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Online Shopping And Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Earth Wise

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These days, consumers have multiple choices for how to shop for even the most mundane products.  There are both traditional and online ways to buy most so-called fast-moving consumer goods, such as cleaning supplies and packaged foods.  Price, quality, convenience, and time-frame guide our choices.

In the past, these things were always purchased by going to “Bricks & Mortar”, that is, physical retail stores. But now, we can order them from physical stores and have them delivered directly by the store – which is known as “Bricks & Clicks” – or we can order them online from an e-tailer and have them delivered by a parcel delivery company or the post office, so-called “Pure Play” online purchasing..

The carbon footprint of these three approaches depends on multiple factors according to a new study published in Environmental Science and Technology.  The study looked at the impact of transport, warehouse storage, delivery, and packaging.

Overall, the greenhouse gas footprints per item purchased at Bricks & Mortar were higher than those of Bricks & Clicks but lower than that of Pure Players.  But the results were highly dependent upon how many items were actually being purchased, and where the consumers lived.  The type of items also mattered.  For example, clothing purchased from a pure-play online source is much more likely to be returned than if purchased in a store.

Bricks & Mortar shoppers could reduce their footprint by 40% by walking or biking to stores, and Pure Players could cut emissions by 26% by switching to electric vehicles for the delivery of products from parcel distribution centers to consumers’ homes.

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Comparing greenhouse gas footprints of online versus traditional shopping

Photo, posted July 15, 2017, courtesy of Elaine Smith via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Packing With Banana Leaves

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More and more places are instituting bans on single-use plastic bags.  Places like California and Hawaii already have bans in place and New Jersey is considering such a ban.  New York’s law will go into effect next March.  Supermarkets will no longer provide plastic bags at the checkout line.  But the laws have some exceptions, including the plastic bags used to hold produce and to pack up meats.

Banning or reducing single-use plastic bags is a growing trend in Asia as well including places like South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand.

One supermarket in Thailand came up with a novel approach to eco-friendly packaging:  wrapping produce in banana leaves.  The idea quickly became a viral hit on social media and drew the attention of supermarkets in Vietnam.  Several big supermarket chains in that country also began experimenting with banana leaves as a packaging alternative.

Representatives of Vietnam’s Lotte Mart chain said that the banana leaf packaging was still in the testing phase, but they plan to replace plastic with leaves nationwide very soon.  Aside from wrapping vegetables and fruits, the grocery chain intends to also use the leaves for fresh meat products.

Customers seem to be quite positive about the new packaging noting that it is actually quite attractive visually.  The banana leaf packaging also makes people more aware of the need for protecting the environment.

While Vietnam is a relatively small country, it turns out that it ranks number four in the world for the largest amount of plastic waste dumped into the ocean.  The country disposes of about 2,500 tons of plastic waste per day. So, efforts like the banana leaf packaging are not just symbolically important, they are genuinely a major environmental imperative.

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Supermarkets in Asia are Now Using Banana Leaves Instead of Plastic Packaging

Photo courtesy of Perfect Homes Chiangmai via Facebook.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Meal Kits And The Environment

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Meal kit services have become extremely popular in recent years.  These are companies that deliver a box of pre-portioned ingredients and a chef-created recipe to your door to make home-cooked meals easy and practical for busy people.  Leading companies like Blue Apron, HelloFresh, and Plated have been joined by dozens of others competing in the meal kit market.  As of last year, annual sales for these things were over $3 billion and growing at more than a 20% annual rate.

A major rap against meal kits has been their environmental impact, mostly centered around the amount of packaging waste they generate.  While there is most certainly lots of packaging waste associated with meal kits, it turns out that their overall carbon footprint is actually rather good compared with conventional ways to make homecooked meals.

A study from the University of Michigan looked at the cradle-to-grave impact of meal kits, taking into account every major step in the lifetime of the food ingredients and the packaging – agricultural production, packaging production, distribution, supply chain losses, consumption, and waste generation.

