ALL WRAPPED UP (GRADE 4-6)

Why do we buy one product instead of another? Often it's because of the packaging. Packaging accounts for 10-15% (and sometimes more than 50%) of the cost of a product and approximately 1/3 of what goes into a family's trash can. Excess and non-recyclable packaging add to our energy and waste problems. We can cut down on packaging.


Packaging has several uses.

  1. It may provide protection to a product during shipping.
  2. It may provide protection to the consumer by preventing contamination or tampering.
  3. It may prove a useful marketing tool for the manufacturer.
  4. It may provide meet purposes at once: advertising, product protection, etc.

Packaging often differs from culture to culture. Generally, Americans are accustomed to seeing a lot of packaging material. On the other hand, some European cultures use relatively little packaging. For example, Americans expect their purchased items to be placed in a paper or plastic bag as a convenient method of carrying the item home. Some Europeans, however, frequent open food markets where they bring their own wicker basket or cloth bag which is used over and over again. In addition, U.S. supermarkets often feature fruits and vegetables wrapped in plastic shrink wrap and polystyrene (styrofoam). Open food markets do not use synthetic wrapping, instead they rely on nature's own packaging, ie. the banana peel or potato skin.

Packaging often serves as a way to promote a product, and we often are lured into buying something we may not really need.

PROCEDURE:

1. Look around your kitchen at the food items in the shelves and refrigerator. Find 3 items packaged in different ways.

a. Why is each product packaged? Does the packaging protect the product, protect consumer health, prevent theft or tampering, provide advertising, provide convenience, promote purchasing, make the product look larger or more appealing?

b. Is the packaging essential, or wasteful? Why and why not?

c. What influence do you think packaging has on how well the product sells?

2. Sort the packaging of each product into the following categories: "natural" packaging (bananas, apples, peanuts); recyclable packaging (paper bags, returnable bottles, cans); and hard-to-recycle or nonrecyclable packaging (shrink warp plastic, styrofoam)

a. What happens to the packaging once the product is used?

b. Which packaging would you label: most wasteful, least wasteful? Why?

3. How could you reduce the amount of packaging you purchase.

a. What happens when you purchase products in bulk? How would this help reduce packaging? (A 3-ounce tube of toothpaste requires 50% more packaging per ounce than a 7-ounce tube.)

b. Have you ever bought anything in a refillable container and then taken the empty container back to the store to be refilled?

4. What happens to most of the packaging you purchase? What do you think about this?

a. Have you ever seen a store that recycles some packaging materials? Look around the front of your grocery store, many have drop-off centers for glass bottles, plastic and paper bags.

b. Is there a curbside recycling program in your neighborhood? Which types of packaging can be recycled? Which can be composted? What gets thrown in the trash? Where does trash go?

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