Opinion: We Must End the Relentless Circulation of Dressing Packets
by
Jeffrey Prosserman|December 10, 2021
Image: Stowe Boyd
Peering into the delivery bag, I am challenged by an onslaught of single-use dressing packages. Consisted of more of garbage than real item, these packages supply a simple morsel of taste together with a heaping portion of inconvenience– in my viewpoint, at least.
From soy sauce to hot sauce packets, dozens of these wasteful things appear to be provided without rhyme or reason alongside every category of food these days.
As somebody who cares deeply about sustainability, I have actually grown to abhor dressing packages. However, like the majority of people who have actually food delivered, I can not leave them.
Greenpeace reports a shocking 855 billion single-use plastic packets are trashed worldwide every year. These small packets can not be recycled and end up completely in land fills.
For a single hit of ketchup delight, greenhouse gas emissions that trigger global warming are generated at every stage of plastic package production. And they take centuries to fully degrade. This indicates each and every single condiment package ever taken in, including those discarded unopened due to the fact that we never requested them in the first location, remains with us in some kind. Genuinely, they are relentlessly inescapable.
We may be able to break our dependency to single-use plastic with sustainable product packaging innovation. Kraft Heinz aims to make product packaging 100 percent recyclable, compostable, or recyclable by 2025. On the other hand, TerraCycle and Taco Bell just recently introduced a pilot to recycle hot sauce packages.
While these are actions in the right direction, they are overdue and dont account for the industrys laggers. The truth is, single-use plastic condiment packets ought to be banned.
In New York City, single-use plastic bags were banned in March 2020 with the threat of fines. City authorities also recently stopped dining establishments pressing plastic straws on customers.
The spirit of human ingenuity might create a more sustainable path to consume yummy dressings if single-use dressing packages are the next plastic relic put on the slicing block.
Just then will we be able to take pleasure in takeout without the relentless presence of dressing packets.
Jeffrey Prosserman is a college student in Columbia Universitys Sustainability Management program and founder and CEO of Voltpost, a company that retrofits lamp posts into electric car chargers.
Greenpeace reports a stunning 855 billion single-use plastic packages are trashed internationally every year. These small packets can not be recycled and end up entirely in landfills.
For a single hit of catsup delight, greenhouse gas emissions that trigger global warming are produced at every phase of plastic package production. This suggests every single condiment packet ever consumed, consisting of those thrown away unopened due to the fact that we never requested them in the very first location, remains with us in some kind. TerraCycle and Taco Bell recently introduced a pilot to recycle hot sauce packages.