While you can understand the need to cater to shoppers of all varieties, this seems a bit ridiculous. A Redditor shared an egregious example of packaging by a grocery store in Japan.
What's happening?
The Redditor took to the r/StupidFood subreddit to share what they branded as "stupid packaging."
On display is an individually wrapped asparagus stalk, using a hefty amount of plastic for just a single piece of produce. Commenters were confused by the visual.
"Yeah, I'm used to a bundle of like 30 asparagus spears held together with a single rubber band and it just works," one wrote.
The OP responded that that might not fit all shoppers' preferences. Others noted that a lot of Japanese people do live alone, and the huge asparagus bundle might not work. Still, this solution for lone shoppers was too much.
A user reacted, "What in the world do you do with 1 asparagus? You need at least 3."
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That sentiment was shared by virtually everyone in the comments.
"I think 5-7 is a reasonable starting place!" the OP declared.
Even cutting that down a few would be a major improvement on single stalks.
Why is excessive plastic packaging important?
Plastic packaging on food is a major environmental concern, contributing significantly to the plastic pollution crisis. Most single-use plastics end up in landfills or oceans due to a flawed recycling system.
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$200 or more 💰 Grocery stores are a big-time offender in this regard, and commenters on the Reddit thread specifically called out Japanese ones for feeding into the trend.
"I visited Tokyo a few years ago, and it's wild how much they over-package everything there," one wrote. "They make the USA look ultra conservationist in comparison."
Other posters did credit Japanese people for properly sorting out their recycling, but there's only so much you can do with single-use plastics. That's why there are bans on items like plastic bags and a push to find replacements for other similar items.
Are grocery stores doing anything about this?
While it's unclear if this Japanese grocery store has done anything to reduce its plastic use, many stores around the globe have made initiatives to reduce plastic packaging use. That includes removing unnecessary plastic wrapping and leaning into alternative packaging materials.
Although grocery stores and shoppers alike are almost desensitized to seeing plastic everywhere, that needn't be the case.
What's being done about plastic packaging waste more broadly?
There is a number of initiatives seeking to find plastic alternatives that will break down naturally. If successful, these plastic alternatives could greatly cut down on usage and make a major dent in how many microplastics end up spreading into the environment, or ending up in water and food sources.
Researchers have also proposed reuse-and-return schemes involving stores and customers that would promote better reuse and upcycling.
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