The 6 Least-Green Packaging Materials To Avoid (PHOTOS)

From The Daily Green's Carol Thompson:

On July 1st, Seattle banned single-use food packaging. Restaurants in the city are now required to use recyclable or compostable packaging and provide bins for customers to dispose of the material. The city hopes it will save 6,000 tons of food packaging waste from being deposited in a landfill and produce compost it can sell for gardens and landscaping.

This new legislation highlights the growing impact that packaging - which represents about 65% of household garbage and 33% of the refuse in an average landfill - is having on the environment. With recycling, composting and switching to reusable containers, packaging waste can be greatly diminished. Check out our list of the worst packaging offenders and what alternatives you can use to reduce their environmental impact.

Also see the most absurdly wasteful food packaging we could find at the grocery store.

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Polystyrene Foam

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1,460,000 tons of polystyrene foam were deposited in landfills in the United States in 2006 Also known as Styrofoam, polystyrene foam is the worst of the packaging offenders. It's made of non-renewable petroleum and once manufactured, it's not biodegradable. As soon as polystyrene is contaminated by food (like crumbs or grease from your french fries) it is no longer recyclable, and very few recycling facilities accept it even when it's clean. Polystyrene is also hazardous to human health. It contains the neurotoxins styrene and benzene, which are widely accepted to be carcinogens. These toxins can leach into food that's acidic, warm, alcoholic or oily and into the environment after exposure to rain and other weather. Many cities, like Portland, San Francisco and Freeport, Maine, have banned polystyrene both because of the threats it poses to human and environmental health and because it can choke wildlife when swallowed. Alternatives include biodegradable food containers (if you promise to compost them yourself) and reusable mugs.
Ever wonder what recycling symbols on plastics mean? We have the answers.

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1,460,000 tons of polystyrene foam were deposited in landfills in the United States in 2006

Also known as Styrofoam, polystyrene foam is the worst of the packaging offenders. It's made of non-renewable petroleum and once manufactured, it's not biodegradable. As soon as polystyrene is contaminated by food (like crumbs or grease from your french fries) it is no longer recyclable, and very few recycling facilities accept it even when it's clean.

Polystyrene is also hazardous to human health. It contains the neurotoxins styrene and benzene, which are widely accepted to be carcinogens. These toxins can leach into food that's acidic, warm, alcoholic or oily and into the environment after exposure to rain and other weather. Many cities, like Portland, San Francisco and Freeport, Maine, have banned polystyrene both because of the threats it poses to human and environmental health and because it can choke wildlife when swallowed.

Alternatives include biodegradable food containers (if you promise to compost them yourself) and reusable mugs.


Ever wonder what recycling symbols on plastics mean? We have the answers.

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Total comments: 194 | Post a Comment

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This Packaging

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Not As Bad I Refuse To Buy It!

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Comments

[vetxcl]

04:31 PM on 09/18/2010

safer plastics are those that don't leach into food/liquid. better(not perfect)numbers: 1,2,4,and 5. 2 is hdpe, 4 is ldpe and 5 is polypropylene. also newer plastoids (resembling plastics) are made from vegetable sources. there are also biodegradable plastics. in the end, it's better not to use oil at all, but failing that, it is possible to reduce consumption and therefor impact/footprint. please notice that is wrote safer and better, but not best or safe.

[MamaSafi]

10:39 AM on 09/09/2010

It is actually easier to cook a healthy meal at home than to get food packaged in petroleum based containers.

[vetxcl]

04:25 PM on 09/18/2010

not when you live a block from mcdonald's.

[PlasticAdvocate]

01:41 PM on 08/02/2010

We all want to do our part to reduce waste, but your blog misleads readers and overlooks important ways modern packaging helps us to do just that.

The blog fails to ask why we use packaging in the first place. Packaging helps reduce breakage and is critical in helping keep foods clean and safe to eat. Check out this video from Europe http://youtube.com/watch?v=cDtl8v5f77k&feature=player_embedded to see what a shopping trip would look like without packaging.

Packaging helps keep foods fresher longer. EPA data says that in the U.S., we waste so much food that it accounts for twice the waste from plastic packaging. Plastic packaging plays a critical role in reducing food waste, as highlighted by this New York Times article http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/how-about-them-wrapped-apples

Plastics help manufacturers ship more products with less breakage. Packaging can take up less space, and allows for lighter shipments – meaning fewer trucks on the road and less fuel consumed. Today’s 2-liter plastic beverage bottle weighs 33% less than it did in the 1970s, thanks to plastic. In 2008, Kraft announced it saved thousands of pounds of fuel by using plastic packaging. http://plasticsnews.com/headlines2.html?id=08062300102&q=kraft

We all agree that plastic does not belong in the ocean. But, rather than attack plastic, we should have increased conversations about how to reduce, reuse and recycle to further work for a greener, cleaner environment for future generations.

