Overpackaging has been a growing concern for our environment. The most frustrating is double packaging: when an extra unnecessary layer of paper or plastic is put around a packaged product to join them together and sell more. To stop this packaging madness for profit, Canal It Up, Proper Strandlopers, Gents Milieufront and Fair Resource Foundation teamed up to launch the End Double Packaging campaign. With this campaign we call upon consumers to send in cases of overpackaging and double packaging to Fost Plus, the organization that represents the packaging industry in Belgium. Besides that, we also call on consumers to refuse to buy cases of double packaging.
With this campaign, we hope to reach the producers and supermarkets so that they can take responsibility towards a more sustainable way of packaging products. The message is simple: when consumers see a case of double packaging in supermarkets, they take a photo of it and send it to the form of Fost Plus. Besides that, consumers can also share the cases of double packaging they find online with the hashtag #EndDoublePackaging.
The organization Canal It Up – which works towards cleaner waterways in Brussels – carried out an extensive research showing that Colruyt is the biggest polluter of the Brussels canals. Following this research, the Colruyt group claims to be working on innovative solutions to prevent plastic pollution. The team of Canal It Up decided to put the retailer to the test. They went shopping in the Colruyt of Jette and found 171 cases of double packaging. This extra plastic wrap has only 1 function: sell more products. These multipacks are created by Colruyt itself, as producers deliver their products without these extra layers of plastic. However, Colruyt is not the only supermarket using double packaging, as cases of double packaging can be found in different supermarkets in Belgium, as can be seen in the video.
examples of double packaging that were found in Colruyt in Jette
Beyond the needless use of plastic, overpackaging poses several other issues:
- Plastics contain additives that pose health risks.
- Microplastics are found in organs, including lungs, liver, and even placentas.
- Plastics contribute to global warming: plastic production emitted as much carbon in 2019 as 189 coal-fired power stations.
- Globally, 430 million tons of plastics are produced yearly, equivalent to the weight of the entire world population, and production is increasing.
- Double packaging like that of Colruyt may lead to extra food waste by encouraging customers to buy more than they need and then throwing it away, contributing to the 58 million tons wasted in Europe annually, with 54% occurring in households. One of the reasons for food waste are excessive purchases.
We have the power!
Consumers have the power to make retailers change their ways. A recent report by Recycling Netwerk on packaging waste prevention and reuse in Belgium identified empowered consumers as a powerful group to demand a reduction in packaging. We encourage everyone visiting Belgian supermarkets to report overpackaging or double packaging via the website of Fost Plus, and, to refuse buying double packaged products.
