5 Ways to Reduce Packaging Waste

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The manufacture and disposal of product packaging affects the environment in a myraid of ways - from the extraction of virgen resources, emissions associated with production, the space it takes up in our landfills, to the litter on our roadsides.

While a certain amount of packaging is perhaps necessary, the main consideration of most manufacturers when it comes to packaging their products is simply to entice consumers to buy more stuff.

For most people, packaging makes up the bulk of their garbage It certainly seems to be the majority of litter I see in the streets (I suppose any advertising is good advertising right?).

Here's a few suggestions to help keep packaging out of the sea, the landfills and off the streets & roadsides:

1. Take Your Own Bags when you Shop

Need a reason why?

Five trillion plastic bags are made each year. Of these bags, one billion are thrown away, with only 1 percent finding their way into a recycle bin. The end result of this is around 1 billion birds and mammals dying each year by the ingestion of plastic. (From Treehugger: 20 Gut-Wrenching Statistics About the Destruction of the Environment)

2. Buy in Bulk

Whether you buy from your local Bin Inn bulk food store and take your own reusable containers or simply buy prepackaged food in super sized containers from the supermarket, buying in bulk means less packaging!

Shampoo would have to be a prime wasteful packaging culprit What's with offering a product that many people use every day or two in such small packages? If you want to go (almost) packaging free with your hair care use baking soda instead.

3. Make it From Scratch

Pasta sauce, biscuits, bread . . . make it yourself from real ingredients. It tastes better, is better for you, is often cheaper than the shop bought stuff . . .and there's no packaging to dispose of.

4. Brown Bag It

Take your own lunch to school or work. It will save you a bunch of money, and when you use reusable containers and cutlery it doesn't produce the packaging waste of a bought lunch.

5. Buy Less Stuff

Of course, the most effective way to reduce packaging waste is to not buy things in the first place. If it has excessive packaging leave it in the shop. Better still, write a letter to the store owner and the manufacturer and tell them why you chose not to buy their product.

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McDonalds is Coming to Town

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Yes, its true. The Golden Arches are coming to Gore and will be peddling their wares 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

According to the McDonalds New Zealand website McDonalds restaurants spend around $100 million a year with Kiwi suppliers - in fact some 90% of the products they use in their restaurants are sourced in New Zealand and 80% of their restaurants in this country are owned by New Zealanders. They employ over 6000 staff throughout New Zealand. Which all sounds good . . . right?

Obviously having a McDonalds in town will not be without benefits to some local businesses. They will need tradesmen for maintenance and repair, they will encourage more visitors into Gore - the closest McDonalds around is a good 40 minutes drive South in Invercargill, and they will employ more people in the town. . . mostly at the bare minimum wage of $12 per hour.

McDonalds workers who are member of the UNITE Union of Workers have recently won a settlement that will, from March 2009, increase the base level of pay for a crew member from $12 per hour to $12.50 and allow them some level of shift security. It has been a hard won fight - and despite the McDonalds Corporation posting significant profits recently, it took 50 strikes by union workers before McDonalds would come to the party. Is this really the kind of employer we want to encourage into our community?

Now, McDonalds is not the first fast food giant to land in town. We have Pizza Hut, KFC and Subway currently gracing our main street, so we are already spoiled for choice when it comes to fast food joints that add little value to the local economy. Do we really need another? Surely it would be wiser as a community to support the local eateries that spend their money here in town?

Although McDonalds have , in recent years, begun to offer healthier choices on their menu, ultimately what they sell is junk food. In fact, what they sell is more junk than food - and I'm not just talking about the poor nutritional value of their products. Fast food outlets are fantastic producers of waste - from unnecessary packaging to food waste.

In the UK McDonalds is responsible for 29% of the fast food rubbish that litters the country's streets. Here in New Zealand, Wanganui Mayor Michael Laws is considering a levy on fast food corporates because the Wanganui Council feel it is unfair that ratepayers should have to pay to clean up their packaging litter. In Gore the local council has stipulated as part of the resource consent granted to McDonalds that they need to install extra rubbish bins around their restaurant. But unfortunately, many fast food consumers don't eat on site and throw their rubbish elsewhere.

Of course, you can't hold McDonalds responsible for their customers being too lazy to properly dispose of their rubbish. But, the fast food mentality - the eating in a hurry, the sacrificing your body's nutritional needs, the generic food and service . . . if you can't take the time to eat mindfully and fuel your body well, then why would you take the time to put your rubbish in the bin?

I'm all for encouraging business into our area of the world. In fact, I am actively involved in trying to build up the local economy in Mataura, where I live, just out of Gore. But I think that we need to be more choosy about the type of businesses we encourage into our communities. We need to be looking for businesses that will strengthen our local economies, that impact positively on the environment, that offer fair wages for a days work, that sell products that contribute to our wellbeing. . . I don't feel that our new McDonalds will do any of this.

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Make a Difference - Take Your Own Lunch to Work

When it comes to changing the world for the better, its easy to get overwhelmed by the big picture and forget how the little actions that everyone CAN do really add up over time to make a huge difference.

Take a look at the following list to see how something as simple as taking your own lunch to work can end up having a significant positive impact!

Its healthier
If you make your own lunch then you can make sure you are choosing healthy foods. For delicious, nutritious lunch ideas, take a look at 'How to Make a Healthy Packed Lunch'.

It produces less waste
When you take your own lunch you can use reusable containers - so you're not generating rubbish to the landfill, or encouraging takeaway restaurants to waste perfectly good food and you are reducing the amounts of energy, water and packaging that go into making pre-packaged and takeaway lunches.

It saves money
Taking your own packed lunch to work could save you around $10 per day. Thats about $50 a week, or approximately $2500 per year. That's a lot of money! (You could purchase more than 100 WE ADD UP Plant Trees T-Shirts for that - and plant over 1000 trees in the rainforest and raise almost $250 for SALVEASERRA!!)

It saves time
Just think how much more time you will have to enjoy your lunch break if you don't have to race around town buying your lunch! Being able to have a relaxing lunch break without needing to queue for food will definitely help you face the second half of the day with more enthusiasm and focus!