Recycling Day: When Overpackaging and Waste Are Really Apparent

In my neighbourhood, as in most, we have recycling day every two weeks. A big truck drives around a huge area of the municipality (or multiple municipalities) and picks up recycling from each house at the curbside. Not everything is accepted for door to door recycling (examples of exclusions include plastic bags, Styrofoam, old electronics, batteries, and lightbulbs, etc.). Plastic and metal are put together in bins. Glass is supposed to be in separate bin. Paper goes in bags. Cardboard goes alongside the bins (someone told me a story about their cardboard being rejected by the recyclers once because they didn’t have it tied with twine, fortunately our recyclers don’t enforce this antiquated and wasteful rule).

This week, my husband out of town on business again, I hefted all of the recycling from our place out to the curb. Even carrying a huge amount per trip, it took me two trips to get everything to the curb. Part of the reason for this is the cardboard boxes from supplies we’ve ordered from Walmart and Amazon Prime these past two weeks. The pictures below are of just two weeks worth of recycling from our household (two adults, one who is travelling for work often and therefore not here to consume as much as usual, and a baby). I also didn’t bother taking the glass to the curb, as we only have a few glass containers, so I’ll wait until we have more.

I can't believe this is just from two weeks and a household of only two adults and one baby.

When I go out on walks and see our neighbourhood and others nearby on recycling day, I can’t help but be struck by all of the packaging our society uses (plastic boxes for spinach, endless yoghurt and milk containers, cans, cartons, and so much cardboard). Sure, some things need packaging, but there is a lot of overpackaging happening. If we decreased the amount of waste and moved to more of a zero waste position, think of how much less would have to be picked up on recycling day and processed (which takes a lot of energy and resources too). If we didn’t produce so many packages, we wouldn’t need to recycle so many packages. We would use less resources and there would be more left over for the future generations. So, while it's wonderful that we're diverting so much waste by recycling in Canada, it would be better if less waste existed in the first place.

Ddrops: Wasteful Packaging of Vitamin D that Today’s Children Won’t Appreciate in the Future

Who cares what's on the front. This was the only type of Vitamin D drops for children at our pharmacy.

While in the hospital, after having my baby, the nurses told us that we should give Vitamin D supplements to our baby every day. We purchased a little bottle of Vitamin D drops at our little pharmacy. The type that they happened to have for children and babies was Ddrops with Dora the Explorer on the front of a loud hot pink box. Not caring what was on the front, we bought the Vitamin D drops and left.

The box was quite large, but when I opened it, it was almost all completely empty space.

When I opened the almost 4 inch high box and found this I was disgusted!

There was a tiny glass bottle with a plastic lid and a large folded paper insert. The rest of the box was completely empty, wasted space.

A tiny glass and plastic bottle and a paper insert housed in a giant box.

Seriously, why is this box so big?

There was so much extra cardboard and all of the dye required to decorate the box. This is an incredible amount of waste. I doubt that future generations and the current generation who are taking these Vitamin D drops will appreciate it when we run out of resources or are living in a world of garbage or both.

Great, more stuff for my overflowing recycling box.

I find it astounding how children’s products, of all products, seem to use so much packaging when we should be trying to conserve so that there is something left for these children in the future when they are our age. Can’t this bottle be sold with just a safety seal on it and no box or if a box is needed, just a very small box to fit this tiny bottle? Ddrops are another example of overpackaging.

So much wasted cardboard and paper.

Frito-Lay Twistos: Why Does a Coupon Need a Plastic Bag Around It?

When ordering a baby gym from Toys “R” Us last week, we received a couple of coupons in the box when it was delivered to our house. One of them was for a snack called “Twistos” from Frito-Lay.

Is this coupon so precious that it needs to be hermetically sealed in plastic?

Why is this coupon so heavily guarded?

What confused me was why a coupon that came in a cardboard box would need a plastic bag around it. What a waste. How many coupons did Frito-Lay print? And then to wrap each coupon in plastic is an added waste, especially if they don’t get used. I won’t be using mine and unfortunately, it’s just more plastic for the garbage and more paper for the recycling bin. What ridiculous overpackaging, Frito-Lay. Coupons don’t need a plastic bag around them.

Not one, but two pieces of paper in the plastic.

Walmart Order: Multiple Shipments and One Nearly Empty Box

We ordered some household items from Walmart last week. The order shipped quickly and we were impressed to see a big box at our house two days ago. However, this only had some of the items that we had ordered in it. While this box was packed almost full, with little wasted space, the box that arrived yesterday, was full of wasted space.

I opened the box expecting to see several more items from our Walmart order, given the size of the box.

The box looked big as I was opening it.

When I pulled back the plastic bubble wrap, there were only two items. The box was pretty much completely empty. Why were these two items sent in such a big box?

This doesn't look very full.

Seriously?! Only two items in this huge box?

I still can't believe that this was it in the box.

