Should supermarkets stop giving us so much rubbish? councils want us to put less rubbish in our bins. where do we get the rubbish from? supermarkets excessive packaging

Additional Details

2 weeks ago

i want to unwrap things at the check out. and leave the rubbish in the shop. i bet they would soon give us less packaging if we all did that

2 weeks ago

rich w. yes you%26#039;re right. i spent ten minutes trying to break through the packaging on my electric toothbrush. and the same applies for any toothbrush. its crazy. packaging must be more environmentally damaging than the product

2 weeks ago

edit happy. ive already stopped using supermarkets like tesco and asda. i try to buy from good shops.

Best Answer

Yes they should but we also have choices i put my vegetables straight into my trolley i do not put them in the plastic bags provided. It things are too delicate to put straight into the trolley such as tomatoes i put them into the paper bags that are provided for the mushrooms. I buy toilet rolls that are wrapped in paper and not plastic although this works out more expensive as they only come in 2s. Some items are only available in prepacked plastic such as already mentioned tooth brushes, ink cartridges etc for them the manufacturers and super markets are jointly responsible.

Asker's Rating:

good for you. we%26#039;ll win in the end i hope.

Other Answers (12)

• Good on you! I do that at supermarkets - just leave them with all the totally unnecessary packaging. Most people at supermarkets are OK with it. But I am trying to find places where I can buy the basics etc with no packaging, or very little. I have found several places, but they are all more expensive than supermarkets. However, their stuff is local, and organic, so I put up with paying a bit more. The good thing, of course, is that I am eating less. Well, I eat what I need to, and no more.
• Much of that packaging is necessary to protect the product during shipping and stocking when it tends to be treated pretty roughly (and also to ensure it hasn%26#039;t been tampered with).
  
  Unwrapping things at the checkout would delay other customers and should not be allowed (though maybe the supermarkets could set aside a special line for those who want to pay for the privilege).
• As someone said above, it isn%26#039;t entirely the supermarkets%26#039; fault; it%26#039;s the manufacturers. However, some are doing better. I%26#039;ve been doing a lot of my shopping at Sprouts (a supermarket that carries a lot of organic produce, if you%26#039;re not familiar with it). They offer a lot of items in bulk, which you can bag yourself in recyclable plastic bags. I%26#039;m not just talking about fruit and vegetables. They have bulk cereals, nuts, grains, even spices. That%26#039;s a step in the right direction.
• I have managed to greatly reduce the amount of packaging I bring into my home.
  
  The 1st change was to get reusable bags, not just for the groceries, but small pull string bags to put produce and bulk items into.
  
  The 2nd change was to buy as much fresh as possible, I go to a farmers market for most of my produce and meat, if I have to buy it at the store I go to the butcher counter for meat so I don%26#039;t have to bring home the styrofoam (plus I know when I get it home it won%26#039;t be brown on the underside).
  
  The 3rd change was embrace the bulk aisle, for some reason many people have an aversion to the open bins of items. I can buy many of the over packaged items there, pasta, rice, cereals, cookies, candies, as well as flour, sugar and other snacks.
  
  I also look at how things are packaged, I usually buy bakery bread which is only wrapped in paper, I have switched my sandwich bread to a brand that only uses one layer of plastic, and wrote to the company I used to use and told them I prefer their product, but won%26#039;t buy them until they reduce their packaging. I rarely buy boxes of food, things like prepared pasta kits, or cake mixes, they are full of chemicals and preservatives, so I make things myself.
  
  For an American family of 3 with 2 dogs I ususlly have about 2-3 20 gallon garbage bags a week, compaired to my neighbor which fills 2 90 gallon garbage cans to the top each week.
• We shouldn%26#039;t just blame stores for the trash problem. We buy the products. By choosing to purchase products with less packaging, we will control the products that are available in stores. Money talks and, to large corporations, the %26quot;bottom line%26quot; is all that matters. Let%26#039;s make a statement with our purchases!
• Stop shopping at supermarkets, support your local shops and markets. And if you are worried it will cost you more, you may well find like me, that although the prices are often higher you wont spend so much, coz you dont get so trapped into buying stuff you dont really want or need.
• you have the power if we all stop buying the products with excess packing and other rubbish the manufactures will get the message if there products are not selling they will change .If people continue to but the over packaged products it will be continued made that way