Packaging uses a lot of energy because to make packaging they are turning raw materials into finished products. Producing 1 ton of paper consumes over 98 tons of resources. Recycling glass saves about 1/4 of the energy over virgin materials production. Unfortunately, plastic has has been steadily replacing glass since the 1970's. I myself recently have noticed some drinks in the store that have always been in glass bottles and are now in plastic.
One chapter talks about the impact of food and packaging production. For every 100 pounds of food waste Americans throw away, 65 pounds of packaging waste was also thrown away. All this packaging waste uses a lot of energy and resources. We could save so much by buying locally grown food. It saves energy because it's not being transported from far away,it saves waste because it's not in packaging, and it is also probably healthier than most foods that are packaged seeing as how most packaged foods are processed foods. I don't think we really want the rest of the world to increase it's packaging. If Americans waste this much, how much more waste would their be if every other country did the same? Plastics are increasingly being co-mingled with other materials, which decreases the recyclability of plastics. Even though you may recycle, not every plastic is. It's hard to make a change, since it's the companies packaging everything in plastic, but you personally can start by buying foods locally. It wouldn't hurt to spread the word either. Teach others about how much damage plastic can do and, oh yeah, don't wrap presents for pets.
Image is of a river in Indonesia.Image from deputydog
I have always thought about how much waste packaging creates, but this really puts it into perspective. I will make it a priority to help teach others about these needless amounts of waste.
ReplyDeleteAnd wrapping gifts for pets?? Wow, that is a little overboard!
I know personally that plastic packaging is bad for the environment, yet I am guilty of using it. I would definitely buy more local, if it didn't rack up my grocery bill. I will take it into consideration and help teach others about the importance of reducing our plastic waste.
ReplyDeleteThis is so heartbreaking! It's unbelievable how much plastic goes into so many consumer products! This is definitely something that we need to be more mindful of as consumer!
ReplyDeleteIt really is ridiculous how much plastic we use and I'm just as guilty as the next person. I think if everyone saw the impact it has on other parts of the world and how much of our resources it wastes, more people would be less inclined to use as much.
ReplyDeleteI am just sitting here thinking of all the food I have stored in the cupboards. There is food wrapped inside of plastic, put inside of cardboard, and wrapped inside of plastic again. Is that really necessary? You are so right that we need to spread the word. I too am guilty of wrapping presents for my dog.
ReplyDeleteI've also noticed that plastic is steadily replacing glass, but I wasn't really aware of how harmful this can be. And I'm seriously appalled sometimes at how much packaging can be used for ONE single product. I plan on spreading the word and since the beginning of this class I've definitely been pushing to buy locally as much as possible.
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