Too Much Junk

Many moons ago when I was an employee at Wendy's, a woman came through the drive-thru and ordered a baked potato with all the condiments on the side, no container except the foil it was cooked in and half a paper bag. All the other teenagers and I rolled our eyes and laughed at the crazy bat. Our manager put the order in a full-sized paper bag and handed it through the window to her. When the nutty lady saw the bag she began yelling about unnecessary packaging, tore the bag in half and threw the rest back through the window. She was obviously a bit off balance, but I remember her message all these years later. And now, I get her point.

There are many obvious examples of unnecessary packaging. Just think of the pile of garbage left after the kids have opened their Xmas presents. All those plastic bits and twist ties along with the boxes and shrink wrap. Then we go one step further and use more paper to wrap these things again.

Some examples take a little more thought. Individually packaged snacks and juice boxes may be more convenient to travel with, but use much more packaging than larger amounts of the same product. Do paper towel rolls really need to be individually wrapped when sold as part of a jumbo pack? And why does your tube of toothpaste also need that box?

There are many simple solutions to this problem. Don't buy products that over package. There are always similar products with more reasonable packaging. Buy full-sized products you will use and portion into small, reusable containers. Reuse wrapping paper. My kids love to make their own wrapping paper out of scratch paper, stickers, paint and glitter. I have started buying gifts online and having them sent directly to the person they are intended for without any extra wrapping. They still get the excitement of opening a gift without using more packaging than necessary.

If reducing waste doesn't motivate you, think of the monetary aspect. When we buy individually wrapped products, we are paying for convenience. Wrapping paper, ribbons and tape are a major part of most Xmas budgets. Driving to buy gifts, finding proper packaging, then driving to the post office to mail them takes more time and money than buying online.

These are little things we all can do to reduce waste. I am working on being more vigilant, especially in the area of convenience. What will you do?

(Have you come across any products guilty of major over packaging? Post them in the comments section!)