I Ordered $26 Worth of Groceries from Amazon Fresh and Received 7 Paper Bags: Why So Much Packaging?
As I explained, I’m on my 3-month free trial of Amazon Fresh grocery delivery. Most of my experience has been great, but the packaging is excessive. It’s no surprise to me, since Amazon has long given me the impression of not caring how much packaging they use. Here’s how it’s going.
A $26 Order in 7 Bags: What’s in the Bags?
Most of my orders are just over the $25 minimum for free delivery. This one cost about $26 (plus tip). Here’s what was in each of the 7 bags that I received.
Bag 1: A Watermelon
That’s it. Was it necessary? Maybe they could have provided an option for me to decline a bag. You can’t carry watermelons in paper bags anyway. The bag rips.
Bag 2: Lettuce
This bag contained 1 head of iceberg lettuce. Period.
Bag 3: Lettuce and Cucumbers
This bag contained 1 head of iceberg lettuce, and 3 cucumbers.
Bag 4: Lettuce
This bag contained 2 heads of iceberg lettuce. They weren’t large heads.
Bag 5: Cucumbers and Nectarines
This bag contained 3 nectarines and 3 cucumbers. They looked kind of lonely in there.
Bag 6: Cheese, Tomatoes, and Turkey Bacon
This bag contained an 8-ounce bag of shredded cheese, 4 roma tomatoes, and a 12-ounce package of turkey bacon. Besides being vaguely curious about the thinking behind putting tomatoes with refrigerated items (I’d expect almost any other type of product to be refrigerated, but not tomatoes…but that’s an extremely minor question and not anywhere near a complaint…), I am wondering why these small, light items required a whole paper bag to themselves. Any guesses?
Bag 7: Tomato Soup, Frozen Peas, and Mustard
This bag contained 2 10-ounce cans of tomato soup and 3 12-ounce bottles of mustard. There was also a bag of sugar snap peas. The bag didn’t seem full
“Reduce” Before “Reuse” and “Recycle”: A Hierarchy
In school, I learned that “reduce, reuse, and recycle” were better alternatives than throwing away. What I also learned was that “reducing” waste was less harmful to the environment than “reusing,” and that “reusing” was less harmful than “recycling.” In other words, “reduce” is a clear first choice before “reuse,” which comes before “recycle.”
Reusing Is Nice, But Is it Reducing Anything?
Amazon and, admittedly, many other retailers, are quick to point out that their bags and other packages are reusable. That’s very true. You can, as they say, reuse their bags dozens or hundreds of times. But when you reuse these bags, are you reducing the production of more bags?
That is, you may be reusing these bags for things like collecting your household’s recyclables, but isn’t Amazon still producing just as many new bags, regardless of whether you’re reusing the bags they’ve already given you? For example, if you receive 10 paper bags in one Amazon order, and reuse them all, won’t Amazon still bring you brand-new paper bags when they deliver the next order to you? How is that helping the environment?
Recycling Generates a “Halo” Effect and Doesn’t Save Much Energy
Have you ever heard of a “health halo?” It’s when you choose a healthy option, but since it sounds so healthy, you add a less healthy option than you otherwise would have chosen. The healthy option has a “halo” that makes you think the entire meal is healthy, even though it ends up less healthy.
For example, let’s say you typically order chicken fettuccine alfredo, but you decide to order more healthily this time. So, you opt for grilled chicken, broccoli, and a side salad with light Italian dressing. Then, you feel that you’ve eaten so well that you deserve dessert, so you order a brownie a la mode even though you don’t usually order dessert. Your meal may now have more calories, sugar, and carbohydrates than it would have had you just ordered your typical plate of creamy pasta, but now you feel healthier.
I believe there’s an environmental “halo” effect with Amazon (and other) packaging. The bags and boxes state so many times that they’re made from recyclable materials, and that they’re recyclable, that it’s easy to confuse that with “environmentally friendly.” The result is that we may use more, thinking it’s no big deal since they can just be recycled.
But recycling may not be the great option that it sounds like. It may take 25% less energy to produce a recycled bag than a new one. That means it takes 75% of the energy to produce a recycled bag. That’s nothing to brag about. Recycling takes resources like energy and water. It’s not the answer to excessive amounts of packaging.
How Can We Reduce Packaging?
I don’t know. Does Amazon care what I think? They proudly claim to be the world’s most customer-centric company, and I think they do a great job at that. They’re easy to deal with and they make transactions smooth. They eliminate any potential logistical problems related to packaging by overpackaging everything.
How do we get them to reduce packaging? I don’t think “reduce” is an option that most Americans want. We like things in packages. But “reuse” could work, I think, if Amazon picked up the bags it left and reused them.
What do you think we and Amazon should do to help save the earth?
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