Plastic Clamshells - love them or hate them? Discussion of plastic waste and alternatives.

[weinoo]

I'm gonna guess the reason that various food products are seemingly impossible to open is to lessen the risk of tampering with the insides.  With the seal intact, the consumer can theoretically be assured nothing has happened to the contents.

[Kerry Beal]

3 hours ago, weinoo said:

I'm gonna guess the reason that various food products are seemingly impossible to open is to lessen the risk of tampering with the insides.  With the seal intact, the consumer can theoretically be assured nothing has happened to the contents.

I believe this tamperproof packaging all started after the 'extra cyanide' tylenol incident. 

[Shel_B]

In general, I dislike the plastic clamshells for any and all of the reasons mentioned. Our recycling center does a good job with plastics, but the reality is that much is still not properly recycled and ends up in the waste stream or being shipped elsewhere.

 

However, there is one situation I've encountered where I prefer the clamshell packaging, and that's with Costco's rotisserie chicken.  I don't like the new, more efficient, reduced waste bag in which the chicken is now packaged and sold.  It's messier to remove the chicken and I have to come up with another way to store it.  And, the last time I was at Costco, every new bag that I touched was greasy on its outside, to the point where I just didn't buy a chicken.

 

I buy the rotisserie chicken for convenience, and the new packaging reduces that convenience for me substantially.

Edited yesterday at 07:15 PM by Shel_B (log)