You’ve noticed it at the grocery store - there is a lot of packaging on our food! Sometimes necessary, yes, but it's important to draw the line between packaging and over-packaging.
Definition of over-packaging: packaging more than the product requires in order to protect it from damage, or for purely aesthetic reasons. Also, packaging in smaller quantities for reasons mistakenly believed to be more practical or efficient.
Some packaging is not recyclable or only somewhat recyclable... which leads to numerous other problems! For example, single-use items such as utensils, coffee cups, straws, take-out containers - the little things that are everywhere and have proliferated enormously in recent years... Many municipalities have undertaken initiatives to address this issue, but work needs to be done at the provincial level.
In any case, recycling is not the solution: we need to first and foremost reduce at the source!
IDEAS
- Stop over-packaging. Ban single-use items and develop reusable alternatives.
- Standardize packaging types. Promote eco-friendly design by reducing the types of materials used, in order to encourage reuse and recycling.
- Develop refillable beverage containers. The expansion of the deposit refund system to all beverage containers is an opportunity to develop refillable containers, as is the case with some types of beer bottles.
- Standardize reusable personal protective equipment, such as masks, by developing a certification system that offers a viable alternative to single-use equipment.