green scene... urban jungle
packaging hall of shame
your chance to name & shame those products...
In Newsletter 71 we put out a call for you to send in your nominations for the any item you’ve bought that’s raised your blood pressure with its over-packaging. Interestingly we got only a few entries. Our hopeful conclusion is that you have not come across that much over-packaging. The environmentalist nightmare conclusion being that we are so used to everything being wrapped to within an inch of its life, we’ve stopped noticing!
Here are the entries we received, in no particular order, and under this you will find advice from Friends of the Earth on what to do if you ever want to make a point about packaging. Thanks to everyone who wrote in.
If any of the companies our readers have mentioned would like to take advantage of their right of reply, we’d be only too happy to publish their emails on this page.
Please send any correspondence regarding packaging to Katie.walsh@nesta.org.uk
"I would like to nominate Cadbury and Mars for their disgusting over-packaging of Easter eggs and selection boxes.
"As a mum of 2 boys, who receive far too much chocolate than they should (!!), I have found it unbelievable how much cardboard is used. In order to store such chocolate delights and get them out of temptations way, we take all the sweets and chocolate out of the boxes to put them in the cupboard.
We are then left with a HUGE mound of packaging which, if not squashed, easily fills 1+ black bin liner. Every year my husband and I moan on about 'what a disgrace!' and it's wonderful to see someone doing more than just moaning about it!
"Of course, we do put the cardboard in our local recycle bin but in the case of selection boxes there's a lot a plastic too!"
Ali Nicholson
"I'm one of those people who likes to always try a new brand of shampoo and conditioner, rarely buying the same type twice. A few months ago I bought St Ives shampoo and conditioner from Boots without really thinking too hard about it. I was tempted by their pretty packaging and 'natural, eco-friendly' type of labelling/marketing on the box.
"But when I got it home I was really annoyed that not only were the two perfectly secure bottles in boxes (unnecessary packaging number 1) but also within those boxes were plastic inserts to hold the bottles in place (unnecessary packaging number 2). Also the cardboard box itself contained a see-through plastic window (unnecessary packaging number 3) which would mean I would have to tear them apart in order to recycle them. And all that for a mere 200ml or so of product! I was annoyed with myself for having succumbed to the marketing and was too embarrassed to take them back to Boots for a refund.
So I wrote to the company and sent them all the packaging (in a reused plastic bag instead of a new jiffy envelope!) together with my comments and my request for them to recycle it all.
"The reply I got was amazing, they said their customers preferred all this packaging as it showed it was a high-quality product. They made no comment about the eco-unfriendliness or any commitment they may (should!) have to looking after the environment.
I'd encourage anyone else to do the same with excess packaging. If customer service departments get enough rubbish sent to them they'll eventually persuade their designers to reduce the packaging."
Sarah Hunt
"I would like to enter a company called GREAT GIZMOS in your name and shame competition. Recently we ordered 24 MINI KALEIDESCOPES which were packaged on card with toughened plastic, each measured 11.5cm x 20cm.
They were in a small box packaged with polystyrene chippings which would have been sufficient to post BUT that box was INSIDE A humungous box measuring 60cm x 40cm and 60cm deep.
"We thought we had received a big delivery of goods and kept rummaging in the box and there was nothing else inside much to our disbelief. We commented at the time that it was so wasteful and if we hadn't had to pay for the package and postage ourselves were going to post it back to them pointing out the waste. I am sorry we didn't now."
Lizzie Stenhouse
Visitor Centre Co-ordinator
The Royal Observatory Visitor Centre
"I was on a Virgin train back up North a few months ago. I went to the buffet car to buy a cup of coffee (with paper bag, plastic stirrer, sugar and two milks whether or not you want them) and was horrified to see that they were selling individual oranges wrapped in the kind of plastic packaging that you would expect for Star Wars figures.
"I also used to live in Japan, possibly the world's worst culprit. There, for example, if you bought a packet of 16 McVities chocolate digestives, they would come in a box, and would be packaged also into fours inside plastic wrappers. But in their defence, they seem to be much more advanced at recycling - all household waste has to be separated and put out on different days."
Craig Brierley
"What really bugs me, although it is probably not the most excessive use of packaging, are all those convenient cleaning tablets.
"Manufacturers seem to be pushing people towards dishwasher & washing machine tablets, rather than the boxes of powder. I think the tablets are wonderfully convenient, but can't they formulate them so that they do not have to be individually wrapped? Or wrap them in bio-degradable paper? Or a paper that dissolves in the wash? All those extra bits of polythene that were not around a few years ago can't be helping."
Julie Leonard
Here is what you should do if you think you have too much packaging, or think that you’ve been given recycling advice that’s false or misleading.
What to do if you’ve got too much packaging:
1. Go back to the customer service department of your retailer or the manufacturer.
2. Offer to give back packaging for recycling or re-use.
If you think that someone’s made a claim about recycling or waste in the UK that is false or misleading:
Call the Office Of Fair Trading
Phone : 020 7211 8000, Fax : 020 7211 8800, E-mail : enquiries@oft.gov.uk.
Or phone the Consumers Association on: 08453 010 010
The website www.wastewatch.org.uk is very good for practical recycling advice
<< Go Back