I should have started by saying I was writing this at 5.15 this morning as I took my
own advice and got out of bed instead of lying there thinking about all sorts of rubbish. Something I have continually mentioned in posts, as I firmly believe it is not good for people with anxiety, or probably other mental health issues either. It can’t be good to lie there thinking of their problem, or matters that bring them problems.
It is a horrible lonely place to be, even with your wife, husband or partner lying beside you. You don’t wake them as you simply don’t want to, it’s not fair, and why should they be awake at quarter to five in the morning, just because you have issues?
It’s a natural instinct to try to get back to sleep, I do it every time, and 99% of the time sleep wins, but after half an hour this morning, I gave up and came downstairs. My initial reaction was to write, but then I remembered we had Mission Impossible Rogue Nation recorded, so this time TV won.
There are usually only two reasons I will go to the cinema to watch a film, the latest release of the Mission Impossible and James Bond films, although we did go to see 1917 when it was released and very good it was too. The trouble I have is I can watch a movie over and over again. I must have seen the Blues Brothers over a hundred times, probably followed by Armageddon, Rob Roy and A Few Good Men. But that’s me and my tastes.
Anyway, I got up rather than lie in bed, and as it is a very good film, my mind was occupied. It stayed that way for over approximately two hours, and by the time it was finished it was time to do normal morning things and get ready to play Dad’s Taxi’s,’ even at twenty-six years old, kids need lifts!!
So here we are at eleven o’clock, with my taxi parked on the drive. Weather-wise it’s a horrible day, it’s pouring with rain, and I feel I just want to sit inside and be lazy. I’m certainly not going out on my bike today, even though I got caught in a proper downpour the last time I was out, at least the sun was shining when I left the house – not like today, so I think I’ll stay put!
With time on my hands, I thought I better start wrapping my good lady’s Christmas presents. We’ve budgeted this year, and so we shouldn’t have spent too much, but it never works, but it will still only be double figures, as our bikes were an early present.
However, whilst wrapping the presents my thoughts went back to this post, having a bit of a moan at Amazon for how much packaging they use, or should I say how much they use that is not needed and waste, the thing is in any industry, waste is money!
So whilst wrapping this got me thinking again. I say thinking, but it was all quite obvious really as the concerns were staring me in the face. Now Amazon is one of the biggest companies in the world, and owner Jeff Bezos one of the richest men, but by using all this packaging that is not needed and so just wasted, people are still throwing money away, and it doesn’t make sense to me!
So today I saw these examples. The first being the actual wrapping paper itself, and if the photo is to be believed it is from TJ Morris (I don’t do the shopping so wouldn’t know.)
Let’s start with this photo and look at the rolls? Not only are they wrapped in cardboard and cellophane, they then get wrapped in its individual cellophane covering as well, and I don’t understand why? Surely the outer packaging would be enough, both from a protection and presentation aspect.
I don’t see why the individual wrapping is also required. Now I don’t know how many rolls TJ Morris sell every year, but I’d imagine quite a few thousand, maybe tens of thousands maybe more. But take all 
that individual wrapping from each roll and pop it to one side, and you would have a fair old mountain of wrapping, and then find out how much savings it would be if it wasn’t used and there would be some savings too. Maybe I’m missing something if I am, please let me know?
But moving on, we then have the small case I bought her, she needs a new make-up bag, the present one is too small, and I’m surprised the zip hasn’t broken. But why the big piece of packaging, will the bag really lose that much shape if it’s not included, or is it to make the bag look sturdier and full? Again I have no idea, but also I think things would be fine without it and so again how much money is wasted in unnecessary packaging? And maybe it’s up to the seller, in this case, TK Maxx to ensure their suppliers are using the absolute minimum amount of packaging.
I believe that in this day and age, we are all very conscious of waste and the 
demands on our planet. And so if suppliers and retailers were to inform their customers that packaging was to be kept to a minimum because of their waste policy, people wouldn’t mind too much, and so back to the Christmas paper!
