If this makes you crazy, tell Woolies to “scrap the wrap”

Nothing drives me more nuts than corn resting on a polystyrene tray, wrapped in a couple of metres of plastic wrap. Last time I looked, corn had its own wrapping paper, and it was biodegradable!

Lebanese cucumbers, I’ve been told, have to be instantly wrapped in plastic or else they go squishy. Fair enough. But 100g of snow peas? A lone sweet potato? Celery? Why are these so often swathed in plastic and supported by a non-recyclable plastic tray?

It’s great to know I’m not the only one who sees red when I see excessive packaging of vegetable. But Pat Lowe from Broome in Western Australia decided to do something about it: she started a petition on Change.org and has gathered close to 100,000 supporters, and now the supermarkets are paying attention.

The petition says, “The world is overloaded with plastic. Consumption of disposable plastic is a major contributor to plastic pollution. These items may be used for a day, or just a minute, but remain in the world forever — plastic does not disintegrate. Wrapping fresh food in plastic is an unnecessary use of non-biodegradable materials, which is leading to the proliferation of harmful waste, much of which is ending up in our oceans”.

In the most recent update, Ms Lowe announced that Woolworths had been in touch to talk about the issue. She is calling on supporters to jump on board and send this message to show how important this issue is to them.

“Hey Woolles, show us that you’re fair dinkum about scrapping the wrap by committing to stopping the use of ALL polystyrene trays in your wrapping of fruit and veggies by the end of 2015. Put it on your Facebook page and we’ll help you share the great news!”

To sign the petition, click here.

Does excess packaging of fruit and vegetables drive you nuts? What’s the worst you’ve ever seen?