Absurdly wasteful food packaging

Plastic and shrink-wrap and Styrofoam, oh my! When you go to the grocery store, do you regularly encounter products that are practically drowning in packaging? Foods begging to be freed from their clam-shell containers?

We’ve packaged ourselves into a corner — product packaging often has a shelf life that’s much longer than the product itself. Packaging distances the consumer from the product (how do you know what those grapes are really like if you can’t touch them?) and creates millions of tons of waste.

How can you fight the powers that package? Be aware about the products you buy. Purchase items in bulk and create individual portions yourself. And when possible, ask for items without a bag or box. Yes, it’s really that easy.

We’ve compiled some of the absolute worst offenders below. Are we missing something? Tell us in the comments!

 

 

 

Packaged cheese

No surprise here — some of the most overpackaged cheeses also happen to be some of the most processed.

Are bite-sized niblets of individually wrapped cheese really necessary? Instead, cut up fresh cheeses on your own!

 

 

 

 

Raisins and prunes

Raisins are often sold in individual snack-size boxes. To get the same effect, purchase a large box of raisins and apportion them daily in a snack-size reusable container.

Even worse — these Sunsweet prunes, which are unnecessarily individually wrapped and packaged in a plastic tube.

 

 

 

 

Organic and health foods

Shockingly, some of the most egregious packaging wasters are organic and healthy lines, which attempt to woo consumers with “convenient” individual serving sizes

 

 

 

 

Single portion packages

Supermarket shelves are stocked with wasteful individually portioned items, which require tons of extra plastic and packaging. Are we really too lazy to scoop out a single serving of rice ourselves?

Instead — buy a large version of the item and make your own snack-size version using a reusable container. And again, buy in bulk whenever possible.

 

 

 

 

Pickles

One of our strangest finds — individually packed cups of pickle chips. Why?

 

 

 

 

Lunch foods

A lot of packaging goes into producing foods that are convenient for consumers — items made for eating on the go. The Lunchables snack pack includes six individually wrapped (and highly processed) items. And oneMarie Callender’s dish even comes with its own incredibly wasteful disposable colander.

For a healthier, cheaper and less wasteful meal, try making your lunch ahead of time. Check out the great lunch ideas in the The Daily Green’s recipe archive.

 

More from The Daily Green

• Reduce Annoying Packaging With This Simple Step
• Eat Right: 18 Food Tips That Really Matter
• Six Scandalous Foods
• The Dirty Dozen: 12 Foods to Eat Organic
• You’ll Eat This Soon: 7 Food Predictions

Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc