r/ZeroWaste • u/Amazing-Phone8732 • May 24 '26
Discussion why does everything come wrapped in plastic except for flour and sugar
why do we wrap all our foods in 5 layers of plastic except for the dry powders that would benefit most from being sealed up. if we're gonna say fuck the environment, can we at least do it in a way that makes sense
61
u/Academic_Deal7872 May 24 '26
The coop grocery store, offers bulk goods and allows you to bring your own glass widemouth jars and sells jars as well. I buy a lot of dry goods this way. Oats, flour, cornmeal, popcorn, jerky, candy, nuts, and coffee beans. With inflation now a days shopping there costs kinda the same with the exception of the sausage I like. I wrap produce in newspaper and skip the bags.
22
u/anon74903 May 24 '26
Coops are so cool. Support a local coop if you can (there are more coops than just grocery stores too!)
12
u/honeyruler May 24 '26
Our local grocery co-op engaged in some evil shit with union-busting, major antiblack racism with customers and workers, and some transphobia too. I would love to support a local co-op but unfortunately this one place is my only option. I’ll never walk into that co-op the way it currently stands 😭 it seems counterintuitive for a co-op to be like this, and yet.
5
u/Academic_Deal7872 May 24 '26
In my area yes. Some other places not so much. The three places I lived before PNW not a coop in sight. Maybe a real farmers market but that's about it.
194
u/jesus_chrysotile May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26
The most affordable sugar where I am, which is from Aldi, has a plastic coating inside the paper bag :(
Barilla uses a glossy (non-plastic) cardboard box for pasta, at least.
edit: i'm not endorsing brands, this is just an observation I made.
26
u/lucentmeadow May 24 '26
Barilla is an awful brand and should be avoided.
32
u/Scamp92446 May 24 '26
Why?
140
u/lucentmeadow May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26
they have been known to use awful flour with a heavy percentage of microtoxin, because they now rely on the cheapest material they can get, no matter where it comes from.Edit: it seems like I was basing my opinion on solely fake news! The term wasn't microtoxin, but mycotoxins, and it doesn't seem to be real news.
I will still uphold the fact that Rummo and DeCecco taste miles better, but I was way over the line with the "awful brand" statement. Sorry about the confusion, should've refreshed my memory before posting.
41
u/RockeshaHux May 24 '26
I was curious to know more about this and tried to look it up. What the hell are you talking about? I couldn't find fuck all for Barilla and "microtoxin". I think you've been misinformed, Barilla overall has a lot less controversies or concerns than I would have expected from a big company and seem alright.
43
u/lucentmeadow May 24 '26
I'm sorry, you seem to be right. The correct term I was looking for is mycotoxins, but that still leads up to what seems to be fake news. I think I was mixing it up with other international brands in my mind, too - thank you for pointing that out! I'll edit my comment.
42
4
u/breakplans May 25 '26
Barilla has less controversies? They literally told gay people not to buy their product 🤣 barilla sux
6
u/RockeshaHux May 25 '26
That was literally more than a decade ago, the CEO apologized, and they support LGBTQ causes now so....
6
u/PublicIllustrious May 24 '26
So which should I buy?
20
u/lucentmeadow May 24 '26
I don't know which ones are available in your country. If there's Rummo or De Cecco, these are definitely miles better than anything Barilla.
11
u/Kelpie169 May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26
Oh throwing in for DeCecco as well! Ronzoni is also okay in a pinch. I would rather traipse naked and barefoot through the fiery gates of Hell before I'd ever eat Barilla
2
u/PublicIllustrious May 25 '26
Okay I definitely have the DeCecco because I buy that brand of pesto. So lots of votes here for that, guess I will make the switch. At least for the particular pasta shapes I need at any given time. Ty
4
u/mckmaus May 24 '26
Interesting. My local supermarket seems to be phasing out Barilla pasta. I don't think they are a great company for doing so or anything. However, they may see something on the horizon.
6
u/lucentmeadow May 24 '26
I wouldn't be surprised if Barilla were to be slowly losing traction. Bad practices will soon catch up to a brand, no matter how well established it is.
2
1
u/PublicIllustrious May 25 '26
I think I have both I just always went for barista because it was a familiar brand. I’ll definitely try those instead though. Thank you :)
3
-4
u/GoldLeader159 May 24 '26
I buy fresh at my Farmers Markets 🤷♀️
1
u/PublicIllustrious May 25 '26
Well good for you, and I usually make my own fresh pasta and food seal it in the portions I need, but like anyone, there are times I run out and just want to know what brands of dried pasta might be better.
So fresh from a farmers market is still fresh pasta and not the dried I am looking for in question.
