Today, we live within the confines of an instant gratification world. Life is made easy by the convenience of stuff delivered right to our door, but at what cost? With a few clicks of a button, packages are delivered directly to our doorstep. From food to furniture, we can literally have anything at our whim within a day or two, or maybe even an hour. And we do this mostly, unconsciously. Online shopping in particular has made it very simple to over consume products that we don’t really need. Hello last minute pop up screens inviting you to add this one last thing to your digital cart.
Many companies have catered to our instantaneous addiction with a fast and easy way to attain the goods we desire for gratification. However, it has also created a new problem and that is an abundance of not just stuff, but packaging. Everything that is delivered to your door comes mostly in a box and within that box are items that keep your items fresh and unbroken. If it isn’t in a box, it’s probably in one of those durable plastic envelopes that can’t be recycled and maybe at best can be reused.
Where does all of that packaging end up? Sadly, most of it goes to a waste to energy facility or a landfill. Cardboard is very valuable and should always be reused, upcycled or recycled. The packaging on the inside like air pillows can’t be recycled, so you may find creative ways to reuse them or save them for the next box you ship out.
Before we are so quick to order on our favorite dot com site, let’s first ask ourselves if we really need the product. Can you purchase multiple items in one order from a store instead of shopping at many stores to avoid unnecessary packaging? What happens when I return that item? And what can we do with all the packaging instead of just throwing it carelessly in the trash? Can you reuse the boxes and the inside packaging material? Become your own UPS store and reuse first.
Here at Green Me Locally, we’ve created a campaign called Mission Plastic to address plastic packaging. We work with businesses that package in plastic and help them move over to a more sustainable alternative.
Are you ready to take action to drive change and shape how we deal with our unconscious consumption? Join us here!
