily dehydrate through their skins[0]. (The alternative is waxing the skin.) I've never seen an individually shrink-wrapped potato or bell pepper where I live. I do see sets of 3 large bell papers, or of a pound or two of "baby" bell papers, in a plastic bag, and don't know of any excuse for that beyond convenience. [0] http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/a-lesson-in-packaging-myths-is-shrink-wrap-on-a-cucumber-really-mindless-waste-8340812.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/featu...