A Redditor was utterly flabbergasted by the amount of packaging included in a snack they bought and had to share what they saw with the community at r/Anticonsumption.
What's happening?
"That amount of plastic," wrote the original poster alongside a photo of an opened Auchan Rochers Coco package. Inside it contained a tray for the snacks, and the snacks themselves were individually wrapped.
Reddit community members were equally aghast at the use of plastic wrap.
"This is why I don't buy store-bought sweets anymore," said one commenter. "It's always plastic in plastic... just awful."
"Had to stop with my favourite biscuits (lotus biscoff) because they were all individually wrapped," replied another.
Sadly, this kind of excessive package is not uncommon. Shoppers have seen bananas needlessly wrapped in a plastic bag, bundling water bottles on styrofoam and shrink-wrap, and coconuts being wrapped in plastic.
Why is plastic waste important?
Plastic is a big problem. At the manufacturing level, it relies on oil. Oil production cranks out loads of atmospheric pollution, which exacerbates destructive weather patterns of all kinds, and leaves everyday people to pick up the bill from worsening natural disasters.
When left to landfill, plastics can easily become hazardous to wildlife. Worse still, these plastics break down and find their way into human food supplies. When ingested, microplastics can introduce some fairly serious health risks.
Is Auchan doing anything about this?
The French multinational retail giant Auchan has made several commitments to sustainability, including some to reduce plastic waste, and the company signed the European Plastics Pact in 2020.
Auchan hopes to eventually offer 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable packaging for its products. It also aims to eliminate plastic packaging altogether from self-service food, fruit, and vegetable departments.
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Absolutely ✅ What's being done about plastic waste more broadly?
On an individual level, using less plastic can help stem the tide and avoid the damage of excessive waste.
While many companies have pledged to cut unnecessary packaging or use recycled plastics, researchers have also offered up more sustainable alternatives when wrapping is still needed. For the plastic that is already out there and polluting the environment, biologists have uncovered bugs and fungi that could very well eat up that waste.
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