A literal take on green packaging is being used in Supermarkets in Thailand and Vietnam. The supermarkets have been wrapping their fruit and vegetables in banana leaves, helping fight against single use plastics.
With the current, and very scary influx of news surrounding whales washing up dead on shorelines with huge amounts of plastic in their stomachs, we all know he vital importance that we need to stop using single use plastic altogether.
Plastic is poisoning our seas, marine life and guess what? Us too. Sea food is a popular food source worldwide, and traces of micro-plastics are being found in fish worldwide. Last year, a prediction by the World Economic Forum warned us that by 2050 there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish… Scary eh? This view is taken by multiple organisations and researchers.
One of the worst contributors to plastic pollution is supermarket packaging, but supermarkets in Asia are coming up with a natural alternative to the problem, that being banana leaves. Packaging fruit and veg involves wrapping a banana leaf around the product and tying with a simple piece of bamboo. Banana leaves are thick, large in size, and flexible enough to be folded.
The advantage of using banana leaves in Asian countries is that banana leaves are readily available, and therefore making them a cost effective alternative too. Although, in less exotic countries (like the UK) use of banana leaves are a lot more expensive, making supermarkets unlikely to make the switch… However, looking into using local biodegradable products could be a good alternative in these more temperate locations.