Unnecessary Packaging

It was damned good tea.  But I groaned as I stood at Pei Wei Asian Diner’s self-serve tea station and realized what I’d bought.  The Oolong tea from Evolution was bundled in a disposable tea bag, nestled in a tiny single-serving box, wrapped in cellophane and served with a disposable cup.  I had assumed they’d serve me loose leaf tea in a diffuser or a tea bag pulled from a larger box of tea.  I shouldn’t have assumed.  I also should have brought my travel cup (my bad!).

I thought about the larger shipping footprint my little tea box must have.  Twenty single-serving tea boxes require larger shipping boxes than one standard 3X6 inch box of thin tea bags, so add another extra-large layer to the packaging.  The tiny box on my table was just one of tens of thousand such boxes.   Ryan Wanger may use Target boxes to make his forts, but maybe I can make a dainty Barbie doll beauty salon from Evolution tea boxes, along with a fashionably daring Barbie dress from the cellophane. While the package was attractive and the tea was tasty, I won’t order it again.  There are better ways to get my tea fix that don’t involve trash on my table (or in the landfill).

The UPS man knocked on the door, leaving a surprisingly large package. I had chosen this brand specifically, not only because it was relatively cheap, but it was literally 20% the size of my previous (and now broken) DVD player. Reduce my footprint with a smaller product, right?

What. The. #$%@.

Free Cardboard McMansion with purchase of DVD player!

Maybe they shipped the wrong item? Nope. Inside the cavernous outer packaging, proudly emblazoned with the Target logo, color scheme, and themed tape, was a tiny box for my Coby DVD player. Target could have easily shipped me six in the same size box. Sadly, the empty space necessitated several inflated pastic bags to “protect” the product, which was already packed inside Styrofoam, inside another box. Yet more waste.

Does this box make my product look big?

Target has really been grinding my gears lately. Whenever I go inside, if I can even find an employee, they invariably have only some vague idea of where the item I am looking for might be. Half the time it seems they don’t even have what I am looking for, and am I left wishing I had the last 20 minutes of my life back. On the plus side, Styrofoam aside, Coby’s packaging was nice and efficient, and their cheap DVD player performed like a champ. So it wasn’t a total loss.

I about fell over when I went to grab a piece of fruit for breakfast at the Days Inn West in Eau Claire, WI.  My family and I were travelling through on our way to our cabin way up north, and the drive is so long, we had to stop over for the night.  It was early in the morning, around 7:30, so I wasn’t quite with it just yet, and I had to rub my eyes before I really got a good look at this one.

Yes, this is a Granny Smith apple.  It’s nicely wrapped in Saran Wrap.

Why???  I do not know.  I always thought the skin was nature’s packaging!

If they did it for food safety reasons (which, as a certified food safety manager myself, I know is not required), I wonder why they didn’t wrap the oranges or the bananas.  Maybe only the Granny Smith’s carry harmful bacteria or are more susceptible to it.  I’ll bring that up at my next recertification training.

Now, granted, this is not a grossly negligent example of unnecessary packaging, however it certainly was TOTALLY unnecessary in its own right.  I will be sending this independently-owned Days Inn a question about this.  I plan to ask them just how much Saran Wrap is wasted annually on this particular procedure, an item that otherwise wouldn’t need to be purchase by a hotel chain that doesn’t have a food service division.  I’d be interested to hear their response, and when I do, so will you!

Regards,

Waste-Knot

~ tying ‘em down, ’til they give in for Mama Earth!

I came across this article on CNN.com when I was surfing last week…

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/08/26/trayless.colleges.ap/index.html

I had to laugh to myself.

I think people are (partially) missing the boat on what it means to be green.

Sure, I get the idea that getting rid of trays in cafeterias is supposed to cut energy and water, even keeping “water-polluting detergents” to a minimum.  HOWEVER I firmly believe that these “major food vendors” that they speak of in the article are the same ones that are pushing individually-packaged items onto these college campuses.  The dishwashers and kitchen staff will be getting laid off, as their jobs are now obsolete.  Nice, especially in this awesome economy we’re experiencing right now!  The trays are simply being replaced with plates in some areas, which are being dropped and broken, and that leads to more $$$ being spent by colleges that are already pressed for cash.  Aramark (www.aramark.com) conducted the study listed, and they appear to have convinced quite a few campuses to follow their master plan.  All fine and dandy, except that instead of using trays, the kids will now have to resort to something else to carry their food.  Where might they find that?!  Hmmmmm. 

Aramark has the following blurb on their “Environmental Stewardship” page, under “Social Responsibility”:

“Waste Management

The responsible management of emissions and waste are requirements to sustain and restore our natural resources and the communities in which we serve. We are committed to minimizing our environmental footprint by promoting and practicing waste reduction, reuse, and recycling in our operations and those of our clients.”

