Tim Worstall

Jane Shilling

These days my mind is filled with rubbish

Well, yes, could be.

…it is the supermarkets that are the source of most of this plastic, a
fact to which my fellow Slitheen, the redoubtable activists of the WI,
sought to draw attention this week when they launched a campaign
against unnecessary food packaging. The response of the supermarkets
and the packaging industry was predictably pusillanimous. Witter,
witter food wastage; witter, witter customer demand.

Well, yes, food wastage you see. Somewhere in PJ O’Rourke’s All the Trouble in the World he talks to a Professor of Garbology, someone who has actually excavated Mexican and American rubbish dumps. And he reports (these numbers are broadly correct, but I can’t remember the exact ones) that while Americans use twice as much packaging as Mexicans they actually throw away half as much food.

As with every other area of life there is a trade off. More of one thing, less of another: to decide that there is too much packaging without looking at whether this will increase (or even reduce) food wastage is nonsense.

Now, whether it is actually true that the current level of packaging in the UK does reduce food wastage to a significant degree, (it could possibly increase it if the packaging sizes leads to us over purchasing) whether it could be reduced without greater loss …..that’s something different. But to look at only one side of the equation is simply inane.

In

5 responses

  1. PostPunkUnkle Avatar
    PostPunkUnkle

    Hmm.
    Could it be that Mexicans buy ripe food and personally dispose of surplus as waste. Whereas Americans, like us, by packaged, unripe, long shelf life food and farmers and packing houses dispose of waste in other ways?

    Reply
  2. AntiCitizenOne Avatar
    AntiCitizenOne

    I look forward to the WI’s vigourous support of irradiated and GM foods.

    Reply
  3. The Remittance Man Avatar
    The Remittance Man

    From a manufacturer’s point of view the less packaging the lower the unit cost will be and the higher the profit. It’s actually the customers’ expectations of quality and their willingness to pay for it that decides the amount of packaging used.
    Then again I doubt Ms Shilling or the “WI activists” wil ever acknowledge that they are really the ones to blame.
    RM

    Reply
  4. Ellee Seymour Avatar
    Ellee Seymour

    There are EU regulations which makes packaging reduction compulsory, see http://www.letsrecycle.com/legislation/packaging_waste.jsp
    It’s over packagaing that the public finds senseless. I bought some champagne yesterday and was offered a box to put it in, but I declined on the grounds of excess packaging. There is a lot this government could do, Jane Shilling’s article also mentions introducing a plastic bag levy similar to the Republic of Ireland, which is one of my hot topics and would be greatly supported by the public. It has reduced the number of plastic bags by 90% and maintained this figure for 4 years. Anything can be done if you put your mind to it.

    Reply
  5. The Remittance Man Avatar
    The Remittance Man

    Ah, but Ellee, was the box offered by the retailer (who might have thought you were buying a gift) or was it part of the packaging provided by the producer?
    Placcie bags are definately provided by the retailer.
    It still comes down to an expense offered only because the company belives it’s what the customer wants. If there’s a retailer or manufacturer out there with a “green conscience” let him or her decide to reduce the packaging and let’s see what the effect on his sales is.
    Maybe the public accept this reduction in waste, maybe they don’t. But it’s for the public and the producers to decide, not Ms Shilling, the WI or the government.
    RM

    Reply

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