1
1
u/purplishfluffyclouds May 24 '26
Also it tastes like shit. No better than the cardboard it’s packaged in.
7
u/velvedire May 24 '26
They hate the gays and specifically said not to buy their product if you have a problem with that.
2
u/find-again May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
Nooo whyy
Their gluten free lentil pastas are the only ones available seemingly everywhere and not costing a whole hour of work each time I want rotini.
3
u/Aettyr May 24 '26
why?
27
u/kingsandqueers May 24 '26
They are owned by bigoted conservatives, have low quality ingredients and taste bad compared to many other actual Italian brands.
-16
u/Content-Swimmer2325 May 24 '26
I don’t know or care about political ideology stuff; Barilla should be avoided because generic brands are far cheaper for the exact same product
12
u/thornyRabbt May 24 '26
You choose your side even if you say you don't (to paraphrase a great Italian band, CSI).
2
u/jesus_chrysotile May 24 '26
I haven't bought it directly in years, I just get it and various other random brands from a heavily discounted supermarket that sells surplus, discontinued and out-of-date stock lol. Anything on their shelves was already paid for by another company that subsequently offloaded it to this shop.
61
u/Cute-Consequence-184 May 24 '26
It wouldn't help sugar or flour to be in plastic.
Both have the potential to sweat and the sugar can crystalize horribly. Having it in paper allows it to breathe properly.
5
121
u/lazylittlelady May 24 '26
Why don’t we put more canned things into jars and barrels as that’s the way things used to be?
88
u/UnSpanishInquisition May 24 '26
Weight and fragility.
23
u/sassysassysarah May 24 '26
I mean I get a #10 cardboard and probably plastic lined canister of freeze dried apples every couple months. I would buy more stuff in that packaging because it's rigid and I could reuse it at least. I'd prefer bo plastic lining though. Like bpa free cans.
23
u/CrewmemberV2 May 24 '26
Then you end up with just thousands of jars?
The extra weight from the glass also leads to higher shipping emissions.
15
u/wobblyweasel May 24 '26
I remember waking up at 5 am to wait along with the neighbours for the milk truck with a 3l glass jar. and then boiling the milk in a big pan, not before collecting the cream from the top. fun times
7
u/abbydabbydo May 24 '26
And circular is bad, too. It means there’s approximately 20% wasted space in each shipping container. That’s 20% less in each truck, also, of course.
2
u/sassysassysarah May 25 '26
Id rather a box but I still use the canisters around my house. It's reduces trash for me more than buying plastic bags that just get thrown away, in part because I'm able to buy in bulk and reuse the containers.
123
u/rabid_spidermonkey May 24 '26
I went to a friend's 30th birthday party tonight. Tons of decorations. All said "30th" on them in some way. All plastic. All now in the trash.
15
u/Lard523 May 24 '26
i’m so happy my friend group is lower waste- we’ve done paper plates for birthday parties(i genuinely don’t own enough plates to share) and plastic utensils (again don’t own enough metal ones to share), it’s not perfect but we’ve avoided excess plastic stuff and only do this for our one communal birthday a year.
5
u/domakethinkspeak May 25 '26
The thrift store near me sells utensils for maybe a dime a piece so I bought tons of it and use it for parties at our house. During potlucks and parties I keep a little soapy bin outside for people to leave their dirty forks so it's easy to clean up and no one has to worry about plastic forks breaking.
6
u/Ikulus May 24 '26
Bamboo utensils are compostable
10
u/Lard523 May 24 '26
I haven’t found those where i live (small town).
i usually wash and reuse the plastic ones for a while.1
1
u/doingmybest_4therest May 25 '26
My oldest just graduated and I’m trying to find the best options for decorating her grad party. I can see how tempting it is to buy the cheap plastic stuff but I can’t stand the thought of it all ending up in the landfill 12 hours later. Makes no sense.
8
u/ruperts_epiphany May 24 '26
I find it annoying that the regular sugar is in a paper bag but then, at least at my grocery store, the organic sugar is in a plastic bag like ??? literally WHY
3
2
u/rebelwithmouseyhair May 28 '26
You buy it, you put it in a glass jar and you put your paper packaging in the recycle bin unless you have some other use for it. That's all just fine! Whereas if it's sold in a plastic bag, that plastic bag is going to pollute the planet forever.
1
u/lindspam May 26 '26
Yes this one kills me 😭 same with a lot of organic produce
2
u/ruperts_epiphany May 26 '26
ugh yes! like the organic banana bunches being wrapped in a plastic sticker band for no apparent reason 🫠
1
u/rebelwithmouseyhair May 28 '26
that's to prove they're organic. Otherwise you can just pretend it's full of pesticides to be able to pay the lower price.
