IT’S A WRAP
Since the pandemic began, many of us have been doing a lot more of our shopping online which, of course, means that we are receiving many more deliveries to our homes.
We have been struck by the variety of ways in which different companies choose to wrap and package items and also the positive attempts which many are clearly making to be innovative in the way in which eg recycled or lighter material is being used.
To give a couple of examples –
One of our Christmas presents has been a monthly delivery of cheeses. These are packed and delivered using sheep’s wool insulated packaging within a cardboard box provided by a company called Woolcool. (https://www.woolcool.com/)
The beauty of this is that the company offers many suggestions for ways in which the wool may be reused – often multiple times.
We also bought a lot of of soap from Faith in Nature (obtainable from Jo McGregor on behalf of Traidcraft) and we were impressed with the fact that each individual bar of soap comes in fully recyclable cardboard and the packaging was entirely card so that there was nothing at all which went into our green bin and then onto landfill.
Perhaps inevitably some items – particularly fragile ones –are packed with a lot of plastic bubble wrap. Although, at one level, this is an environmental nightmare, we have tried to save such wrapping and use it for our own parcels which we are sending out. At least this way, the bubble wrap is being used twice – possibly more – rather than just being ‘single use’ plastic.
As with many aspects of becoming more ‘eco conscious’, there are pitfalls everywhere and it can be difficult and time-consuming to make informed choices especially when many suppliers are jumping on a bandwagon.
Although after the end of the pandemic, we will return to buying as much as possible locally and sustainably, we certainly will continue to buy online occasionally.
We have now decided that the approach to packaging taken by suppliers should become an additional consideration for us prior to placing an order. We would be interested to hear of your experience – do you have examples of good practice you could share – equally, have you come across examples of shocking waste?
If you have photos you would like to share please send them to Ellie at – potr.alton@btinternet.com
Martyn & Sue Dell
on behalf of PotR Eco Church Group
Below are some examples of good wrapping soloutions sent in by Ruth Randall
Present wrapping with tissue paper and string – no plastic in sight!
Magazine subscription with fully compostible packagaing.
You may be interested in reading this interview with Louise Bagnall, owner of Fillup on the High Street. Fillup is a great new shop where you take your own containers and fill them up so eliminating wasteful packaging. It’s a good read and may inspire you to reduce your packaging.