4 ms·

Can we force supermarkets to do the same somehow? I'm pretty certain individually wrapped vegetables are causing more trouble, than phone packaging.

• svendbt 8y ago
  The news response from supermarket chains where I live is that individually packaged fruit and vegetables helps reduce supply chain food waste. Makes sense (e.g. one squashed tomato during transport will only waste one package) - no idea if it is true though.
  • pmlnr 8y ago
    Then put them in paper cradles, like we do with eggs.
    • pixl97 8y ago
      Consumers wont buy it if plastic wrapped options are allowed. Clear plastic allows transparency into the object that is being purchased while at the same protecting from external contamination. For example a clear plastic egg carton allows you to see if any eggs are broken without risking getting egg goo on you.
      • pmlnr 8y ago
        So do paper, just open it. Works fine in Europe.
      • simongr3dal 8y ago
        You can look on the underside of the egg carton to see if any of them are wet from broken egg leaking into it, or open the carton and gently lift each egg to see if they stick. But I do agree that humans are pretty likely to take the easy choice here, which is why we need to take those choices away so we can more easily make the better choices.
      • rvnx 8y ago
        I'm surprised that plastic egg boxes are still legal. https://www.manchester.gov.uk/directory_record/131223/egg_boxes_plastic/category/968/grey_bin https://www.manchester.gov.uk/directory_record/131223/egg_bo... It goes straight to landfill/fire and is more fragile than the paper pulp/cardboard counterpart :/
  • GhostVII 8y ago
    Why wrap fruits and vegetables at all? They come to the store in boxes that ensure they aren't damaged in transport, I don't see the need for another layer of packaging. The only vegetable I buy in a package is lettuce, which would probably dry out pretty quickly if it wasn't in something.
  • NeedMoreTea 8y ago
    I suspect it just moves the waste, and perhaps more, to the home. If you now have to buy a kilo bag, instead of the few you think you'll need for the next week or two, you'll probably be throwing some deteriorated produce along with the plastic bags. For onions and spuds plastic is a poor choice anyway as they should be able to breathe. Better still, unwashed, as with carrots. Why, oh why, do supermarkets insist on washing off natural protection?
  • abdullahkhalids 8y ago
    It might reduce food waste, but it creates plastic waste. I would rather have the former than the latter. Food waste composts, plastic waste does not.
• dragonwriter 8y ago
  > I'm pretty certain individually wrapped vegetables are causing more trouble, than phone packaging. Unless you are referring to coating with food-grade wax as “wrapped”, individually-wrapped vegetables seem to be by far the exception rather than the rule in supermarkets.
• sodaPaperStraw 8y ago
  Have you ever tried to drink carbonated beverages through a paper straw? You might be surprised by the result. Whether it's a moralistic holy war, to drink carbonated beverages at all. Whether drinking straws are necessity to begin with. Whether canned pop-top beverages are getting their tops licked, and handled by freaks with dirty hands and long fingernails on bodega refrigerator shelves. Whether fast food was ever a good idea. Whether eating things that come from factories is safe. Whether agribusiness megaconglomerates are commissioning bogus researchvertisements. All I'm trying to say is that there might be reasons why some materials are selected, and others not.
• benj111 8y ago
  Agreed. At least standardise on one (recyclable) plastic so its easier to sort.
• vimy 8y ago
  It's to prevent food waste. For example, a wrapped cucumber lasts three times as long.
  • cronix 8y ago
    At what point do we decide that having a one-time use plastic wrapper, that will last a thousand years or so, is worth using to make a perishable good last 3x as long? Was this an issue when food was still grown relatively close to the market in which it was being sold? None of the vegetables at the local farmers markets I've been to are wrapped in plastic, with few exceptions (cut off 1/2 a cantaloupe because it had a nasty bad spot). And the food actually has flavor. The flavor part is what made me actually stop purchasing produce from regular stores. It is utterly bland next to something grown locally that hasn't had the flavor engineered out of it to allow it sit on some shelf (or warehouse) somewhere for a longer period time.