Surprisingly, meal kits have a much lower overall carbon footprint than the same meals made from ingredients purchased at the grocery store – even including their packaging.  The main reason is that pre-portioned ingredients and a streamlined supply chain lower overall food losses and waste for meal kits compared to store-bought meals.  Pre-portioning simply results in fewer ingredients that end up being wasted.  Meal kits also have radically different supply chain structures than foods sold in supermarkets.

Whether the economics and culinary aspects of meals kits are advantageous for many people is an open question, but apparently from an environmental perspective, they are just fine.

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Climate change has worsened global economic inequality

Photo, posted June 11, 2018, courtesy of Marco Verch via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Edible Six-Pack Rings

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There has much talk about plastic straws and their harmful effects on the environment.  But much like the straws, plastic six-pack rings are also enemies of the ocean.  While straws and six-pack rings account for only a tiny fraction of all the plastic trash in the ocean, images of marine animals tangled up in the rings have sparked public backlash against these common items.  The soft but tough plastic rings are transparent which means that in the water animals don’t even see them.  They end up tangled in the loops, which can cut into their skin and constrict parts of their bodies, leading to serious injury or death.  Birds, turtles, and otters are among the frequent victims of six-pack rings.

Plastic straws have readily available alternatives such as paper straws and reusable straws.  But the plastic rings that have been available for more than 40 years are not as easy to replace.  By law, six-pack rings are photo-degradable, so they do gradually disintegrate when exposed to direct sunlight.  But even then, they remain quite dangerous at least for a while.

The Saltwater Brewery in Delray Beach, Florida, recently has released edible six-pack rings, representing a brand-new approach to sustainable beer packaging.  The rings are 100% biodegradable and edible.  They are actually made from barley and wheat ribbons from the brewing process.  This packaging can be safely eaten by animals that may come into contact with them in the wild.

Producing the edible rings represents a big investment for a small brewery but the company hopes to influence larger brewers and inspire them to get on board with the safer packaging.

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Saltwater Brewery Creates Edible Six-Pack Rings

Photo courtesy of Saltwater Brewery.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Supermarkets And Zero-Waste

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There are about 38,000 supermarkets in the United States alone and they are responsible for vast quantities of waste in the form of single-use plastic bags, plastic containers that store food products, and food waste as well.  Globally, over 80% of poll respondents feel strongly that companies should help improve the environment.  Responding to this message, markets are starting to make changes.

In a number of places, there are now markets that are package-free.  The Nada grocery store in Vancouver and Precycle in Brooklyn are examples of zero waste grocery stores.  Websites like Litterless provide online help for customers trying to find packaging-free grocery stores.

Markets are not only changing their packaging, they are using artificial intelligence to develop more sustainable production processes and seeking other ways to reduce waste.

On average, Americans throw away over 300 plastic bags a year, but an increasing number of grocery retailers are making commitments to more sustainable, plastic-free options.  It isn’t just small stores either.  Grocery giant Kroger plans to eliminate plastic bags in its stores by 2025.  When that happens, it means that 6 billion plastic bags will no longer be distributed.  Big Y stores will fully transition to reusable bags by next year.  More and more cities and states are banning or imposing fees on plastic bags. 

An interesting statistic shows that the age group of Americans that is leading the adoption of reusable grocery bags is not millennials but in fact is people over 50.  With multiple generations now indicating that they want shopping to be more sustainable, it is likely that supermarkets will strive to help make that happen.

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Why More Supermarkets Are Committing to Zero-Waste

Photo, posted March 4, 2013, courtesy of Dean Hochman via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

New Nutrition Labels

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Food and beverage packaging in this country has included a Nutrition Facts panel for nearly 25 years.  Over 700,000 products have the labels which provide consumers with information like serving sizes, calories per serving, ingredients, and nutritional content.