Why can’t they just flat-pack the paper and again let people know it their policy to reduce waste, does it have to be so perfect that it has to be rolled up? Can’t we tell people that it is folded and so there will be some creases visible due to their packaging methods, saving unnecessary waste? After all, presents are wrapped all nice and neat, only paper to be ripped off and crumpled up and thrown in the bin, so why do we have to have it all nice and neat to start? Well, in business, seemingly, impressions are everything! If it were up to me, it would be the 99p rolls from the local market, how much paper do we waste at Christmas?
And on to something completely different, but I have started cooking, thanks to a company called Gousto. They sell pre-picked meals, but we are talking about meals that are cooked from scratch, so all the ingredients come especially picked for you and the exact amount too. With each meal comes the ingredients card, and cooking instructions, and it is good. And on the subject of waste, there is none. The ingredients are just right for two or four people – perfect. I am fortunate to the extent my good lady is a good cook and doesn’t mind taking on this role, but it is always something I said I would try, and so I have, thanks to Gousto!
It really is easier than I thought, although there is a bit of panic that sets in when you find an ingredient after you have finished, or there is a part of the instructions you don’t quite understand, and time is against you, but it’s a good system. How do chefs manage cooking twenty meals at one time – genius springs to mind! However!
This ‘however’ is the same thing and it is once again, unnecessary waste! Excuse my poor photography with one bag upside down; the big bag is the one that the actual ingredients in the photo came in, the small upside-down bag is another from them that could and should have been used!
I’m sure it doesn’t happen in every box, and I have no idea how many packages they sell a day, but if it’s thousands of boxes and this happens in hundreds of them, then once again it is a lot of wasted paper and a lot of wasted money!
These are very small examples, I worked in a factory recently that makes foil containers, and hundreds were thrown out because they had a little mark on them or were not perfect, do they need to be? I don’t think they do, so again, advertise the fact they may be slightly imperfect as it reduces waste, are people that bothered anyway, would we need to advertise or am I missing something again?
What do we do with foil containers after we have used them? Well hopefully throw them in the recycling bin, but they still get thrown out, so why do they need to be perfect in the first place, because again I can’t see it? Now admittedly the waste from the factory looked like it was a being re-cycled as bales were waiting to be picked up, and that was good to see for sure. But imagine if their waste was reduced by 50% because they were allowed to use slightly imperfect containers.
One of my more contentious articles is this one; it is about the out of control world population growth, and how that population drives the demands on our planet. As the population grows, so do the demands, as the demands grow, so many resources reduce and there can be only one outcome, which thankfully won’t be in my lifetime – or hopefully!
And on a smaller scale, how about clothes washing liquid and the plastic lids that we put the liquid in, then add to the machine for the wash? Again it is minimal, but why do companies insist on selling a new top or liquid holder with every new bottle? Again maybe there is time for a rethink. How about they don’t sell them with a cap on at all? Now that’s extreme, but have a tub close to the product, filled with the lids that people can help themselves to if they need one?
Okay, it may mean a difference of 5p per bottle for not having one on, and a new lid lifted from the tub is free of charge, but be different. I recently threw five tops into the recycling, and we still have three, and here is a picture to prove it!
But more importantly, think about the savings all round. If people had a couple of tops as we have, we would never have to pick a freebie out he tubs, if a few thousand people did that every day when they were buying some washing liquid, that’s some saving the United Kingdom over, never mind the world. Why do we need a new wash capsule every time?
And this is why I believe Greta Thunberg and her generation should sit up and take more note. Never mind complaining that her childhood was stolen by a generation that probably didn’t know any better at the time. But she and her friends (or parents) should be looking at both the population growth, another reason for so much global warming, and the waste that these companies generate. It is a reason that the earth is running out of resources quicker than it needs to. But it’s all quiet on that front!
That may all sound a bit dramatic, but it is an unfortunate fact of life and a fact of life everyone seems to ignore, and are not interested in doing too much about it!
But however we look at it, that is life, and we, as the human race, need to try to do
more about the population, waste and resources. I would much prefer the younger generation to be talking about these things, rather than blaming the older generation, which they should stop doing, it wasn’t their fault, at least not in my world!
Thanks for reading and stay safe
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