While food packaging has revolutionised the way we store and consume food, there is now so much of it that landfills can’t cope. Some of it is poisonous, and some of it never degrades. It can take 450 years for some types of plastic bottle to break down; one type, PET, while recyclable, doesn’t biodegrade at all.

The words Reduce Reuse Recycle have been on conscious consumers’ lips for decades; recycling is now commonplace, and there are newer initiatives like the plastic bag charge. We’d also do well to follow France’s lead in banning plastic cutlery, cups and plates. But we should create less waste to begin with. These are 5 simple ways to tackle the packaging problem yourself:

Knowledge is Power. Please share this Infographic:

<a href="https://ecogreenlove.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/05242017_packagingproblem.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-8939 size-full" title="Tackling the Packaging Problem [Infographic] | ecogreenlove" src="https://ecogreenlove.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/05242017_packagingproblem.png" alt="Tackling the Packaging Problem [Infographic] | ecogreenlove" width="760" height="2081" /></a>

Sources:

• The west’s throwaway culture has spread waste worldwide | March 2017
  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/13/waste-plastic-food-packaging-recycling-throwaway-culture-dave-hall
• Zero Waste Week UK
  http://www.zerowasteweek.co.uk/about
• Tips for reducing food packaging waste | March 2017
  https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/58b8479ae4b09c1763ef5781
• The Story of Stuff
  http://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-stuff/

“If you go shopping, don’t bring home a problem”