Surveys indicate that 77 percent of all U.S. adults claim to use the labels at least some of the time.  Whether the labels are actually useful is somewhat debatable.  A couple of years ago, the FDA released a proposal to update the labels to make them more useful and to reflect more recent nutritional research.  The new labels are finally going to be implemented and food manufacturers with annual sales exceeding $10 million have until January of 2020 to update their packaging with the new labels.

One of the biggest changes is that the “serving size” section of the label will be changed to more accurately reflect the actual portions consumed by the typical American.  For example, a 20-ounce soft drink will now be labeled as a single serving because most people will drink the whole bottle in one sitting.

The new labels will no long list the amounts of Vitamin A and C, because recent research shows most Americans are not deficient in these nutrients.  Instead, the amount of Vitamin D and potassium will be listed, two nutrients lacking in many diets.  New labels will also show amounts of “added sugars”, defined as caloric sweeteners with no nutritional value. The new labels will also display the calories per serving in much large type making that piece of information far more noticeable.

There is surely more to be done to make food labeling more transparent and useful for consumers, but the new changes at least seem to be in the right direction.

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Nutrition Labels Get a Makeover: Will It Make a Difference?

Photo, posted September 9, 2014, courtesy of Mike Mozart via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Labeling Of GMO Foods

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American consumers will soon be able to discern whether or not foods contain genetically-modified ingredients.  The USDA’s so-called ‘National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard’ will be required for foods that have been altered in a way that doesn’t occur naturally. The mandatory compliance date is January 1st, 2022. 

While this does sound like great news, there are some major drawbacks.  The new guidelines use the uncommon term “bioengineered” instead of “genetically-modified” or “GMO.” The guidelines also allow the disclosure of bioengineered (or B.E.) ingredients in several formats: as text, a symbol, a phone number (that consumers can call for more info), or a digital link printed on the packaging.  Companies are allowed to use a QR code that asks consumers to “scan here for more food information.”  Scanning the QR code will bring consumers to a website where the GMO disclosure can be found. 

Advocates of the various labeling options say it’ll make it easier and faster for companies to comply with the new guidelines.  But critics worry consumers will find it confusing and restrict access for those without smartphones.  They say that companies who elect to use a QR code or phone number should be required to include the word “bioengineered” on their packaging.

Another drawback is that products won’t have to be labeled as ‘bioengineered’ if they’ve been processed to the point where their bioengineered DNA can’t be detected.  Examples include refined beet sugar, soybean oil, and high fructose corn syrup.  

The fight over the labeling of GMO foods has raged for many years.  But this labeling mandate falls short of consumer expectations by hiding the information about GMOs instead of disclosing it. We should expect better. 

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Government lays out the rules for labeling for genetically modified foods

Photo, posted August 24, 2015, courtesy of Rob Bertholf via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Better Sell-By Dates For Milk

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The sell-by and best-by dates on milk cartons are ones we tend to pay close attention to.  Many of us automatically discard milk if it is past one of those dates.  However, those dates are not really scientifically established but rather are guesses based on experience.

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The Dirty Laundry On Dirty Laundry

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We’ve discussed the problem of microplastics polluting our oceans at great lengths on this program before.  Much of the small plastic particles result from the breakdown of plastic litter, such as plastic bags, packaging, and other materials.  Another source is microbeads, which are often found in health products such as face scrubs and even some toothpastes.  But there is a another source of microplastic pollution that is quite troubling: dirty laundry.

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Use-By Labels And Food Waste

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By some estimates, Americans waste as much as 40% of food that is produced.   None of the reasons are anything to be proud of, but one of the most frustrating is the confusing array of food date labels that are supposed to tell us whether the food we purchased should be eaten.

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Packaging From The Sea

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Waste due to excess packaging of the products we buy is a real problem.  It is one that most of us are conscious of and more and more businesses are making efforts toward eco-friendly packaging.  There is increased use of cardboard, which is recyclable.  Most of us try to reduce our waste through recycling.  But as we buy more things online and have a growing variety of things delivered to our homes, it is a struggle to receive the things we order in good condition and not end up with piles of packaging materials.

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