Often, when going to the grocery store, you see that many items have several wrappers. A piece of food is wrapped in paper, then plastic, placed in a plastic bag and then bagged again at checkout. All of these different wrappers and containers are unnecessary. They tend to not be recyclable, and the factories in which they are made pollute the air and water.
Do fruits with peels need wrapping? Does cereal need a box and a bag? Do shoppers need to double bag their items?
This excess packaging might not seem harmful, but it affects everything around us and will definitely affect the generations after us. The food and water in some places in northern China is dirty and polluted, causing the life expectancy to go down by 5.5 years. The generations after us won’t know what polar bears are. They will have to wear masks to protect themselves from the air pollution and the streets will be full of trash.
While 150-200 species of plants and animals become extinct every day, the average American keeps using 102.1 plastic bags every year of which less than 1% are recycled. The government is wasting money trying to recycle these plastic bags. The state of California spends about 25 million dollars sending plastic bags to landfill each year, and another 8.5 million dollars to remove littered bags from streets. Recycling one ton of plastic bags costs $4,000, the recycled product can be sold for only $32.

Because of pollution, major companies are realizing how valuable used packaging is and are starting to take responsibility in recycling it. Jim Hanna, director of environmental impact at the Starbucks Corporation, said “Companies are becoming more aware that resources are limited and what they’ve traditionally thrown away — wow, it has value.” Beth Schmitt, director of recycling at Alcoa, stated that “Shredding, melting, recasting and rerolling used aluminum beverage cans into new aluminum can sheet saves 95 percent of the energy that it takes to make can sheet from raw ore,” and director of sustainability at Nestlé Waters North America, Michael Washburn agrees with Beth Schmitt. And director of sustainability at Nestlé Waters North America, Michael Washburn agrees with Beth Schmitt, he says that “Tuna cans, cereal boxes, laundry detergent bottles — all of it has value in end markets that are thirsty for it,”.

Other companies like Starbucks and Stonyfield are collecting containers and using them to make new things. Stonyfield collects No. 5 plastic containers (a plastic that isn’t recycled in most states) and with the help of Persevere turns them into toothbrushes. Starbucks collects used cups and uses the paper they collect to make new cups. Different companies like Coca-Cola have a whole subsidiary devoted to ensuring the recycling of of their cans and bottles. Coca-Cola Recycling L.L.C. is devoted to its stated goal of ensuring the recycling of 100 percent of its cans and bottles in North America by 2015 and 50 percent in the rest of the world.

More waste will be created in the following years, and something can be done to keep it from piling up:
Reduce. Consumers, you can buy only what you need, bring your own bags to the store, and avoid single-serving sizes. Businesses can redesign packaging, use email instead of sending letters, or Join EPA's free WasteWise Program.
Reuse. Consumers, you can take a mug to the coffee shop instead of using a disposable cup, use reusable bags when shopping, and join EPA's Reuse Development Organization. Businesses can create a ¨reuse center" where people take old office supplies for other people to reuse, use paper that has already been printed on one side, and buy rechargeable toner cartridges so they can be reused.
Recycle. Consumers, you can put glass, paper, and plastic in the recycling. Businesses can make packaging out of recycled material, have places where people can take their used packaging, and recycle anything they create.