And now we’re waiting for at least one more box to receive the rest of our Walmart order. While I appreciate that Walmart tries to get items to customers as soon as they can, surely sending almost empty boxes with only an item or two in them while there are a bunch of outstanding items is ridiculous. It’s definitely wasteful.

When one considers how big Walmart is and how much it must ship, all of this Walmart overpackaging will certainly add up to a ton of waste. While the cardboard can be recycled (and plastic is being recycled more now), it takes a lot of resources to produce it and it’s unlikely to be reused. Instead, it will end up in the recycling pile with more resources required to recycle it. Walmart should set an example and try to decrease the amount of waste it produces in shipping (past orders from Walmart have been less wastefully packaged, so I hope that this is just a one-off). Overpackaging from Walmart and other big companies produces a world of waste.

Another big wasted box.

So much waste leftover from such a small partial shipment.

Toys “R” Us: Waste That Future Generations Will Resent

We recently ordered a Baby Einstein Caterpillar & Friends Play Gym for our baby online from Toys “R” Us. We had a gift card for there and I don’t get out of the house much anymore with a new baby, so we bought it online instead of going to the store.

The package arrived and was left at our house. When I found it, I was amazed by the size of the box. I had seen this product before at my sister’s place and knew that it was not that big, so I was confused by the size of the box (4'x3' approximately).

Four feet by three feet?! How big is this little baby toy?

When the box was opened it had a second box inside (about 2'x1.5'), the one the actual product came it. There was no bubble wrap or paper in all the empty space to pad it, so I’m not really sure what the purpose of the giant box was.

So much wasted space in this giant box.

This play gym is already in a box. Why is another needed?

Couldn’t the package that the play gym came in just be wrapped in mailing paper or perhaps bubble wrap with a label and then the other box wouldn’t be needed for shipment? This would reduce waste and the amount of resources needed to ship each product. The large box serves no purpose that I can see other than becoming yet another thing that goes straight into the recycling pile. While it’s great that cardboard can be recycled, it would be better if it didn’t even get used in the first place (and then resources wouldn’t be wasted making it either).

Another giant box for my recycling pile.

While I know I’m part of the problem for ordering online (although who knows, maybe driving to a store is just as bad), there are probably better ways to ship online purchases, with less waste, and perhaps eventually zero waste. Overpackaging can still be found with so many products and in the shipping process itself when products are purchased online. While this product didn't have a lot of packaging, the shipping process created a huge amount of waste with the giant and unnecessary box that Toys "R" Us used. Online shopping is here to stay. If we continue using the amount of packaging that we’re using now, there will be nothing left for the next generation and they will certainly resent us for this.

Old Navy: Junk Clothing, Random Tall Sizing, Overpackaging, and Abysmal Customer Service

Like a disappointing Christmas morning . . .

Almost a month ago, I placed my first order with Old Navy online. Having just had a baby and being confined mostly to home with the baby and in need of clothes in the dreaded tall size (can’t find that very many places), I took the plunge. What a mistake. Read on to find out why I’ll never be shopping with Old Navy again whether online or in store.

Placing the order itself was difficult, as in the reviews there were continuous complaints about things being randomly sized. One item will fit completely differently than another item, making it almost impossible to know what your Old Navy size is without trying something on. Unfortunately for tall women, none of their tall line is in ANY of their brick and mortar stores. None. So, I tried to use the size chart provided on the Old Navy website, plus reviews to gauge which size of various items I would fit in. I own a couple of Old Navy shirts and a dress from the brick and mortar store in Vancouver, so I thought I had a pretty good idea of what sizes I needed (these items were not tall sizes). I ordered three long sleeved shirts, a pair of workout leggings, and a canvas field jacket.

I then waited for my order to arrive. When it arrived I was excited. The box was not overly big, but it was absolutely full of plastic bags. Every single item was in a plastic bag, some of them huge. There was so much waste and overpackaging.

Tall women beware, inside may be disappointment.

So much garbage!

I tried on the three shirts. Two of them were the same, just different colours. While they fit my body (including a nice long torso- that never happens!) the sleeves only went halfway down my forearm. I was confused and annoyed. Hadn’t it said, “long sleeves” online? I went back to the Old Navy website and checked. It did say “long sleeves” in the description for the two shirts. Then I noticed that there wasn’t a single picture of the model with the sleeves down her arm all the way. They were scrunched up in every picture. Was this to camouflage that the sleeves weren’t long enough for tall people? Or was this just styling? The length of sleeves is actually a three-quarter sleeve (FYI, Old Navy, this is what you call sleeves that only go partway down the forearm). I don’t mind some three-quarter sleeves in my wardrobe, in fact I’m used to them as most long shirt sleeves are not long enough for me, so I just wear them as three quarter length sleeves. But I’m particularly annoyed that I ordered the tall size of a long-sleeved shirt and it doesn’t even have long sleeves. Come on! I don’t have orangutan arms. Since I’m in need of shirts, I’ll just keep them, but I’m displeased that Old Navy induced me to buy these shirts with a false description.

Plastic, plastic everywhere . . .

FYI, Old Navy, these are three-quarter sleeves, not long sleeves.

