Leena Salem
Contributor
It’s just like author Robert Fulghum wrote: “All I really needed to know I learned in kindergarten.” Clean up your own mess: that is the only demand Earth makes of us.
Recently, a strong demand for companies to be environmentally friendly and sustainable has emerged. What could they have to lose? This sort of attitude attracts more customers, could potentially save a company a lot of money and most importantly, helps the environment. Electronic stores such as Best Buy and Staples Business Depot have recently started recycling programs in which customers can bring in their old electronics. Retail stores in Toronto now have to charge five cents for each plastic bag to encourage reusable bags and bin use instead of plastic bags.
Packaging and product designers have been trying to come up with inventive, unique ways to use fewer materials or, alternatively, to eliminate them completely. Apple is a perfect example: the iTunes store has successfully eliminated the need for CDs, DVDs and books. Even Apple’s line of computers reduces material use as much as possible thanks to a very compact design.
Recently, however, there has been a step backwards.
Frito Lay, the well-known snack food manufacturer, recently pulled its Sun Chip biodegradable chip bag off the shelves due to complaints that the bag was too noisy.
“I just bought a bag of sun chips the other day,” a Facebook message reads on a group complaining about the noise. “And the check out lady was talking to me and she grabbed my bag of Sun Chips, and I couldn’t hear a word she was saying..sooo LOUD!!!!”
In April 2009, Frito Lay introduced the very first compostable potato chip packaging for their very popular Sun Chips. This packaging, made of plant-based material, can break down in as little as 14 weeks in good conditions.
Being environmentally friendly is not just some fad. We are responsible for the waste we create. Fortunately, Frito Lay hasn’t given up on the biodegradable bag idea. There is still hope. The original Sun Chips product will remain in biodegradable bags while others will have the regular plastic bag. They are also working on finding another material to use that is less noisy.
If small children are taught, and are able, to clean up their own messes, then adults surely can too. Let’s keep making steps forward to sustainability, not one forward and one back.
