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

MaryIsobel

By MaryIsobel
in Kitchen Consumer

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MaryIsobel

MaryIsobel

Posted
Posted (edited)

I hate them. Mainly because I like to pick my own produce, secondly, I like to pick the amount I want and thirdly they take up so much room in our recycle bin - there is no way to compact them much. In an era where we are trying to reduce plastic waste - why have the clamshells become so prevalent? Where I live, all berries, any type of mini tomatoes, mushrooms, grapes, herbs, bean sprouts, some lettuces, spinach and kale all come in clambshells. So I frequent a South Asian produce store where everything (with the exception of berries) is bulk and you can pick what you want and put it in a sturdy plastic bag. These bags, unlike the clamshells get used at least once more in our house and when their time is up, they take very little room in our recycle bin.

Edited by Smithy
Adjusted title to reflect expanding topic (log)
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Alex

Alex

Posted
Posted

One more vote for hate

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ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'm not too fond of them either.  And, the older I get I find it harder and harder to open certain ones.

Edited by ElsieD (log)
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MaryIsobel

MaryIsobel

Posted
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Posted
51 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

I'm not too fond of them either.  And, the older I get interested find it harder and harder to open certain ones.

I'm finding that a lot of things are impossible to open without a plethora of tools. And don't get me started on why the instructions on medications are printed in micro type! I usually resort to taking a picture on my phone and then enlarging it to be able to read.

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Maison Rustique

Maison Rustique

Posted
Posted

Hate and our trash recycler doesn't take them. They have to go into the landfill or you have to take them someplace special which I can't seem to find in this state. California was a lot more recycle-friendly.

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Deb

Liberty, MO

MaryIsobel

MaryIsobel

Posted
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Posted (edited)
27 minutes ago, Maison Rustique said:

Hate and our trash recycler doesn't take them. They have to go into the landfill or you have to take them someplace special which I can't seem to find in this state. California was a lot more recycle-friendly.

We are fortunate to have a very user-friendly recycling program here. We have bins for plastic, metal and glass, (that we can put the clamshells in) another for cardboard and another for paper 

Edited by MaryIsobel (log)
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Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, MaryIsobel said:

We are fortunate to have a very user-friendly recycling program here. We have bins for plastic, metal and glass, (that we can put the clamshells in) another for cardboard and another for paper 

 

Our Minnesota recycling program can take a lot of plastics, but not these. Whether they can or not seems to change from year to year. I avoid buying things in the clamshells when possible, but as noted in the opening post it simply isn't possible for some of the produce I want: primarily berries and tomatoes (cherry and cocktail size).

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
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Shel_B

Shel_B

Posted
Posted (edited)
14 hours ago, MaryIsobel said:

... pick what you want and put it in a sturdy plastic bag. These bags, unlike the clamshells get used at least once more in our house and when their time is up, they take very little room in our recycle bin.

Don't your stores offer compostable bags for produce and other items? Plastic bags have pretty much disappeared from the markets here. The markets here offer ASTMD6400-certified bags like these (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) at no charge.

 

In addition, a great majority of shoppers use reusable shopping bags instead of plastic or paper bags provided by the market.

Edited by Shel_B (log)
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 ... Shel


 

Maison Rustique

Maison Rustique

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, Shel_B said:

Don't your stores offer compostable bags for produce and other items? Plastic bags have pretty much disappeared from the markets here. The markets here offer ASTMD6400-certified bags like these (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) at no charge.

 

In addition, a great majority of shoppers use reusable shopping bags instead of plastic or paper bags provided by the market.

Plastic is still very popular here in Missouri--bags in all the stores. I can only think of one store that offers compostable produce bags and it is no where near me. People here just don't care. Trash all over the freeways. Lots of people don't recycle at all. They don't pick up glass for recycle here, but a group started a glass recycle some years back--there are bins set up in many locations throughout the area, but you do have to take it there yourself. And I do that. The paper, aluminum and what bits of plastic they recycle here are picked up weekly. As far as the plastic bags, they tell you not to put them into your trash, but many people do. Some stores have bins set up for them but again, you have to take them yourself and many people are too lazy.

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Deb

Liberty, MO

MaryIsobel

MaryIsobel

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
20 hours ago, Shel_B said:

Don't your stores offer compostable bags for produce and other items? Plastic bags have pretty much disappeared from the markets here. The markets here offer ASTMD6400-certified bags like these (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) at no charge.

 

In addition, a great majority of shoppers use reusable shopping bags instead of plastic or paper bags provided by the market.

 

20 hours ago, Shel_B said:

Don't your stores offer compostable bags for produce and other items? Plastic bags have pretty much disappeared from the markets here. The markets here offer ASTMD6400-certified bags like these (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) at no charge.

 

In addition, a great majority of shoppers use reusable shopping bags instead of plastic or paper bags provided by the market.

Our stores do not. We are in a pretty rural area.

ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted
23 minutes ago, MaryIsobel said:

 

Our stores do not. We are in a pretty rural area.

 

I'm not in a rural area and while stores no longer give you plastic bags, other than those flimsy ones in the produce section, they will provide you with a paper bag should you not have a bag of your own.  They charge 25 cents per bag.  Specialty shops, at least the ones I frequent will give you a paper bag at no charge.

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Katie Meadow

Katie Meadow

Posted
Posted

Those compostable bags present a new problem. In my experience they shorten the life of some produce, especially fresh herbs if stored  in the fridge because they seem to encourage condensation and get very damp. One solution that helps is to wrap the herbs in paper towels inside the bags. But then of course you are using paper towels, which also should be avoided.

Shel_B

Shel_B

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Katie Meadow said:

Those compostable bags present a new problem. In my experience they shorten the life of some produce, especially fresh herbs if stored  in the fridge because they seem to encourage condensation and get very damp. One solution that helps is to wrap the herbs in paper towels inside the bags. But then of course you are using paper towels, which also should be avoided.

 

I've certainly encountered the problem, which I solved by using older plastic bags. There's a small collection of such bags here, and if the produce will be stored for a while, I transfer the goods to one of the plastic bags. Those bags get cleaned and reused as I try to minimize their impact on the environment.  Some Ziploc-type bags are also used and reused.

 

The supermarket's compostable bags are put into service when composting food waste.  The city of El Cerrito has provided us with small food scrap pails.

https://recyclemore.com/residents/food-scrap-collection-pail-program/

The food waste goes into the bags, the bags into the small pails, and the pails are emptied into the larger composting bins outside, which are picked up by the city and turned into compost, which is used by the city and given away a couple of times a year to city residents.

 

In El Cerrito, we can recycle plastic bags and films at the El Cerrito Recycling and Environmental Resource Center.

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 ... Shel


 

AlaMoi

AlaMoi

Posted
Posted

some confusion perhaps?

 

clear plastic "clamshells" are made of recyclable plastics.

styrofoam "clamshells" like fast food did / does come it are not generally recyclable.

 

recycling varies widely by location and time of day.

our township stopped recycling paper and corrugated.  eh?  two of the most potent waste streams . . .

we have a trash-to-steam plant....does paper/corrugated not burn well?

only plastics and glass - not steel cans! - may be recycled....

steel cans are perhaps the singularly most easily recovered materials from any waste stream . . . but . . . .

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