Sustainability Victoria recently reported that Australians throw away around 1.9 million tonnes of packaging each year. Shocking! That's enough to fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground nine times over.
The truth is consumers have become used to packaging. Whether it's with food or other items. But the reality is, all that packaging has to go somewhere at the end of of its use, and on top of that, packaging requires a lot of energy, water and other natural resources to produce.
If you think about it, packaging is part of nearly every product we buy. However, is it all really necessary? At Good & Fugly, we do not include any plastics in our fruit and veg deliveries. On top of that, we encourage you to leave your box out when your next box is due, so we can collect and reuse. We're passionate about tackling the packaging problem in Australia. We believe it's up to every Aussie to play a part.
What can you do to help reduce packaging in Australia?
Does it really need to be in packaging?
Sometime we can't avoid packaging. The item may need some form of protection. However, a lot of the time it doesn't. Fruit and veg rarely need to be wrapped in plastic or even in a tray! You will find all our fruit and veg in Good & Fugly boxes are loose. That's because they are perfectly safe as they are. In fact, a lot of fruit and veg have their own built-in packaging. Bananas for example, are the best form of packaging you get.
Reuse packaging
Start paying attention to how much packaging your food or products come in. Where possible, collect the packaging and reuse it. This is a great way to give the packaging a longer life and create less waste.
Use a reusable shopping bag
As a nation, we are getting better at saying no to single-use plastic bags. Always have a reusable bag with you when you leave the house, so you're never caught out.
Talk to shop owners
Talk to the shop owners, and ask them if there are ways packaging can be reduced. Keep supporting businesses that are making a concerted effort to reduce packaging.
Be clever with how you buy online
Online shopping is more popular than ever. However, a lot of deliveries will come wrapped in excess and often unnecessary packaging. Be conscious of where you are buying, and ask the seller what packaging they are using and if it's recyclable.
Packaging waste is something we can tackle. We will continue to do all we can here at Good & Fugly to keep our packaging to the absolute minimum and do our part in reducing packaging waste in Australia.
