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Typically these are added to sushi packaged in disposable plastic trays. This makes the ‘grass’ a tiny percentage of the plastic used in the meal. The articl
by code_duck 8y ago
Typically these are added to sushi packaged in disposable plastic trays. This makes the ‘grass’ a tiny percentage of the plastic used in the meal.
The article seems to convey that plastic is considered inferior to vegetable matter for this. It is cheaper, which actually suggests less resource consumption. Plenty of plastic and other resources (petroleum itself) would be expended to provide lettuce or bamboo for this instead of PET, with even less efficiency since it’s perishable. It would be worth comparing whether it would save resources.
Another option would be to redesign the container to reduce any need for a separator. A new design could end up using just as much plastic as the current tray + the grass - who knows.
- darkpuma 8y agoMaybe it's regional, but when I get takeout food it's in compressed cardboard-type material containers. If nothing else, it biodegrades. Some of these containers are segmented. Regardless, I am asserting that the "grass" divider is purely aesthetic and should be left out completely. The supposed practical purpose is transparent BS, those flavors are going to get mixed in my mouth more than they would in the tray merely by touching each other.
- code_duck 8y agoI see food from hit bars and restaurant take-out in cardboard sometimes too, but this is prepackaged supermarket sushi.
- crooked-v 8y ago> It is cheaper, which actually suggests less resource consumption. Cheaper so long as you ignore the externalities of long-term use of disposable plastic. Using a little piece of harmlessly biodegradable waxed paper instead might be "more expensive" in strict manufacturing terms but would the cheaper option if the externalities of plastic were properly taxed.
- code_duck 8y agoYou’re right that there is a third option which wasn’t mentioned in the article, which is a non-edible biodegradable separator.