Ok.  I didn’t realize plastic wrap from chips or doughnuts were recyclable.  Pushing large institutions towards prepackaged crap in pursuit of the almighty dollar is neither healthy for the consumer, nor “green.”  I wonder how all that extra garbage will be explained away as its being hauled off to the landfill.  Well, I suppose the colleges themselves can be commended for the “green” effort, eh?

***Normally, I wouldn’t go back to edit a post like this, but rather than do another on the “green college” subject, I thought I’d just attach this link here.  How green is YOUR college?  Are your kids headed to the most eco-conscious school around?  See the Princeton Review’s top 10, as well as a number of links to other Top 10 “Green” College lists, here…

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/greenpicks/198/how-green-is-your-college.html

Waste-Knot

~ tying ‘em down, ’til they give in for Mama Earth!

The following questions were raised by one of our readers in a comment to another post (thanks, Casey!), so I thought it would be a good idea to address them here.  I didn’t want anyone to miss them in case they didn’t read comments to previous posts.

The first question was about how to contact the offending companies.  Don’t worry about doing that- we do the leg work on that for you!  When we get a reply from them, you will see what they’ve written back to us because we’ll post it here.  We will always post the company’s name and a website address (if available), so if you wish to send them something on your own, to let them know that you are unhappy with the way they package their products, you are certainly welcome to do so.  The more complaints companies get about their products or services, the more likely change is to occur in those companies’ current practices. 

The second question was related to those companies that are doing a good job with packaging, and where those of us who are eco-conscious SHOULD be putting our consumer dollars.  Those posts that are made here that are for “the good guys” - those companies who do a good job with saving on packaging waste - will be grouped together, so that you can choose their category from the menu on the right side of the page.  We’re working on that feature right now.  There will also be the same type of feature for “the bad guys” and for updates on those companies that we’ve contacted regarding.  That way, you can read the entire blog, as well as click directly to the categorized posts you want to peruse as well.  We’ll keep our “packaging” simple for you too!

Regards,

Waste-Knot

~tying ‘em down, ’til they give in for Mama Earth!

I purchased a brand new Linksys USB Wireless-G Adapter from Amazon.com recently.  The seller mailed it in a box that just fit, with no extra paper or bubble-wrap.  That was good.  Unfortunately, the Linksys packaging itself was needlessly wasteful.  Linksys favors a layered approach, using double-boxes.

As you can see from the picture, the actual USB adapter is smaller than the starter CD. Linksys also includes a USB cord and three pages of instructions and warnings.   Everything could have fit in one small box.

Instead, the Linksys box is bigger than the product, its accessories, and guides.  When I opened the box,  I found another inner box.  The inner box is the same size as the outer box, serving no purpose. The CD and instructions are even further contained in a completely unnecessary envelope, even though the CD is in a paper sleeve.  Below are the Linksys box, the extra box, and the envelope.

Linksys could have put all the contents in one small box, without an envelope for the CD and instructions.  Except for the “getting started” guide, the instructions themselves could have been part of the CD demo, saving extra paper.  Right now, Linksys is filling up my recycle bin.

A member of my family allowed me to take a peek at his painkiller packaging yesterday.  He laughs every time he picks up his huge bag of fifteen Fentanyl patches at the pharmacy.  Here’s why…

In this first shot, I’ve placed a red Sharpie in, for scale purposes.  The box is not all that big, roughly 5″ tall x 8″ long x 1″ deep maybe (I didn’t actually measure it).  What surprises me is that they need a box THIS BIG to house such small medicated patches.  This box only contains FIVE Fentanyl patches in it, along with the drug information pamphlet.

So basically, we have a box that holds 6 pieces of paper, one a bit thicker than the others because it’s been folded a number of times.  Now, let’s open up one of these individual packets and see what’s inside…

Really?  All that for THIS?!  I found it rather hard to believe that FIVE of these monsters required the use of a box that size.  Just to add some perspective for you, let’s bring that Sharpie in again- the same one I used in the first photo…

The only thing useful to the patient is part of what you see here- the actual Fentanyl patch itself, which shows the dosage in writing on it, after the backing is removed to expose the adhesive.  The patch is about 2″ x 1.5″, and even if you include five patches, it’s far less space needed that what’s allowed in its current packaging.  This is totally wasteful.

All of this packaging can be recycled, so that’s what this patient does with it.  The manufacturer, Watson Pharmaceuticals, puts out brand-name, generic, and over-the-counter medications.  You can see a full listing of their at www.watson.com.  I searched their site and find no mention of anything “green” or “environmental” anywhere.  I see a lot of profit-related info though! 

They’re on our radar now, so we’ll let you know what they have to say about this when we hear back.

Nighty-night, sleep green!

Waste-Knot

~tying ‘em down, ’til they give in for Mama Earth!

