When I went to Tim Hortons with a friend the other day, they served him his sandwich in one little bag and his apple in another. At first I was relieved because my friend and I were very worried that they might unknowingly put fruit and bread in the same bag. When I finally calmed down, however, I started to consider the packaging overkill.
Tim Hortons certainly isn't the only place that does this. Every time I go to Subway, regardless of whether I plan to eat in the store or not, my sub comes wrapped up in paper and in a plastic bag. Why the extra material? Is it for my sandwich's protection?
People in the U.S. consume billions and billions of these products each year. If every one of these purchases comes fully strapped with wax paper, plastic wrap, two paper bags and a bulletproof vest, just try to imagine the size of that trash heap.
Over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are used in the U.S. ever year, according to the EPA.
One of the biggest sources of this problem is the supermarket industry. Most supermarkets seem to have a policy that requires employees to use as many grocery bags as possible.
For instance, at the Tops across from South Campus, cashiers use two plastic bags to hold a single gallon of milk. They will also wrap fragile things, like eggs, with a protection bag before putting them in to another grocery bag. Does that really do anything?
I could just be old-fashioned, but I personally have walked from Tops to my apartment many a time with more than two gallons of milk in one plastic bag. Did I ever fear that it would break as I was crossing the street, a bunch of frustrated drivers watching me as I tried to gather all of my baby carrots one by one and still look cool?
To be honest, yes, but that has never happened and when I get home from shopping I always have about 15 fewer grocery bags than I otherwise would.
These days, we live in a world so large that issues like this can seem incredibly small. The truth is when it all adds up, it isn't small, and there are many greener options available. A lot of them are just common sense.
Something that Americans have been doing recently to remedy this waste and litter problem is bring their own bags to the grocery store. Supermarkets like Wegmans and Tops have addressed environmental concerns by offering cloth and even insulated reusable bags. But then many customers will forget them and some students are too embarrassed to carry them.
It wouldn't hurt Subway to use trays for people who want to eat in the restaurant. And it wouldn't kill people to carry the two drinks they buy at Mobil in their hands instead of in a plastic bag.
An easy way to look at is like this: if it takes a billion tiny purchases to create a waste problem, maybe a billion tiny green actions could reduce it.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
