The fact that it's the consumer's responsibility to sort their waste and to try and minimise its impact on the environment in the first place is completely wrong to me.
Most people in urban areas rely on stores for basic survival, and the vast majority of products we buy there come with unnecessary waste. It doesn't make any sense to then tell these people "by the way, you'd better clean up that mess when you're done because it's bad for the environment". If governments were truly concerned or willing to act, this waste wouldn't make it into our homes in the first place.
If a company wants to sell a product, they should be held accountable for the waste that comes along with it. They should have to prove that they can reuse the waste and be incentivised to reduce it. If they can't, they can't operate.
Ecocide laws need to become commonplace, and the consumer should not be responsible for their waste if they haven't got legitimate alternative options. I understand this community is more willing to do their part in this regard, but I don't think it'll ever be feasible to expect this from the wider population. We need to stem the flow, not just handle the mess.
Imagine if you could go to the store with reusable containers and fill them up with foodstuffs. I eat a lot of beans, I could just fill up a bunch of sacks or cannisters at a dispensary rather than buy all these cans and bags. Need soap? Just go to the soap dispensary and fill up a jug. Etc. Etc.
I'm imagining this rather often.๐ฅน Going to the store with our reusable containers and filling them with what we need (~ideally in a moneyless society)
There used to be a few shops like this in Norway! Came to my town after I moved to Denmark, but I think they went bankrupt. At least, the shop is not in my old hometown anymore.
Unfortunately these types of dedicated shops tend to be expensive - at least this has been the case for the soap dispensaries I've been to. Until they're more widely adopted, I guess that problem won't go away. It's an unfortunate paradox! I'd love for governments (or benevolent rich folks) to subsidise businesses like these so they can appeal to a broader audience.