Waste

Waste

Friday 25 November 2016

Plethoric Pomelo Packaging

I was at the grocery store the other day in the produce section. I noticed that pomelos are in season again. I was thrilled and bought one. It was only when I took it home that I noticed how complex and excessive the packaging around it was. First of all, for those who don't know what pomelos are, they're a citrus fruit from Asia that are related to grapefruit and taste sort of like a sweeter or milder grapefruit. As everyone knows, citrus fruits have their own natural package, a peel. So, they shouldn't need any package (I'm waiting for someone in the comments section to come up with some B.S. reason for this extra packaging that comes from the citrus distributors themselves and not from actual fact).


Despite its thick and protective peel (the thickness of a grapefruit peel), this pomelo was wrapped in a mesh net, with a fake leaf on top, and a plastic ribbon around with panda bears on it (something threatened with extinction and it's on something that using tons of resources and therefore threatening the environment how bizarre).


After I took the mesh net off with scissors, I found that the pomelo was wrapped in plastic wrap. Why?!

It was a package (peel) surrounded by a plastic package, surrounded by a mesh net package, surrounded by plastic ribbon with a fake leaf on top.


This is a crazy amount of packaging for just one piece of fruit that already comes in a package. I should also point out that other than the plastic wrap which could be recycled with shopping bags, none of the packaging was recyclable so it will be going to the landfill (other than the citrus peel, which is of course compost).


What will we see next? Bananas in plastic wrap and bags? This is a prime example of overpackaging.

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