[PlasticAdvocate]

01:39 PM on 08/02/2010

We all want to do our part to reduce waste, but your blog misleads readers and overlooks important ways modern packaging helps us to do just that.
The blog fails to ask why we use packaging in the first place. Packaging helps reduce breakage and is critical in helping keep foods clean and safe to eat. Check out this video from Europe http://youtube.com/watch?v=cDtl8v5f77k&feature=player_embedded to see what a shopping trip would look like without packaging.
Packaging helps keep foods fresher longer. EPA data says that in the U.S., we waste so much food that it accounts for twice the waste from plastic packaging. Plastic packaging plays a critical role in reducing food waste, as highlighted by this New York Times article http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/how-about-them-wrapped-apples
Plastics help manufacturers ship more products with less breakage. Packaging can take up less space, and allows for lighter shipments – meaning fewer trucks on the road and less fuel consumed. Today’s 2-liter plastic beverage bottle weighs 33% less than it did in the 1970s, thanks to plastic. In 2008, Kraft announced it saved thousands of pounds of fuel by using plastic packaging. http://plasticsnews.com/headlines2.html?id=08062300102&q=kraft
We all agree that plastic does not belong in the ocean. But, rather than attack plastic, we should have increased conversations about how to reduce, reuse and recycle to further work for a greener, cleaner environment for future generations.

[Priscilla Briones]

09:30 PM on 07/30/2010

Studies by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, have found that the levels of styrene in which consumers are exposed to are not high enough to cause health fears. Polystyrene has not been classified by any regulatory organization in the world to be a known human carcinogen. In fact, a study conducted by a "blue ribbon" panel of epidemiologists and published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (November 2009) reports: "The evidence of human carcinogenicity of styrene is inconsistent and weak. On the basis of the available evidence, one cannot conclude that there is a causal relationship between styrene and any type of human cancer." Polystyrene containers for food have been used safely for more than 50 years, having been tested and deemed safe by government agencies. Any minuscule amount of styrene that may migrate out of polystyrene containers into food is far too small to be of any health concern. Moreover, styrene occurs naturally in many foodstuffs, including cinnamon, beef, coffee and strawberries.

Priscilla Briones for the Styrene Information and Research Center (SIRC), Arlington, Virginia. SIRC (www.styrene.org) is a trade association representing interests of the North American styrene industry with its mission being the collection, development, analysis and communication of pertinent information on styrene.

[MuchMadness]

08:59 PM on 07/29/2010

Ban the plastic bags. For groceries, paper sacks are much better anyway. You can get a lot more groceries in them, and they are much easier to carry. Plastic grocery bags are basically worthless.

[KIVPossum]

03:40 PM on 07/29/2010

A million tons of aluminum were tossed out?

I always recycle mine. Over the years have recycled enough beer cans to build a 767

[Rachael Brandt]

02:53 PM on 07/29/2010

#2 PLASTIC BAGS! I cannot stress enough how horrible they are for the environment AND our economy. Politicians, businessmen, and environmentalists alike need to be aware of the threats the plastic polluters pose to our country. 267 marine mammals are affected by the waste these single-use bags create, and over 100,000 sea turtles and other aquatic wildlife die each year as a result of plastic ingestation or entanglement. The great pacific waste gyre is just one of the many growing clumps of human litter. It's so sad.
Also, our tax dollars go to fund waste clean-up efforts. What good are these programs if only 2% of Americans recycle though? We spend so much money to remove litter from our streets and condense it into landfills, when all it takes is a reusable bag to save some cents and marine life.

[jabreal00]

12:28 PM on 07/29/2010

I assiduously recycle. I recycle about 50-60% of my refuse. I have been using reusable bags for the last three years when grocery shopping. I need to buy a nice bike so I can ride to work as oppose to driving.

I work in a large hospital. there are recycling containers on every floor next to every trash can and elevator. I still see people callously throwing away a plastic soda/water bottle or can in the trash can without even any hesitation. These type of people probably recycle 0% of their waste. If everyone made a small contribution it would significantly add up to decreased energy consumption.

[Ratter of the Shire]

09:05 AM on 07/29/2010

So an alternative to aluminum, is aluminum?

[wellingtonian]

04:08 AM on 07/29/2010

Theres this old man who wears ear muffs and a high-viz vest who wanders from student hostel to student hostel collecting the beer cans to recycle for money, he's got the right idea!

[N0NDescript0]

09:59 PM on 07/28/2010

This would be a much more useful post if it also contained SUGGESTIONS of which types of packaging products to use.

What is the point of saying "don't use this", if you don't suggest what to use?

Useless post...

[SimJack]

06:32 PM on 07/28/2010

Mandatory municipal recycling programs would also put people to work.

[dobravery]

09:01 AM on 07/29/2010

Non-mandatory recycling programs would put even more people to work (Sifters).

[Luke Egan]

05:48 PM on 07/28/2010

ha good info. too bad the only people who give a hoot are the ones who are already recycling.....

[InYourWorld]

10:42 PM on 07/28/2010

Not true, I live in a place that until recently had no recycling widely available. Glass and metal were recycled, but not plastics. I would save plastics for when I was traveling to where I could drop them off, but I certainly didnt save every plastic item like I did glass and aluminum.

The convience of curbside and recycling drop offs will make a huge difference.

[HelenBach]

05:14 PM on 07/28/2010

check out these beautiful handmade handbags made from post-consumer recycled aluminum pop-tops

http://www.escamastudio.com

[Polichick66]

03:53 PM on 07/30/2010

My mom collects the tops seperately and sends them off to one of her friends. Now I know where they might end up! The bags are nice, but that necklace looks a bit too 'arts and crafts' for me! Thanks for the link though.