Plastic Crap Wall of Shame

You guys know this woman, right? If you don't, where have you been? This is Beth Terry whose blog Fake Plastic Fish is one of the best eco blogs in the blogsphere. Beth is on a mission to eliminate plastic from her life and to educate others on how to do the same. Mom and I follow Beth's blog and Mom has recently starting following Beth's other project on Facebook. The project? The Plastic Crap Wall of Shame, a collection of photos uploaded by fans on Facebook. All it takes is one trip to any store to find lots of plastic crap and you'll be hooked. Mom sure is.

You can't help but be inundated by plastic every day. Even the computer I'm typing on right now contains lots of plastic! It's all around us and it's indestrucible. Think about this: every single item you've ever throw away that contained plastic is still with us today. It hasn't broken down to anything in the landfill and still looks much the same as it did when you placed it in the trash. It doesn't matter if you're 8 or 80 the story is still the same. Pretty scary, huh?

When Mom was in Target last week she couldn't help but notice this. Seems innocent enough, right? Wrong! Aluminum bottles are good because they are reusable, but do they have to be wrapped in plastic? Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that they're selling a two-pack of bottles but there must be a better way to package them without plastic. Plastic on the top and on the bottom? That's just wrong! The only good thing about the bottles is that they are so affordable. If you biggify the picture you'll see they cost $2.50. There's really no excuse to not own these.

Mom uploaded the photo on the Plastic Crap Wall of Shame Facebook page and Beth herself commented on it. And then Mom was hooked. She has always avoided plastic and any type of unnecessary packaging but never thought about taking pictures of products that were overly plasticized. But now that she has, she's on a mission to document the crap that she sees wherever she goes. Case in point, a trip to Fresh Market, a somewhat foo-foo grocery store to buy Dad some chocolate.

Most produce departments drive Mom crazy but Fresh Market's pushed her over the edge. It reminded her a lot of Trader Joe's where every produce item is wrapped in plastic. Maybe that's what Fresh Market is modeling itself after. Let's hope not.

Peppers wrapped in plastic? Are you kidding me? There's no excuse for this. None. You can cut up your own peppers because it takes only a few minutes to do so. This plastic wrap and it's equally horrible foam tray will live on forever. And that's not a good thing.

Mom had a hard time with the peppers and then saw this corn, all de-husked and ready to go. But why? Because it takes too long to remove the husks? Lots of people grill their corn with the husks on. But never mind that. Why can't you remove the husks yourself? Even if you put them in the garbage instead of a composter, that's still better throwing away all that plastic and foam.

Dad told me that Mom was shaking when she saw these green beans. She actually yelled in the store but I cannot repeat what she said because I'm trying to keep this post G rated. Maybe the beans are in the plastic bags to make them more desireable. People might see them and say "Don't those beans look cute in their own little bag? Oh I must have them!" Give me a break! It's a marketer's dream, don't you think?

By the time Mom saw these peaches she was ready to run out the door. Again with the silly marketing. But really people. Peaches are so portable. You have two hands so put one in each hand and skip the bag. The bag that will not decompose but will eventually leach all its toxins into your groundwater. Yuk!

Mom was beside herself when she saw this as Dad paid for his chocolate. In all fairness to Fresh Market, this was the backside of the display. They are trying to get people to purchase reusable bags and they even deduct five cents from your bill when you bring your own. A small deduction in money but a large one for the environment.

There are many people who feel that plastic is the problem but Mom believes the problems lie in how it's is manufactured, used, and disposed of. Let's face it, plastic is here to stay but we can be smart in how we use it. And manufacturers can do a better job of designing items and packaging that uses less plastic. Remember that everything that's made has a waste component to it too, so the end product you see in the store is only half the story. What happens to the waste at the factory? Hopefully manufacturers are working to reduce this waste as they reduce their energy use.

You have lots of power when you purchase items. You decide what you will and will not purchase and you speak volumes with your purchasing power. Items unnecessarily wrapped in plastic should be passed by in favor of items containing less packaging. These items are not always easy to find and the above pics show the most extreme excess packaging. But think about the everyday items you purchase and how re-thinking these items could save packaging. Toilet paper is a good item to look at. Most is heavily wrapped in plastic (for what reason, I don't know) but some companies don't wrap each roll individually. Does this make a difference? Absolutely. Think about how many rolls you use each year and it all adds up.

And don't forget about the disposal component of plastic. Lots of plastic is recyclable yet most doesn't get recycled. Is it a convenience thing? Are people just too lazy? Or are they unaware of what can and cannot be recycled? I think it's all of the above. I know all of you are increasing the amount of waste you recycle each day but I'd like you to think about how you will dispose of an item before even purchasing it. Turn over that package, bottle, container, or box of whatever to see if it can be recycled. If it can't, what will you do with it? Think about it.

Mom hasn't uploaded the Fresh Market pictures to the Facebook page yet because she can't decide which one is worse. But she will pick one and show the world what Fresh Market is doing to the environment in the name of convenience. Convenience? Not at all!