The Weekly Gripe

A half full tin, where is the rest of the product?

Plastic packaging and tins half full

Half empty?

Sometimes you don't get as much for your money as you might think. When you buy a product in the shops, you kind of expect the container to be full of whatever it is that you bought, don't you?



How many other people, like me get really fed-up with opening a box or tin, only to find it is only just over half full? Also, what is with the plastic packaging on products these days?

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Posted Comment Visitor
13-10-2009 To the people who say that boxes of washing powder etc are only 3/4 full because the contents settle after time, then why can't the manufacturer's let it settle and then top it up???? Why are supermarkets so big? To hold all the empty space inside food packaging.cut down on shopping
13-10-2009 Yes, I've been noticing it for a long time. It's a way of tricking you into thinking you are buying something large. When you open it up, it's mostly empty space inside. Bags of crisps pumped full of air to make them appear full, but only 1/3 of the space contains crisps.cut down on shopping
29-5-2009What you say is wrong. If you say that the company should most look after opening the cannisters easily, then it's ok. While the packaging is of vital importance in transportation. etc. So they have to take care that there should not be any wastage due to spillage,junkie
26-5-2009Has anybody else noticed that all of the soap powder manufacturers have dropped the boxes down from 1 KG to 680g ? they did it more or less overnight and all of the new boxes are the same size so that when you look along the shelf you don't go "hey thats smaller than that one" the boxes still all have 10 washes printed on them and are the same price if not a few pence up....also when they fill food packaging they use an inert Gas, referred to as "Packaged in a protective atmosphere" they usually use a bromine/nitrogen mix as this is cheap and also weighs a little more than air and a lot more than an air free vaccum, it also puffs out the bag of sweets/crisps to make it look bigger by volume, a trick to the eyes thats all perfectly legal, and a thicker plastic bag used on sweets in conjunction with gas inflation makes the bag contents feel a lot more...hello from me
09-8-2008There's too much plastic packaging these days and its about time we returned to the old ways before we use up all our natural resources. When was the last time you walked down the road and saw bottles of milk on the doorstep? All gone? Probably stolen by those thieving council estate trash!Jane
15-12-2007why are you all still buying products like this then? Tell the manufactuer that you want less packaging or at least it must be from a recycled product. When I buy toothpaste, after buying it, I send the box back to the manufactuer in an un-stamped enveloppe just to piss the post boy off. or with junk mail, send it back to them with a terse comment to their managing director. try doing something to change the un-needed packaging instead of doing nothing ,before we all get nuked anyway. ho-hum xxbristol moaner number 1
30-8-2007To address a point made in the original gripe regarding items such as soap powder, drinking chocolate and gravy granules. The reason that the 'pot' is only three quarters full when you open it is that the contents have settled during storage. When these pots are filled by machine they contain much more air and take up the whole pot. I can't comment on the pills though as I am sure that the same principal does not apply to them.Freddie
30-8-2007I had lunch today (Wednesday) with my daughter in law at Tesco in Camberley, and we both had a jacket potato, but were surprised to find that the tuna and coleslaw were in separate CONTAINTERNS WITH LIDS. I thought it was Tesco's policy to reduce packaging due to this reason, we did not enjoy our lunch as we felt short changed not to mention the waste of resources, I look forward to hearing your comments in the not too distant future.Mrs I. Jarman
24-5-2007I do find it ridiculous when I buy a box of cakes to find that they're in a cardboard box, covered in plastic, then in a plastic tray, THEN in a silver foil cake case. 4 pieces of packaging for one tiny kiplings bakewell?! Humans are doomed.yoyo
03-9-2006I think that packaging should be fully recyclable, including as much free space as necessary when inflated with a lightweight gas to render the product lighter than air. Deliveries could be arranged like netted balloons at a funfair, lead by robot driven blimps, using a combination of drifting on the prevailing winds or running on photovoltaic motors, all arranged in very long floating convoys - I'm thinking shiney silver with funky logos, I've done a sketch and I think it's a goer!DOG Ar*£ Backwards
10-8-2006I can see what is being said about dry products but manufacturers do try and make their products look like more.I recently bought a well known brand of Ice cream cone in a box of eight.The foil wrapping around the outside had a circular disk at the top which was about three quaters of an inch above the ice cream thus making the product look a lot larger.This was not just one individual cone but each one was packed exactly the same.To me this is a deliberate ploy by the manufacturers to make shoppers think they are getting good value for money.In future when I shop ,I will buy by weight rather than looks.Bob Lynch
09-8-2006The same happens here in Europe as well. Especially the enviromental questions should be though of while thinking of the packaging. At least there is some choice here in Finland and it is service desks. Trying to use grossery strores that have servise and buy all the food products wrapped in paper.Teemu

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