So much stuff comes in unnecessary packaging. I recycle as much as I can, but still there's too much waste. At work I buy my lunch at the local Co-Op, and it all comes in plastic containers. Most people throw them away, because they're 'dirty', but it takes no time at all to wash them and put them in the recycling bin. I hate polystyrene packaging trays, and it seems most of the supermarkets are moving away from these in favour of recyclable materials.

I've had the same experience the article describes, and that Senyar does. You can eliminate quite a bit of trash generation easily, but getting rid of all of it is very tough. And I confess I make the choice of simplicity over waste generation quite often. For example, we just cooked up a hearty chickpea curry this past weekend. One ingredient was lots and lots of baby spinach, added at the end. When shopping I just grabbed a big clamshell container of washed organic baby spinach, because that was worlds simpler for us. We are recycling the container but still, it wasn't the least-trash-producing choice.

In the end, even if you are careful to compost, recycle, and try to minimize buying containers that will end in the trash, you still generate some trash.

Ack, my html got away from me. Just meant to bold and initial the one word, all.

Over packaging seems very related to convenience. There's precooked rice that comes in plastic bags. Rice is so easy to cook from scratch!

The main benefit of something like that is for people who don't have the physical or mental ability to do as muchb for them it's something that can help them remain ou of institutions. For the rest of us it's an easy answer that reduces our time involvement.

In today's Guardian.