Too much plastic packaging with products these days

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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?  What’s with all this extra air anyway?

They say you only get what you pay for, but I suspect that this isn’t always the case.  Sometimes I reckon you may actually get considerably less than you paid for!

For example, in this week’s shopping bag I had soap powder, vitamin pills, gravy granules and drinking chocolate.  All of these products came in containers that were three quarters and in some cases only half full.  Why don't the manufacturers use a smaller container instead of deceiving the customer with a larger than necessary box or tin?

Whilst we are on the subject of packaging, there is something else that I have started to notice. Lots of goods these days come wrapped in this really heavy-duty plastic, and it usually requires a decent pair of scissors before you can actually get to whatever it is that you bought.  As I’m sure you can imagine, occasionally this means the odd accident when fingers get cut.

Why do they have to go over board with all the packaging anyway?  As we are frequently encouraged to recycle and save energy,  I’m sure that it doesn’t make any sense to use excessive quantities of plastic packaging with products.

The bottom line is, we want to see what we are buying so no more short measures please!  Also, when packaging the product, consider those who buy it as well as the environment; there’s no need to go crazy with that plastic!

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Tiny

Yes you are right they are a con, But the answer is simple. don't buy them again.

23/12/13 Tiny

3

Leaper71

Just noticed Douwe Egberts Pure Gold coffee now 95g/190g instead of 100g/200g but still same price just changed shape of jar so still looks full. I'm sure others will follow then will become the norm..

14/04/12 Leaper71

-1

Leaper71

Further to my previous comment it would be like making bottles so not see through and only filling them two thirds full! That might be their next one!

13/02/12 Leaper71

4

Boblet

You are not wrong Leaper71. When a decent British company is bought out by a foreign company the foreigners use this ploy. Cadburys is a good example, I like milk tray so I get them as Christmas box's. Five box's of Yank Milk tray = One box of British Milk Tray this year.

01/02/12 Boblet

-4

Leaper71

Has anyone noticed the bottoms of things like boxes/tins of biscuits/sweets are becoming more and more raised up so theres a big air space there. Weights are getting less and if anyone looks at them they look the same size but the price doesnt go down, if anything they go up! Another one is things like cake bars and "health" bars, the packaging is easily too big for the items inside they could reduce the size of the outer packaging by at least a third but they wont because then you will see what your really getting for your money instead of trying to work out if the weight of each bar is value for money.And the list goes on! Its nothing but deception and they're getting away with it by posting the weights on the packaging. What there needs to be is a law stating there should be a maximum airspace limit let it be inside or outside the packaging so as not to deceive the consumer. Anyone agree??

01/02/12 Leaper71

0

cut down on shopping

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.

13/10/09 cut down on shopping

-3

cut down on shopping

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.

13/10/09 cut down on shopping

-12

junkie

What 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,

29/05/09 junkie

-5

hello from me

Has 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...

26/05/09 hello from me

-9

Jane

There'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!

09/08/08 Jane

5

bristol moaner number 1

why 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 xx

15/12/07 bristol moaner number 1

12

Freddie

To 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.

30/08/07 Freddie

4

Mrs I. Jarman

I 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.

30/08/07 Mrs I. Jarman

-1

yoyo

I 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.

24/05/07 yoyo

-7

DOG Ar*£ Backwards

I 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!

03/09/06 DOG Ar*£ Backwards

21

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