this post was submitted on 24 Feb 2025
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Every time I hear someone complain about a single tiny piece of plastic on the ground or someone uses slightly more than needed cling wrap, all I can think of is the couple of warehouses I used to work in a couple jobs ago.
Everything comes on pallets wrapped in about a dozen layers of cling wrap. 8-10ft tall pallets.
Every box gets opened, the items pulled out of a large plastic bag, each item wrapped in its own plastic bag.
Those items get put in other boxes, stacked on a different pallet, and wrapped in another dozen layers of plastic wrap.
The pallets get moved to a temporary spot for a few hours, then someone comes up and curs all the wrap off. Moves the boxes onto 4 other pallets, and each of those goes to a separate forklift driver who puts them on shelves.
When the item leaves, it's placed in plastic bags, then a box, then goes on a pallet that gers wrapped in a dozen layers of plastic wrap. Onto the truck for shipping elsewhere.
They have a truck that comes twice a day to replace a shipping container filled with plastic.
So much plastic, every day, all day, they only close for Christmas and 4th of July.
Am I still going to use anything but plastic wherever possible? Sure. Am I still going to pick up that piece of plastic and put it in the recycling bin? Absolutely.
Companies suck and will blame you for their shitty treatment just like every abuser does.
You're exactly correct. I used to work in a manufacturing environment, and the amount of single-use plastic our production team used on a daily basis was staggering. I would estimate that company created as much plastic waste in one day as my household did in three months.
Consumer recycling or boycotts is only a drop in the bucket. Industry will have to shift away from single-use plastic if we're going to have any chance of saving ourselves from a future filled with generations worth of garbage.