I’ve decided to take a little break from blogging (read more about the reasons why), but wanted to continue to provide interesting and insightful content on my blog in the meantime. I asked for help and my tribe answered my call, so for a while I will have guest posts from various bloggers interspersed with posts by me when I am moved to write. Thank you for your understanding. — Amy (CDG)
Today’s guest post comes from Amy who blogs at An Aussie Mum’s Guide to Eco Friendly Babies.
Plastic Wrapped Bananas. Yes, I’m Serious!
Despite so many people attempting to make a difference for the better, some companies have other ideas. Del Monte have bought out a range of plastic wrapped bananas — to save the environment. Say what? Yes, they claim that the plastic wrapping on the bananas in plastic is “...Designed to provide significant carbon footprint savings by reducing the frequency of deliveries and the amount of waste going to landfill. The packaging is also recyclable.”
Looking at the company website suggests the packaged bananas are going into vending machines and convenience stores and will potentially make it easier for people to grab a healthy snack on the go. Surely, there is a better option than non-biodegradable plastic? Even here is Australia, where life is a little slower and so much of the land is still pristine, we are succumbing to the mantra of ‘buy, use, discard’. You can buy ‘healthy’ apple slices from McDonalds- packaged in plastic and dipped in some foul tasting substance to stop browning. Wouldn’t it be cheaper (and eco-friendlier) just to use a whole, unpackaged, untreated apple? There is also the prevalence of cut and packaged vegetables in the supermarkets- celery, carrots, gourmet tomatoes, Asian vegetable mixes and pre-made salads. Are people so inept in the kitchen these days they can’t slice celery? Is there some sort of social benefit to saying “Look, these are upper-class Tomatoes- they come in a packet!”
It’s not just food. If you buy a toaster, you get a whole bunch of Styrofoam, plastic, tie-wires, bubble wrap, warranty cards, brochures for other products (want to buy a coffee machine with that toaster?) and instructions that are 18 pages long because they are in 7 different languages. Retailers receive deliveries that are in boxes three times the needed size and packed with plastic and puffed rice, and usually yet another copy of this months deals (you know, the ones that were sent in the mail, and with the last four orders). The bank who offers e-statements to save paper sends you a quarterly offer for insurance that you already have. In a world where email is so quick and easy, where technology is so advanced, why can’t we start using it for something good? We could email statements, bills, special offers and all the other rubbish that comes through the mail. We can come up with biodegradable, renewal, ecologically sound packaging, or just use some sense and pack smaller and transport less.
Can a single person make a difference? I like to believe so. We can email companies like Del Monte, asking them to come up with a better solution. We can tell suppliers that unless they pack smarter, we will no longer buy from them. We can pressure our schools and encourage our workplaces to adopt ‘nude food’ policies. We can slice our own celery and not buy food with unnecessary wrapping, packagings and labels. We can reduce, reuse, recycle and above all, teach our kids to do the same. After all, it may be one of our kids who eventually heads up a company like Del Monte and finally makes a change… for the better.
Photo credit: Friends Eat
Amy is a working mum of two from Australia. Between her kids (who are nine years apart) she’s been working in the natural health industry, which has opened her eyes to the down side of many aspects of modern life. Since having a new baby she started a journey to find a more natural, holistic way of living. Amy wants to share what she finds with other mums who are looking to change their way of thinking and have happier, healthier, more eco-friendly lives! She blogs at An Aussie Mum’s Guide to Eco Friendly Babies.
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www.theevolvinghomemaker.com says:
My six year old son just saw the picture and said, “Who ever invented that is a weirdo, huh Mom?”
I think that sums it up!
:)
Jen
April 6th, 2011 at 8:50 am
Stephanie - Green Stay at Home Mom says:
I wrote about the plastic wrapped bananas a while ago too, because they’re just so ridiculous. It’s really not that hard to buy just one banana if that’s all you want. It would at least work for convenience stores if not for vending machines.
Overpackaging gets really ridiculous these days. I really detest the little 100 calorie packages of foods. I know they help if you aren’t so good at self control, but they’re still a ridiculous amount of packaging for a small amount of food. People could do much better to make their own 100 calorie packages and reuse the packaging. Doesn’t even take that long, and you can include healthier options than what most those snacks are anyhow.
April 6th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Top 30 Green Mom Bloggers says:
[...] [...]
April 6th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
erin k says:
It’s funny that I read this today. I noticed plastic packaged “sweet potato spears” at the grocery store today, which my husband and I had a good laugh at while I chopped sweet potatoes for supper. (which took me all of about seven minutes…)
Also, I have a HUGE bag of styrofoam pieces in my storage room that I can’t quite bring myself to throw out. There has to be some use for it somewhere…
Good post!
April 6th, 2011 at 8:11 pm
Damita says:
Oh that is just crazy! Talk about wasting the enviroment, it is easier just to get one of those banana boxes which you can use over and over again to protect your banana
April 7th, 2011 at 1:37 am
Janine @ Alternative Housewife says:
Even if these were in vending machines… couldn’t they just put an unwrapped banana in the slots.
April 7th, 2011 at 3:23 am
Renee says:
Packaging drives me bananas (har-har)!!! But are they serious about baggied bananas????
April 7th, 2011 at 2:28 pm
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April 8th, 2011 at 12:47 am
ionized water says:
Nice post we all love to eat and drink healthy but its too bad that u cant get anywhere good post to read about it. Keep it!
April 10th, 2011 at 11:12 pm
Stress Relief says:
First time I read about this thing.
& in future this will become very popular, as you mention that easy to take this.
thanks for the post.
April 11th, 2011 at 12:15 am
erica says:
i’ve already stopped buying bananas completely due to the carbono footprint (then again, i live in the US PNW, not australia).
April 11th, 2011 at 2:08 pm
Rebecca says:
Yeah. That’s really weird. If there’s anything that doesn’t need packaging, it’s a banana. Built-in package included!
Maybe if we could get Del Monte to EMAIL bananas, we could get on the right track.;-)
April 13th, 2011 at 2:47 pm
Torkona says:
Hmm.. I can see how this may be useful. when hungry underwater.. yep, there it is :-)
- tork
April 19th, 2011 at 6:53 am
angelina says:
i think we should all do as the german’s have done. when i was living there- you only had one trash barrel that would be picked up. so you would literally see people unwrapping certain products with excessive packaging and leaving it on the shelf for the store to discard of. stores were also fined if they had too much packaging- so they stopped carrying the brands that had too much until they reduced their packaging. sadly, the only solutions these days must be related to money. but they are effective.
April 22nd, 2011 at 5:45 pm
Danielle says:
GREAT post!!!!!! I agree with you on the people being inept and not being able to chop celery, and also the microwave packaging. There has got to be a better way!
April 22nd, 2011 at 11:25 pm