Japan is the worst for this. They are obsessed with individually wrapping everything. You want to buy a box of cookies? Plastic packaging for the whole thing. Plastic tray that helps separate and display each individual cookie, so less than 50% of the space is actually used… And each cookie has its own plastic packaging.
I didn’t go and buy M&Ms but I wouldn’t be surprised if each one was in its own sealed plastic.
Quite a few east Asian countries unfortunately. The Asian grocery store down the street is probably 50% plastic wrap by weight. .
On an American note, I recall buying compostable Keurig pods in bulk from a company that advertised how comparing is good for the environment. I had previously bought them in 12 pod batches which came in one resealable plastic bag. I received a box of 72 individually plastic wrapped pods. I emailed them to check to see if maybe those were made off industrially compostable plastic. Nope.
Also looking at my kids’ string cheese being wrapped and then individually wrapped makes me cringe. I have to find another solution for that.
Unfortunately the cheese inside the plastic wrap is going to be far worse for the environment than the couple grams of plastic surrounding it. The bigger zero-waste win would be to get them hooked on something plant based instead.
Japan is the worst for this. They are obsessed with individually wrapping everything. You want to buy a box of cookies? Plastic packaging for the whole thing. Plastic tray that helps separate and display each individual cookie, so less than 50% of the space is actually used… And each cookie has its own plastic packaging.
I didn’t go and buy M&Ms but I wouldn’t be surprised if each one was in its own sealed plastic.
Quite a few east Asian countries unfortunately. The Asian grocery store down the street is probably 50% plastic wrap by weight. .
On an American note, I recall buying compostable Keurig pods in bulk from a company that advertised how comparing is good for the environment. I had previously bought them in 12 pod batches which came in one resealable plastic bag. I received a box of 72 individually plastic wrapped pods. I emailed them to check to see if maybe those were made off industrially compostable plastic. Nope.
Also looking at my kids’ string cheese being wrapped and then individually wrapped makes me cringe. I have to find another solution for that.
I guess that last part would depend on how picky your kids are.
https://nourishingjoy.com/homemade-string-cheese/
Personally, I’d be like “fuck that, mom. I’m just not eating lunch today.” Except without the “fuck” part.
Unfortunately the cheese inside the plastic wrap is going to be far worse for the environment than the couple grams of plastic surrounding it. The bigger zero-waste win would be to get them hooked on something plant based instead.