A shopper was shocked when their frozen dessert didn't just come with sprinkles; it came with a side of excessive packaging and unnecessary waste.
What's happening?
In a Reddit thread on r/Anticonsumption, the shopper posted a photo of a Nestlé Drumstick cone stored in both a purple cardboard sleeve and a clear plastic wrap underneath it.
The cone, still frozen, appeared completely intact, making the second layer of protection seem redundant.
"Very unnecessary wth," the original poster wrote.
Several commenters pointed out that older versions of the cones did just fine with a single layer.
"Cornettos figured out decades ago that all you needed to do was extend the cardboard cone past the ice-cream, and put a flat disk of card on top of it, and the ice-cream would be fine. Plastic is overkill," said one commenter.
Why is extra packaging important?
Besides the obvious waste, double-packaging puts unnecessary responsibility on consumers to sort and dispose of materials, which are often made from mixed plastics or treated cardboard that isn't easy to recycle.
What seems like a minor inconvenience adds up quickly: Packaging accounts for over 40% of global plastic waste, much of which ends up in landfills or incinerators.
Over time, this over-reliance on packaging inflates costs for both manufacturers and buyers, and it doesn't always translate into better product protection.
Is Nestlé doing anything about this?
Nestlé has made public commitments to reduce its plastic use, pledging that 100% of its packaging will be recyclable or reusable by 2025. But this post raises doubts about how those promises play out in practice.
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The way it looks 😍 The company's U.S. subsidiary announced a move toward paper-based ice cream packaging in 2021, though the rollout appears inconsistent.
As one commenter said, "These cones are such a waste. Buying a tub of ice cream and a pack of cones is about 8 times more efficient from a cost, packaging, shipping, and storage perspective."
What's being done about packaging more broadly?
Some governments are stepping in to help resolve this issue. California passed legislation requiring plastic producers to reduce single-use plastic packaging by 25% by 2032, and the European Union is considering a ban on certain types of unnecessary packaging altogether.
Consumers can help drive change by buying from companies with clear packaging transparency and by avoiding plastic packaging by choosing products with plastic alternatives.
By avoiding these products, consumers can make packaging choices that don't pile up in landfills and in our lives.
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