Excessive plastic used by food companies is always a problem since it's so bad for buyers and the planet. But sometimes it's also so absurd that it's funny.
The humor subreddit r/PizzaCrimes saw one example when a Redditor posted a photo of what they called "individually packaged crimes."
What happened?
The photo, taken in a Danish grocery store, shows a refrigerated display bin full of ready-to-eat, prepackaged food. One of the items for sale? A pile of individual pizza slices in multiple flavors, each one vacuum-sealed in its own triangular plastic sleeve.
"Every kitchen manager seems to go through a phase with vacuum sealing everything," remarked one Redditor who seemed unimpressed with the choice.
"Agreed that the packaging is ridiculous AND is that zucchini on pizza?!" another outraged user said.
Why is the extra plastic a problem?
The more packaging is used on a food item, the more it costs to produce and the more consumers get charged for it. It creates inconvenient trash that rarely gets recycled. The oil used to make the plastic pollutes the environment, and the plastic itself sheds tiny fragments of microplastics that pollute it even more.
What is the store doing to address its impact on the environment?
The store in question is Coop Denmark, a retail cooperative with lofty climate goals, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark reports.
In 2020, it announced a plan to become "climate positive" by 2030 — meaning not only does it aim to cancel out its negative impact on the environment, but also to actively do more good than harm. To support that ambition, in 2021, it became the first Danish consumer goods retailer to be audited by the international nonprofit CDP to assess its climate efforts.
Some of Coop's initiatives include switching to trains instead of trucks for shipping products, installing solar panels and hot water pumps in stores, and using recycled plastic bags made from its own plastic waste.
The photo of the plastic-wrapped pizza slices was taken three years ago, so perhaps Coop Denmark has since changed its ways in line with its "climate positive" promises.
What can I do to reduce my plastic waste?
Buying fewer single-use plastics is a good place to start. If you want a pizza, you could bake your own, or look for a full-sized one instead of individually packaged pieces to use less packaging per slice.
You can also look into apps like Too Good To Go that help cut down on food waste. You'll save money, and you may even get a chance to recycle the packaging.
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