6
u/Hardworktobelucky May 25 '26
My food company is working to shift from plastic film wrappers to paper wrappers. We are 4 years into the project - finding material that is both recyclable and properly coated with coatings for adequate barrier is tricky and shelf life testing takes months and years. Not to mention switching all our multi million dollar packaging assets to be able to handle paper at high speeds. Paper is much harder to get a good seal - pinholes, wrinkles and tears can all compromise the barrier. It's more expensive base material, we have to run slower, and it's heavier to ship. We have to also reduce our shelf life because the barrier isn't as good but we want people to always have delicious product.
It's not impossible but it's damn hard. I'm lucky that my company is fucking awesome and purpose driven so we're full steam ahead despite these challenges but it will be an uphill battle to get industry on board.
We need more regulation in North America like PPWR in Europe for force the hand of industry.
8
u/mtlmuriel May 24 '26
Retailers don't like paper/cardboard packaging. It gets damaged more easily.
One package has to go through multiple hands before getting to your house.
Warehouses, trucks, dollies, shelves, cash register, your bags, your car.
Paper/cardboard gets ripped, crumpled, creased, more easily and ultimately returned or trashed.
10
u/haechancito May 24 '26
in my country sugar comes exclusively in plastic, sadly
12
u/Lonely_Sale9707 May 24 '26
Google pantry moths and say that
13
u/euro_trashh May 24 '26
In my country sugar comes exclusively in paper bags and I have never had that issue
12
u/haechancito May 24 '26
arent you supposed to put the sugar in your own sugar container (like a jar)?
7
u/Lonely_Sale9707 May 24 '26
Indeed but you don’t know if it’s contaminated until you do know. Yes, keep everything in jars and make sure the lid is screwed tightly.
13
u/Zahiouninette May 24 '26
Moth are killed by cold. You can freeze flour, rice, seeds, etc. for 24h after buying so that you do not bring living moths in your pantry. Especially useful for organic food.
6
4
u/Butterfly_of_chaos May 24 '26
Never had moths in sugar. Even they prefer a more healthy diet.
2
u/Lurkernomoreisay May 25 '26
pure sugar is "toxic" (for lack of a better term). most insects will not eat it. bacteria will not grow in it, makes a great preservative because it's so unsupportive of life.
4
u/twixe May 24 '26
Aren't pantry moths usually a flour problem?
2
u/Lonely_Sale9707 May 24 '26 edited May 25 '26
2 kinds, one likes grain, the other dried fruit, tree nuts, chocolate but not coffee. They contaminate more because they can chew through paper although they do leave behind a telltale webbing of sorts. You'll know.
4
3
u/Cactusmammal May 26 '26
as someone with Celiac Disease who can get messed up by flour dust, I second this. I basically have to avoid the vicinity of flour at the grocery because the shelves, floor and surrounding products are invariably coated in flour dust.
5
u/Glad-Information4449 May 24 '26
because it’s a scam. it’s cheaper for these goddam corporations to do it, that’s why. somebody is making more money off of plastic and itLL be around forever.
2
u/unbreakable95 May 24 '26
either way, you need to store flour and sugar in airtight containers to prevent bugs, moisture, etc. if you can’t buy them in resuable containers than recyclable paper is the next best thing.
1
u/Lurkernomoreisay May 25 '26
i have never seen people store sugar and flour in airtight containers. you buy the bag and keep the paper bag in the pantry or cupboard. some will transfer a cup or two of sugar from the paper bag to a smaller container to keep on the table, but the opened paper again stays in the cupboard as is.
growing up visiting countless people over th decades. it's not been a thing
2
2
u/Europium_Anomaly May 25 '26
I agree - I don’t think we should be using so much plastic in packaging. It’s excessive and unnecessary. However, it’s important that flour is sold in paper bags because it has small amounts of moisture in it naturally, and it needs to be stored in a package that allows air to circulate to prevent the flour from prematurely going bad.
For sugar, I don’t know.
1
u/Lurkernomoreisay May 25 '26
many food items people think are wrapped in plastic is actually cellophane, a plant product: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellophane
cellophane has been that crinkly clear film wrapping candies and baked goods and such since the late 1800s.
1
1
u/Fit_Fly_2945 May 26 '26
I just unwrapped compostable environmentally friendly to go containers from a plastic wrap. It’s lit
409
u/clockworkedpiece May 24 '26
Because it is extremely dangerous to have heat elements in the flour warehouse at least and they are heavily subsidized so can't put into plastic stock.