New research from PA Consulting has revealed a gap between consumer intent and action around sustainable packaging, with close to four in five (78%) of consumers failing to choose reusable and refillable packaging.
Worried about plastics leaching into your food and beverages from the plastic containers they're in? Some ideas:
Contact the company and say you want them to go back to glass or cardboard. It can help if companies hear directly from consumers.
a) Do an internet search for the company name + corporate to get contact details.
b) If you're still on Twitter, do public tweets, with @ attached to their name. Just say you're concerned about the safety of plastic and that you'd like to see a return to glass. It can help if companies hear directly from consumers.
Transfer frozen meals into microwave-safe glassware before heating. There is apparently some possible leaching of plastic during heating.
If you transfer contents from the plastic bottle/jar into a clean glass container, find a safe way to do this. (Start with looking up canning instructions on how to sterilize the containers and lids. You don't want to introduce contamination).
NOTE. Companies switch to plastic for 2 key reasons:
Plastic containers are lighter and significantly reduce shipping costs.
Plastic containers are super cheap to mass produce. A switch back to glass means prices will go up. To mitigate this, suggest they help push for a return and refund program (and maybe standardization of the glass containers).
"Food safe" plastics are supposed to be inert and not interact with our cells or biology. Lots of $ was put into research to develop plastics believed to be safe. Companies don't want to poison people (bad for business), so their switching to plastics was based on the current science of the time. their thought was 'it's safe, so why not switch to something that will save money'.
HISTORY. Sodas/pop/carbonated beverages used to come in #glass. Bottles were refundable. But the industry switched to #plastic containers in the late 1970s because of breakage, costs and a few bottles that exploded (leading to different safety concerns). Many fruit juices came in glass until the 1990s. So, there is lots of precedent for glass containers. #CARDBOARD. Did you know that up to the early 1970s, frozen vegetables and fruit were sold in small, waxed cardboard boxes?
"Population exposure to the synthetic chemical Bisphenol A (#BPA), which is used in everything from #plastic and #metal food containers to #reusable water bottles and drinking water pipes in #Europe is well above acceptable #health safety levels, according to updated #research#data. This poses a potential health risk to millions of people, a European Environment Agency (#EEA) briefing published today says."
Put into effect in 2020, France's Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law is focused on phasing out improper disposal of waste. Food service at #DisneylandParis parks has implemented reusable table settings, which has also impacted trash can design. #TrashCanTuesday
Reusability efforts of European launch startups (open.substack.com)
Someone who seems to have a great deal of knowledge on European Space Launch companies....