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Shopping Bags and Packaging
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Shopping bags are foremost in the minds of the consumer, as they are the main
thing they see when purchasing produce while shopping. These bags are extremely
light, made of a very small amount of plastic and most of these bags are made
from recycled plastic which is good for the environment in one regard. The
problem lies in the misuse and neglectful attitude that many have toward the
environment. When these bags are left to litter our roadsides, landfill,
waterways and oceans, they are not only wasted as a resource but cause
environmental and ecological damage. |
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Improved attitudes to recycling and the environment are seen as a reason for
the turnaround in improving our understanding of our impact on the environment
but there is still a long way to go, shopping bags are just the surface of a
major problem. |
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Reducing Packaging |
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The consumer only sees the finished product when purchasing but throughout its
manufacture, packaging is used to handle raw materials at differing stages of
manufacture. Much of this packaging used in the transportation and handling of
these materials and products are not recycled, as it is cost prohibitive to do
so or impractical due to logistical reasons such as location or absence of
recycling facilities, for example: Many industries use imported raw materials
needing packaging such as containers, plastic wrap, wooden or plastic pallets,
cardboard boxes and dividers, plastic or foam packaging to carry and protect
these materials, many of which cannot be returned or recycled. |
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Businesses are charged for cardboard recycling, this is something that most of
us presume to be a free service. It is easier and cheaper to send it to the tip
than to recycle it. Unlike our kerbside recycling service, industry has no such
services available and this too causes much of this packaging to be discarded
in ways which are not beneficial to the environment. |
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If we were to recycle all of our packaging this would only take care of our end
of the deal.
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Ultimately we can only reduce this packaging by reducing what we buy in the
first place, we must be sensible in what we acquire as consumers, as we impact
directly on the environment every time we shop. |
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Over a number of years manufacturers have started using "end product" packaging
that is recyclable, lighter and more "environmentally friendly" it is up to us
to demand this as consumers and to be "environmentally friendly shoppers". |
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Packaging is important in the manufacture of goods, as manufacturers need to
supply their product in a safe, clean, presentable way to the consumer. |
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Cost drives the need for less packaging but too little packaging will cause
product losses and will detract from "shelf presentability"; products need to
look good on the shelf but remain safe from handling and remain safe in transit |
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Packaging costs flow on to the consumer directly, so to keep costs down the
idea is to keep this packaging to a minimum thus keeping environmental impact
to a minimum. |
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However by creating extra-light packaging some forms of packaging has become
too impractical to recycle, take for example, plastic bags, and plastic wrap.
The raw materials used are very low but the environmental impact is high. |
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Another way of reducing packaging as consumers is by buying produce in a bulk
form, although in many instances this is most impractical with many constraints
such as size, freshness and cost. |
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Credit: Clean Green Planet |
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Re-using packaging |
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In our homes we re-use our cups and plates over and over as it is cheaper than
buying disposable cups and plates, so why don't drink manufacturers, milk
producers, breweries etc, re-use their bottles? |
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The principle of Reducing, Re-using and Recycling is used worldwide so re-using
these glass packages seems a good idea! |
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It is however a very impractical idea when we weigh up the negatives related to
the reuse we find: |
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1: Collecting is difficult due to the location of purchase; it may be hundreds
of miles back to the factory. |
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2: Cleaning is not an easy issue, as some bottles may be contaminated with
poisons after being used for weed killer etc. |
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3: Some bottles can be damaged and broken. |
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4: With many producers on the market these days, sorting would be difficult;
one wrong bottle could upset a production line. |
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The positives for using new bottles very much outweigh the negatives above. |
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1: Producers like to keep there styling fresh and new and need to use new
styles of bottles as consumer trends change. |
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2: Bottle manufacturers can guarantee a high degree of quality, thus ensuring
less production problems. |
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3: Hygiene is protected when new raw materials are used for manufacturing
plastic bottles. New glass bottles, in many instances, are made from recycled
glass and can of course be recycled over and over. |
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4: By producing large numbers of bottles, production cost of these bottles is
kept low. Also by using a generic bottle style some small producers can keep
these production costs down also. |
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What We Can Do to Help |
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All the products on our Ecoproducts2order website are manufactured using
recycled materials of this kind, including retail packaging, e.g. pens,
coasters, rulers etc. A selection of our clothing range is made from 50%
recycled plastic bottles. |
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We can all help to reduce the amount of consumer waste produced by continuing
and expanding on what we recycle. |
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Instead of continually buying plastic bags at the supermarket, we can invest in
a ‘bag for life’ or buy a cotton shopper bag, already manufactured using
recycled products, as seen on our website. Many supermarkets now provide a
recycle point for used carrier bags. |
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Only purchase items already made from recycled products, if available.
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Recycle all that is not. Instead of taking Items we no longer use or need to
the tip, advertise these on a recycle website such as
www.freecycle.org
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The 4 R's |
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Refuse |
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To go without something we don't need, such as single use plastic bags. By
refusing to use these bags. By bringing our own bags when shopping. By refusing
to support a company, organization or business that is clearly being
environmentally harmful. By refusing to be wasteful in your outlook to life. |
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Re-use
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Re-using our resources over and over, benefits our environment. We live in a
disposable world where almost everything seems to be 'throw-away', so if we can
use things more than once we will all help sustain our resources. |
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Reduce |
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We can't all keep using less and less, we do still need to enjoy our lives, but
if we can reduce our impact by living a less materialistic life we will benefit
the environment. Reducing energy consumption, purchasing products that use less
packaging even reducing unnecessary trips in the car will benefit not only the
environment but think of the savings financially this approach to life will
bring. |
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Recycle |
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Recycling our resources not only sustains them, but it keeps manufacturing
costs down. Recycling aluminium cans is cheaper than making aluminium cans from
ore. Landfill is another resource that is overlooked, which benefits from
recycling. Each year, if it wasn't for recycling, millions of car bodies,
billions of bottles and cans, mobile phones, computers, second hand building
materials etc would end up in landfill sites. These resources are recycled into
new cars or bottles or even made into other articles. Not all people or
industry care to recycle and a lot of recyclable product still ends up wasted
or in landfill, but as more of us wake up to the importance of recycling the
more recycling facilities become available, it is a market driven resource.
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