Plastic packaging is everywhere at the grocery store — including for items that are already in nature's version of packaging. One shopper is showing how their local Walmart chose to package loose garlic heads, and it's nothing short of infuriating.
A photo of the garlic cloves was posted on the r/EgregiousPackaging forum. As the title notes, each head is weighed out and wrapped in a plastic packaging layer. "Garlic at Walmart … and it's still sold by weight," the original poster wrote.
While the plastic packaging may make it mildly easier for cashiers to weigh the produce, it negatively contributes to plastic pollution. When consumers purchase the garlic, they must go through the unnecessary process of unwrapping it and tossing the sheet of plastic into the trash.
Garlic isn't the only produce often wrapped in plastic at the store. Another Reddit user shared a photo of a single asparagus for sale — wrapped in a thick plastic bag. One shopper posted a photo of a few celery stalks — not even enough to eat with buffalo wings — wrapped in plastic and placed on a styrofoam container.
Meanwhile, this isn't the first time Walmart has been called out for its egregious use of plastic packaging. One Redditor recently blasted the company for swapping out the cardboard pasta boxes for plastic bags.
Less than 5% of all single-use plastic gets recycled. That means the remaining 95% is sent to landfills or repositories, where it contaminates the environment and leaches chemicals into the soil and water. The plastic breaks down into tiny pieces as it's moved and tossed through the soil, which creates an even more pervasive issue of microplastics.
Individuals who are concerned about the issue of plastic on their produce should shop for plastic-less alternatives and avoid the pre-made aisle of the produce section. Customers can also write to their store manager, explaining why the plastic wrapping is so upsetting and, frankly, unnecessary.
Other users noted that the superstore wrapping the heads in plastic is not a new phenomenon. "I saw this for the first time on a recent trip to Arizona," one user said.
"I've been seeing these with tons of fruits/vegetables," another user observed.
A third user wrote, "What a [waste] of plastic. Garlic does not need that."
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