Remember our recent post about reducing waste at the grocery store? Well, let’s turn to the academics and see what they have to say about it.

Did you know that up to one out of every $11 you spend at the store pays for packaging? Also, when all packaging is accounted for, it adds up to about one-third of all the trash that’s thrown away in the United States. Industry and business are responsible for most of this waste, but consumer product packaging accounts for about 15% of what’s discarded. When you purchase a frozen dinner, you are paying for not only the meal but for the outer paperboard box, the plastic or foil tray that holds the meal, and the covering over the food. You pay again for packaging, directly or indirectly, when your garbage is picked up and disposed of in a landfill or incinerator…Composting, recycling, and reusing items all help. And by shopping carefully you can reduce excess packaging that you would throw away.

To the tips!