One shopper just revealed the mind-boggling waste their grocery store allegedly creates on a regular basis.
Members of the r/Anticonsumption subreddit are always on the lookout for unnecessary wastes of time, money, and resources.
Plastic waste is such a major issue that the community has given it its own flair. Most plastics take decades or centuries to break down naturally, add dangerous microplastics to our drinking water, and are almost impossible to recycle — and unfortunately, many businesses use far too much of it.
Sometimes, it seems like the issue gets worse every day.
"Why is this a thing?" the Redditor wrote in their post. "Each small head of broccoli is individually shrink-wrapped!"
Sure enough, the photo they shared showed a piece of broccoli encased in plastic. The broccoli stalk was too small to really even be called a "head" — it looked smaller than the hand holding it.
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A large "Hearty Fresh" sticker identified the culprit, although the rest of the broccoli in the background of the shot was also shrink-wrapped and seemed to come from different brands.
One commenter held out hope that this was a misunderstanding.
"Is it cellophane?" they asked. "For what it's worth, cellophane is biodegradable and would actually serve a purpose in keeping food fresh and limiting food waste."
Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case. "No, it was like thick shrink wrap," the original poster replied.
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Some companies are looking for ways around this issue. For example, Apeel Sciences has developed a coating for fresh produce based on certain natural peels found in fruits and vegetables. The coating goes directly on the skin of the produce, is edible, and eliminates the need for plastic.
But making the switch will take time, as well as pressure from consumers. "Don't buy this, and complain to the produce person," one commenter suggested. "Broccoli is not that hard to grow. Buy local, skip the plastic."
"Yes, exactly," the original poster said. "There are plenty of local farms in my area. Farmers' markets and a co-op. Many choices that are way better than this."
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