this post was submitted on 13 Jul 2024
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zerowaste
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I fully believe that the warehouse I work in wastes more plastic in a week than every employee of the company that owns it combined will waste in their whole lives.
Plastic wrapped plastic pallets with plastic boxes, containing plastic wrapped items of plastic.
When the boxes come off the truck, the plastic wrap is removed, large boxes separated to small boxes. Then plastic wrapped again.
From there they go onto shelves, the second set of plastic wrap slowly comes off.
When they're picked up to be moved, they're plastic wrapped.
When they're taken to shipping, they're plastic wrapped.
When they finally go on the pallet that takes them to a store, they're plastic wrapped.
They have two compactors, one is for plastic one is for cardboard, and the conpacted plastic gets tossed into the same huge shipping containers their regular trash goes into.
From my dealings with this warehouse, I do not believe they recycle anything, and that management actively opposes such things (because tHaTs WoKe)
It almost feels pointless to even try sometimes.
BUT the more people who try to go plastic free by choice, and put pressure on companies to reduce plastic use, the more likely change can happen.
But hey, I can't control a multi billion dollar company, although I can sure try to limit my own waste at every opportunity.
Just throwing out ideas for how you could affect change if you so choose.
Seems to me you are in a position to provide an anonymous tip with images of the dumpster with compacted plastic in it to support the claim to an eco-friendly news outlet to name and shame them and put pressure on management to change.
Keep in mind precautions necessary to remain anonymous when providing any tip if you don't want to be roped in on it. Maybe someone knows a resource for whistleblowers on safe disclosure?