Recycled glass is being turned into a silicon-rich soil additive that farmers say is improving crop growth while creating a new use for millions of discarded...
Would not have anticipated this would be a good idea.
Ok, but even communist run systems wouldn’t require the massive sorting system of hundreds of different types of glass jars. At best, they’d force standardization so there are only a few jar types in the country and make all labels easy to remove.
However, what most likely would happen is everything is going to be bring your own container and the shoppers are going to be responsible for cleaning the old jars.
Robust glass bottle recycling already exists and it just works. Here it’s called Pfand (deposit) and for drink (and some other) containers a law or for other containers an agreement specifies that a store has to take the containers and hand back the deposit for any type of container the store sells. Alcohol bottles apart from beer are for some reason usually not included in this scheme but it’s also used for plastic reusable and with a different deposit for single use cans and plastic bottles.
For many years we have bought good food partly for good reusable packaging. One USA boycott we break is a brand of decent peanut butter that has really skookum reusable jars which we keep for midterm food preservation, such as vacuum packing our dehydrated fruits.
One place we shop even packages bulk goods into nice standard jars and charges a deposit. We either reuse the jars at home or stock them with our reusable shopping bags for return on the next shop.
In addition, I am seeing more “refillery” stores, where as you say, it’s BYO containers for cooking oil, soap, dry goods, etc.
We used to have a zero waste shop here but its a shame how much more they charge even if you buy in bulk. I kinda get it they are going to cost more but if I could at least bulk buy for vaguely similar prices to any other shop it would be far more appealing.
Yeah, it isn’t impossible. However, I expect there would be a radical rethink of food supply chains. This would likely include more grocery stores adopting the Aldi/Trader Joe’s model of fewer brands and selection of product since the cost of differentiation gets borne more by the store. There would likely be an increase in public markets with several vendors as each vendor is effectively a brand of food.
I think enshittification will hit and don’t grocery stores will either stop offering container sanitization as a service or will start selling the service independently and incorporating the higher cost in shelf products. Grocery stores operate on thin margins, so I expect this cost to get transferred to consumers somehow.
I also think a lot of existing companies will fight this tooth and nail as their bottling and canning lines provide a massive barrier to entry for competition. I also think a lot of customers will fight this since it radically changes how they shop.
Yes, the primary strategy here is to reeducate shoppers so that people demand more seasonal food, from closer, that supports their food sovereignty, and is higher quality and more nutritious with less processing.
We can look to initiatives such as the slow food movement, and food cooperatives, and even buying clubs. Wherever possible, diminish oligarchy by buying from the farmer, or the small vendor.
We also need to remind everybody that more packaging is simply just stealing the future from your descendants.
Ok, but even communist run systems wouldn’t require the massive sorting system of hundreds of different types of glass jars. At best, they’d force standardization so there are only a few jar types in the country and make all labels easy to remove.
However, what most likely would happen is everything is going to be bring your own container and the shoppers are going to be responsible for cleaning the old jars.
Robust glass bottle recycling already exists and it just works. Here it’s called Pfand (deposit) and for drink (and some other) containers a law or for other containers an agreement specifies that a store has to take the containers and hand back the deposit for any type of container the store sells. Alcohol bottles apart from beer are for some reason usually not included in this scheme but it’s also used for plastic reusable and with a different deposit for single use cans and plastic bottles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container-deposit_legislation
But a lot of container-deposit legislation as mentioned in the Wikipedia article pushes the container into recycling programs, not reuse.
Some of us kind of live that way already!
For many years we have bought good food partly for good reusable packaging. One USA boycott we break is a brand of decent peanut butter that has really skookum reusable jars which we keep for midterm food preservation, such as vacuum packing our dehydrated fruits.
One place we shop even packages bulk goods into nice standard jars and charges a deposit. We either reuse the jars at home or stock them with our reusable shopping bags for return on the next shop.
In addition, I am seeing more “refillery” stores, where as you say, it’s BYO containers for cooking oil, soap, dry goods, etc.
We used to have a zero waste shop here but its a shame how much more they charge even if you buy in bulk. I kinda get it they are going to cost more but if I could at least bulk buy for vaguely similar prices to any other shop it would be far more appealing.
Yeah, it isn’t impossible. However, I expect there would be a radical rethink of food supply chains. This would likely include more grocery stores adopting the Aldi/Trader Joe’s model of fewer brands and selection of product since the cost of differentiation gets borne more by the store. There would likely be an increase in public markets with several vendors as each vendor is effectively a brand of food.
I think enshittification will hit and don’t grocery stores will either stop offering container sanitization as a service or will start selling the service independently and incorporating the higher cost in shelf products. Grocery stores operate on thin margins, so I expect this cost to get transferred to consumers somehow.
I also think a lot of existing companies will fight this tooth and nail as their bottling and canning lines provide a massive barrier to entry for competition. I also think a lot of customers will fight this since it radically changes how they shop.
Yes, the primary strategy here is to reeducate shoppers so that people demand more seasonal food, from closer, that supports their food sovereignty, and is higher quality and more nutritious with less processing.
We can look to initiatives such as the slow food movement, and food cooperatives, and even buying clubs. Wherever possible, diminish oligarchy by buying from the farmer, or the small vendor.
We also need to remind everybody that more packaging is simply just stealing the future from your descendants.