When Costco tried to reduce its use of plastic earlier this year, putting its popular rotisserie chicken in thin bags instead of larger clam shells, some chicken lovers were not happy.
The bag leaks, he says, and risks making an oily mess. The ends tend to split. “Chicken juice spilled all over the trunk of our car!” one person complained on Reddit.
It’s another chapter in the packaging war.
There is broad agreement that the world needs to use less plastic. Plastic waste fills the world’s landfills and clogs rivers and streams. Recycling is not kept up; less than 10 percent of plastic waste will be recycled. Plastics can also contain chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems.
Reining in plastic packaging – often used only once, then thrown away – is an obvious first step. But implementing these practices is difficult for businesses, policymakers and shoppers. Everyone has an opinion.
“You can see experiments all over the landscape,” says Sandra Goldmark, a sustainability expert at Columbia University’s School of Climate. “There are a lot of experiments that aren’t working very well right now. We haven’t cracked the nut yet.”
Costco’s rotisserie-chicken-in-a-bag is an example of a classic solution that’s “less bad,” he said. “But the funny thing about the less evil solution is that it tends to disappoint everyone,” he said. “Less plastic. It’s less trucks on the road. But the chicken is still in the plastic bag, and there’s chicken juice in your car.”
Take the proposed New York state law that would require companies to reduce their plastic packaging use by 50 percent within 12 years by requiring them to find more sustainable options or pay a fee.
Opponents of the law pointed out that it could mean the death of another American institution: slicing cheese. The ratio of plastic-to-cheese in the packaging of individually wrapped slices of cheese means they will be the main target, if the law passes, they said.
“Under this bill, New Yorkers can look forward to a future where they can get unpackaged products – from cereal, to cheese, to hot dogs – out of grocery store bins before they buy them and take them home,” said Nelson Eusebio of the National Supermarket Association. told The New York Post. The bill passed the Senate but has not yet been brought to a vote in the Assembly.
Bill supporters scoffed and said there were alternatives available, such as using paper.
“It is clear that some multibillion-dollar companies and lobbyists are not ready for the world-shattering concept of separating cheese slices with wax paper,” said Judith Enck, president of the advocacy group Beyond Plastics.
Four other states – California, Colorado, Oregon and Maine – have adopted laws designed to cut down on packaging. States and cities are also increasingly banning single-use plastic bags. New York and Baltimore states have sued plastic manufacturers for harming public health and the environment by promoting single-use plastics.
Some companies are starting to make changes.
Last month, Amazon said it would replace plastic air cushions, designed to cushion products during delivery, with recycled paper packaging, a move that would avoid the use of nearly 15 billion cushions each year. Bath & Body Works recently introduced hand soap refills in paper cartons. In England, Aldi, a grocery chain, is experimenting with paper tape to pack bananas instead of bags, and is also selling wine in paper bottles.
Companies are also trying to make plastic recycling easier. In the UK this year, Coca-Cola, which has been targeted by environmentalists as a top plastic polluter, is testing unlabelled plastic Sprite bottles that could make recycling more difficult. However, the bottle carries an embossed logo.
“There are a lot of trade-offs” that make sustainable packaging design complicated, says John Thøgersen, a green consumption expert at Aarhus University in Denmark. For example, people may think that glass bottles are more environmentally friendly than plastic, but this is not always the case, as it takes more energy to transport heavier glass bottles.
Food waste, which harms the climate, is another consideration: Yogurt sold in larger tubs requires less plastic than a single-serving cup, but research shows that people who buy tubs also tend to throw away more yogurt.
And of course, there are functions. Some shoppers seem to be using Costco’s old rotisserie chicken packaging instead of plates.
To eliminate plastic waste, companies must do one of two things, experts say: develop biodegradable or recyclable materials, still a work in progress, or switch to reusable or refillable packaging. Costco, for example, can ask shoppers to bring reusable chicken containers, over and over again. Grocery stores that allow people to pick up their own nuts and seeds in their own containers are another example of this approach.
Costco says the chicken bags will save 17 million pounds of plastic a year. Dr. Goldmark of Columbia University said the results were to be applauded.
“You don’t want perfect to be the enemy of good,” he said. “But we cannot ignore the fact that ‘less evil’ may not be enough.”
