A ridiculously wasteful example of packaging has aggravated Redditors concerned with its environmental impact.
In a recent post on the r/Anticonsumption subreddit, a user posted a photo of a package they received in the mail.
"Sent a piece of jewelry for repair and it came back in all this packaging," the user wrote in the post's title.
The photo shows a box, a smaller box, several pieces of paper, a plastic bag, and a paper bag — all to contain a single piece of jewelry.
"Going forward I guess I need to specify I don't need all this packaging AGAIN for ONE NECKLACE?! It came double wrapped, with a gift bag, jewelry box, and multiple inserts. Come ON!" they wrote in the post's caption.
It's easy to see why the user is upset, as containers and packaging make up a substantial portion of solid waste in the United States — the Environmental Protection Agency recorded that they account for 28.1% of the country's new solid waste. That's over 80 million tons per year.
Luckily, it appears the majority of the packaging is made from recycled materials in this particular case. So this packaging doesn't need to end up in a landfill, but the redundancy and pointlessness of the presentation is still frustratingly unnecessary.
Other Reddit users expressed their frustration with the wastefulness in the comment section of the original post.
"Was this from a fancy schmancy jewelry company? They tend to overdo it to make the customer feel special. Notoriously too much packaging in general," one user said.
"Liability, I'm sure. Mail (USPS or other) doesn't give a s*** about packages nor their condition. [Most] likely over packed to make sure it was protected. I'm sure they could have used less but it all looks like paper based so at least it's not plastic?" another user wrote.
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