Packaging and Waste: Practice 2

Food: So much packaging is used for food these days. Just think about how much packaging is used for one person to have a value meal at a fast food restaurant. All of that is made for one meal then thrown away. We package and serve food this way at home as well.

In the same way we talked about gift packaging, try to focus on more on what’s inside the packaging than how it’s wrapped. For instance, in the meat section of the grocery store, you can find ground beef wrapped in plastic or in a sturdier plastic box with cellophane covering. This is, of course, better protection for your ground beef, but do you really need that much protection between the store and home? Look at these items that are pandering to your sense of safety. This may cause you to buy another brand than you are used to. These are lifestyle changes that may speak to companies that are packaging this way.

Look for ways of using less packaging. Try not to buy as many individual wrapped products unless it’s a necessity. Try to buy packaging that is recyclable. Know, as you do this that you are using the resources God has given us more wisely—this is a way of giving thanks.

Packaging and Waste: Practice 1

During the holidays, it's a great time to think about packaging gifts. Think of all the paper and gift bags and bows and boxes and labels that we buy for one moment and then throw away. Think of what this says about us on a day that we say is about hope, generosity, and love. The Wise Men brought extravagant gifts to give baby Jesus. I do not imagine, though, that after the gold, frankincense, and myrrh were presented, that Mary and Joseph had multiple bags of trash set outside the stable door.

If we are to give extravagantly, do we really want the extravagance to be, in part, something we hardly value after the gift is opened? Try this practice: Focus more on the gift than the packaging. Wrap your gift in something you already had, that was to be thrown out anyway like newspaper or magazines. It can be made much more personal this way. If you are using the gift bags, save them for next year. You will never buy gift packaging again. They fold neatly and don’t take up much space when stored with the rest of you Christmas decorations.

Make every bit of your gift meaningful and humble yourself this Christmas season. Think of how perfectly peaceful the story of the Wise Men rings. A poor family by the world’s standards is given gifts by rich people by the world’s standards who have been humbled by God.

December Focus: Packaging and Waste

Sometimes it seems that for many people December and the holidays celebrated during the month have become more about "stuff" than anything else. Certainly we feel that this displays a misplaced focus. But assuming people will buy things for the holidays, we do want to offer some tips to make the holidays greener.

Most of our hints will focus on waste and packaging. Packaging is a big deal in today’s world. We want everything fresh, undamaged, and wrapped in something appealing to the eye. But then, most of this packaging gets thrown away. Though it is clearly necessary at times, it is often wasteful. Consider how much we throw away just to temporarily package something.

When you buy something, do you think about its life cycle? Do you ask yourself how much energy and resources it required to make, what it will take to function, and what will happen to it when it is no longer useful? Do you compare the packaging involved? If not, we hope you will start to consider these issues and make decisions that display better stewardship.