These are the packages I LIKE to get.  The small ones.  The useful ones.  The ones where I don’t have to figure out what to do with 20 pounds of packing peanuts.  These are the boxes that make my life easier, which is why I order online in the first place!

First, we have the opening shot.  I slit the tape and see this…

The packing slip is right on top, right there where I can see it.  I can take it right out and use it to check to make sure that all of my items have made it into this shipment, as expected.  A good sign so far.

I pick up the packing slip, see that I have 5 items listed (which is what I ordered online- good, their system works!), so I peek inside the box.  This is what I see…

The box is packed to the very top….with ACTUAL PRODUCT!  I was expecting to see, like most of the packages I get these days, a mountainous delivery of styrofoam peanuts encasing 3 tiny items.  I thank my lucky stars that this is not the case today.  It wasn’t a fun day, and I didn’t want to have to injure anyone bodily with packing peanuts.  Instead of a ton of waste in this box, I found only this…

My order consisted of (1) tube of Biofreeze, (2) cans of Off Smooth & Dry bugspray, (1) can of Coppertone 70+ SPF sunscreen, and (1) bottle of OPI top coat nailpolish.  The only interior packaging, which was more than enough to cradle this precious cargo (combustible cans of chemicals!) was an airpack bag, which is pictured on the right side here, and a small piece of bubble wrap around the nailpolish, which I’d already tossed before snapping this picture.  It was so well wrapped, after a few choice phrases, I had to cut it off the bottle.  That’s perfectly ok though…nothing leaking, punctured, or spilled at all!

And so, I say, KUDOS TO DRUGSTORE.COM! 

I’ll be sending a personal note along to them, thanking them for their efforts to reduce waste in their daily shipments.  By sending thousands of packages every week, without sending thousands of packing peanuts in each one, they’re keeping lots of space open in our landfills.  I’ll be directing them to this post as well, so that they can see we’re singing their praises all over the Internet now, as well as keeping an eye on their shipping practices in the future, so that they’ll continue to keep up the good work for our planet.

Have a green afternoon,

Waste-Knot

~tying ‘em down, ’til they give in for Mama Earth!

We recently purchased these nesting blocks for our youngest son, and the packaging was so hilarious I had to post.

In the picture you can see where the box advertises the “blocks nest for easy storage.” You’d think this important selling point would carry over to “nesting for easy packaging and distribution,” but the manufacturer decided it was necessary to separate the blocks into two groups and bag them separately so they wouldn’t nest, thereby requiring a box twice as tall and a bunch of extra plastic waste.

Why would making it appear that the blocks take up more room be advantageous to a product that is obviously meant to save space?

We purchased these to replace a worn-out set my older son used, which actually was packaged in nested form, with the largest box having a closing bottom and carrying handle. Unfortunately this kind was no longer available, or I would have went for that instead.

We are a great nation of consumers.  If you sell it, we are going to buy it.  That’s the beauty of America!  Along with the rise of consumerism, we’re now finding that we need to kick up our conservation too.  Going green is definitely the new black- everybody’s doing it!  We encourage you to look for ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle in your everyday lives, and this website’s mission is to help the average person contribute to that on a bigger, corporate level.  Let me explain how…

We all patronize retail and grocery stores, where you’ll find many types of products that are displayed and packaged in a way that is just over the top, in terms of how much you really need to get the job done.  For instance, do you really need a handful of blueberries in a package that’s twice as big and totally useless?!  I mean, convenience is one thing, but THIS is out of control!

Everyone’s receiving packages delivered to their homes too, as we’ve become a society that enjoys the convenience of shopping online and having things shipped straight to our front door.  Often times, these packages come carrying more than just items we need or desire….sometimes, quietly lurking inside, are gross examples of product waste and ridiculous misuse of space. 

The mission of UnnecessaryPackaging.com will be to collect information from our readers regarding these overzealous packers.  We want you to post those offenders names, a description of the wasteful packaging of your purchase, at least one picture, and any comments you have about your experience.  We’d love to hear about ways you’d have cut down on the packaging yourself, if you were able to make those decisions and, of course, how you reused or recycled it.  We will contact the company to attempt to convince them to change their packaging and shipping practices to be more eco-friendly.

These companies are spending millions to buy and utilize all of this extraneous stuff every year, which they’re tacking on to the price of the goods and passing on to the consumer (that’s you and me!), and we’re just throwing it away and taking up space in landfills anyway.  WHY?!  We want to take a hard line and make a difference, with direct written and verbal campaigns against this kind of waste, and we’ll be posting each and every response we receive here!  We want to keep you in the loop, so you know that your input here really is working towards making a difference in trying to keep our planet a healthy, green place to live.

We look forward to your submissions!

Waste-Knot

~ tying ‘em down, ’til they give in for Mama Earth!