Food packages: useful for a minute, harmful for a century ~ By Lina María Feo

Some years ago, Colombia took a step forward the struggle against the plastic consumption by implementing a tax which consisted on an extra payment to acquire a plastic bag. This measure was applied so as to reduce the consumption of these synthetic sacks. According to a Colombian newspaper called El Heraldo (2019), there has been a reduction of 53% in the usage of these plastic containers mostly used to package purchases since the implementation of this measure. However, there is still an excess of single-use plastic in items such as straws, disposable cups or wrappers. This last type of disposable plastic is very easy to find in supermarkets as most of the products come in plastic packaging. For instance, most of the snacks like chips, cookies, among others, are for sale in individual packages. Equally, some vegetables and fruits are packed in plastic bags or containers, and many of them are unnecessary. Consequently, when people buy all these products, they are carrying a large quantity of plastic to their houses which will be used for a short period of time and, after eating or taking out the content of the package, the employed containers will end up in the trash. Fortunately, there are certain steps that can be taken to avoid and reduce the use of plastic wrappers. 

One way of avoiding the use of this packaging would be to buy products in bulk. By purchasing unpackaged articles, it helps to reduce the wrapper’s consumption as people have to carry their own containers that can be made of glass, aluminum, fabric or even plastic. It is important to bear in mind that even though some types of containers used are produced from a polymerized substance, they can be eco-friendly since the idea is that people reuse and give them a longer life. Besides, another benefit from buying in bulk products is that in most cases, their price is lower as the financial planning expert Morgan said (2020) “while the amount you save depends on the item, some experts estimate buying in bulk saves you around 20% on your purchases” (par. 2). A reason for this lowering in the price can be appointed to the lack of wrappers use. Furthermore, taking into account that many of the places that sold in bulk articles are run by local residents, by purchasing in this fashion, people are supporting local economy; in the same way, most of the salespeople acquire a large quantity of these items from farmers who cultivate their own crops. Clearly, not only does purchasing unpackaged products help the environment by reducing the number of wrappers, but it also aids personal finances and local economy.  

A second solution would be to re-use these packages.  As Singh and Sharma (2016), a couple of researchers from the Indian Institute of Toxicology, stated “over 300 million metric tons of plastics are produced in the world annually and about fifty percent of this volume is for disposal applications, product that are discarded within a year of their purchase.” (p. 692). However, the percentage of thrown single-used plastic packages is even higher. That is why we can give these wrappers a longer life by using them for a different purpose. For instance, after emptying a rice or bread packaging, or else other small wrappers, should you have a pet, it is possible to employ them to clean up its droppings, instead of utilizing new plastic bags. Equally, it is feasible to use big packs like the toilet paper or some milk ones as rubbish bag. Another alternative to re-use these wrappers is to gather these synthetics items and given them to organizations or foundations such as Fundación Llena  una Botella de Amor which is in charge of collecting the plastic and creating plastic bricks by filling some bottles with all the wrappers accumulated; in turn, these containers can be employed to construct houses for low income people (Botellas de Amor Fundación, n.d.). All in all, plastic wrappers can be used more than a single time by giving them a different usage or by donating them to foundations working on reusing plastic projects.  

Finally, another alternative would be to establish some extra policies for companies that wrap food products and supermarkets which pack their articles in unnecessary plastics.  Some places and companies in Colombia have already started establishing some regulations; for instance, the governor of Boyacá department signed a decree in which it will be banned the throw-away plastic utilization in any event carried out by the administration of the department, or Postobón, a beverage company that is re-using more than 46% of its plastics to create new ones (Chiquiza, 2019). As it can be seen, there have been different individual policies; however, there are not laws that apply to everyone. Even so it would be possible to implement a status, in which the production of recyclable containers will be a must in all food companies; nevertheless, the regulation would also include the ban of all unnecessary packaging and the measure would be also applied to supermarkets, as they are sometimes in charge of bundling some products like vegetables and fruits. Lest any of these enterprises disobey these measures, they will be punished with some fines. As a result of these kinds of laws, the amount of disposable plastic that ends up in our houses would be reduced considerably given that companies’ actions affect directly people’s life. In short, the implementation of laws can help to reduce a great deal of wrappers, having in mind that by forcing the industries and supermarkets to avoid using unnecessary wrappers or employing biodegradable materials, the amount of wrappings arriving to each house will be curbed notoriously.   

All things considered, in despite of the large quantity of single-used plastic wrappers that are thrown away in our houses, there are assorted actions that can be taken to lessen and avert their utilization. Among these proposed solutions, there are some key individual and governmental actions to be taken. Some of these include purchasing unpacked products and carrying our own containers or using these plastic wrappers for other purposes and donating them to some foundations or local projects, and regarding some laws, they should be extended to include industries and groceries packing their articles. Indeed, we, as individuals, need to start fighting this problem, keeping in mind that small actions can help to solve big problems. What are we waiting for? It is time that   we join to tackle the plastic consumption beginning at home before it is too late, and remember “if you cannot reuse it, refuse it”. 

References 

Botellas de amor fundación (n.d.). Así se ha forjado nuestro camino. Retrieved from https://www.botellasdeamor.org/conocenos/  

Fajardo, E. (2019, July 4). En Colombia el uso de bolsas plásticas se redujo 53%. El Heraldo. https://www.elheraldo.co/ciencia/en-colombia-el-uso-de-bolsas-plasticas-se-redujo-53-646894 

Morgan, R. (2020, February 18). How much does buying in bulk save you? Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/how-much-does-buying-in-bulk-save-you-4165997 

 Chiquiza, J. (2019, July 25). Así se encuentra la regulación local de los plásticos de un solo uso. La República. https://www.larepublica.co/responsabilidad-social/asi-se-encuentra-la-regulacion-local-de-los-plasticos-de-un-solo-uso-2888623 

Singh, P., & Sharma, V. P. (2016). Integrated plastic waste management: environmental and improved health approaches. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 35, 692-700.