I just read a BBC article on plastic waste,
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-61551500
<https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-61551500>
Much of this is due to food packaging, and I have long wondered about the way a
typical deli counter works. We have been conditioned to ask for deli cheese and
sliced meat expecting it to be cut at the moment and individually packaged in
the amount and style we want. Typically a custom order at the deli counter is
for one pound of product cut to a medium thickness and the individual choice is
mostly just to feel good.
I’ve watched the process and each stock item is individually wrapped in a large
piece of plastic wrap. This is discarded each time. A sheet of plastic is
placed on the scale for each order, which is then inserted into a plastic bag
with the product. So three pieces of disposable plastic are required for each
deli counter purchase. The process is done carefully and I am sure there are
important sanitation and public health rules mandating a particular process.
An alternative is to buy pre-sliced deli items. Often there is a display where
pre-sliced packages can be picked up and taken. I have been conditioned to
avoid this because it isn’t as “fresh” but honestly, it was probably sliced
earlier in the day so there is no significant difference. If the store is
organized it should be possible to prepare a number of packages of pre-sliced
deli items using only one large piece of plastic wrap for the stock item,
greatly reducing that waste. There is another sheet of plastic used to weigh
your individual purchase, but I don’t need it. A single sheet could be used to
weigh an entire batch of product, reducing that waste.
There would be one plastic bag for each purchase, but only one weighing sheet
and one stock wrapper for each batch of items. I calculate there would be a 50%
reduction in waste if 4 packages are prepared at once, which might be optimal.
Even if two packages are prepared together without re-wrapping the stock and
using only a single sheet to weigh the product there would be a reduction of
33% in wasted plastic (4 total pieces of plastic vs 6.)
If 10 packages are prepared at once, I see a 60% reduction in waste and an
63.33% reduction if 20 package are prepared at once. While processing more
packages at once produces greater waste reductions, it might be hard for a deli
to sell all of those packages in a reasonable amount of time. Achieving a 50%
reduction in waste by preparing four packages at a time seems reasonable and
beneficial. The comparison is 3 * N for individual orders vs N + 2 items of
plastic when N packages are prepared at once.
I don’t know if sanitation rules allow it to be done this way, but I see a
potential to reduce the plastic waste in the deli department significantly,
assuming people would buy pre-sliced orders and assuming the store was careful
to reduce waste in the preparation of pre-sliced packages. Am I missing
something or is this an opportunity to improve our use of resources?
Christopher Eliot
Lincoln
--
The LincolnTalk mailing list.
To post, send mail to [email protected].
Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/.
Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/.
Change your subscription settings at
https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln.