The other long-sleeved shirt was actually long sleeved. The cotton was not the greatest, but I needed shirts, so I just decided to roll with it. I mean it’s Old Navy, not Brooks Brothers.

All of the tall shirts fit pretty well (except for the sleeves on the two out of three shirts), a touch big, but they were relaxed fits so that made sense.

I tried on the leggings next. They were weird. First of all, the material was a blend and it was scratchy. Secondly, the leggings, while they were long enough in the legs, they bunched up weirdly in places. Also, the waist was somewhere between a high waist and a natural waist, so they sat at an uncomfortable place. I was really disappointed.

Then, lastly, I tried on the item I was looking forward to the most, the canvas field jacket. It had looked good online, the reviews were pretty good (although sizing seemed to be all over according to reviewers), and I really wanted a  light jacket for fall walks with the baby. Was I ever disappointed. Parts of the jacket were too big in some places, the rest of it was too snug, and the material was cheap. The thing looked badly made and ugly.

Seeing that Old Navy stood behind their products 100% according to the receipt in the box, I emailed them a picture of the sleeve length of the two shirts on me and told them about how poor the entire order had been, how disappointed I was, and ask what could be done. I received back two emails from Old Navy. One email said they would “look into” the “long sleeved” shirt. The second just said “it has long sleeves.” But I sent them a picture of the shirt only reaching partway down my forearm; it does not have long sleeves! This indicated to me that Old Navy hadn't even bothered to read my email. Why even waste one's time sending an email if no one will even read it and respond in a meaningful way?

"We stand behind our products 100%." No you don't, Old Navy.

Then I called the Old Navy customer service number. I was passed between three different agents until I somehow ended up with a Gap agent in the U.S.. They couldn’t even find my order number and had to look me up by email address. The agent assured me that someone would just come and pick the box up and returns were free. Well, in Canada, you have to take it to a shipping depot. I don’t have time to do that. I’m here all alone with a fussy infant. She asked if someone I lived with could do it. My husband travels almost constantly for work. Then she asked if a friend or neighbour could do it. Right, I’m going to saddle someone with returning this crap clothing because Old Navy can’t follow its own sizing charts or give proper descriptions online of what the items are or use proper fabric. The woman said I could take it back to an Old Navy store, but that I couldn’t do exchanges there, because they have no tall clothing. Well, I don’t care, I don’t want their crap, more landfill clothing that will wear out in two seconds.

Twenty-six minutes on the phone with three agents and they would not give me any help. They said they couldn’t do anything, even though the shirt description had been wrong for two out of the three shirts that I bought. It was their fault, but they won’t admit it. Other companies would normally admit that they were wrong and then try to fix the problem, whether through credit or something else.

Then I tweeted about my experience on Twitter. Old Navy responded fairly quickly and asked for my order number. Unfortunately, a few messages back and forth resulted in no help at all. They said they would give my feedback to their design team. Great, but that doesn’t help me, the customer who they deceived.

This Old Navy experience is truly in the top five worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had. I have no idea why this company is so popular. I guess it’s because their cheap disposable clothing goes with our consumer, landfill culture.

So, my only option is to return the completely unsalvageable parts of the order. There’s a good reason to return in person, I read online from others leaving reviews on the customer service at Old Navy that it can take weeks and weeks and weeks AFTER Old Navy receives your order back to give you a refund. No, thank you; they’ve had my money for long enough. I’ll cut my losses and go to the brick and mortar Old Navy store this weekend when my husband is in town to unload the jacket and leggings. The shirts I’ll just keep since they weren’t that expensive and I need shirts (and I don’t have time to go looking for any because I have an infant!).

But this has taught me a valuable lesson, never shop at Old Navy, especially online (and since I’m tall that’s my only option.)

Oh, and I’ll be taking all the packaging that I received with this monstrous order back to Old Navy. They can deal with their overpackaging.

Never Again.

Amazon Prime: Big Boxes for Little Products

I ordered a little hairbrush for my baby and a potato masher through Amazon Prime. It arrived the other day I was confused by the size of the box, wondering just how big the potato masher and baby hairbrush could be.

When I opened the box there was a bit of bubble wrap and tons of empty space.

Once the bubble wrap was removed, there was a little brush (maybe four inches long) in minimal packaging and a potato masher, (only in a plastic bag) that while substantial, was not big enough to warrant the size of the box used.

Look at all of that empty space.

Couldn't a smaller box or a bubble envelope be used to mail items like these?

Wasn’t there a smaller box available? Or how about a bubble mailing envelope? I know that cardboard is recyclable, but it takes a lot of resources to both produce cardboard and then to recycle it.

Another box for my recycling pile!

I love that Amazon Prime usually gets things to me in the time quoted (a couple of times they have failed to deliver in their Prime delivery guaranteed dates, but their customer service is excellent) and that it is quick- this is particularly useful when you discover you need something for your home or baby. But I wish that Amazon would review its packaging procedures to reduce the amount of and size of packaging it uses. This was definitely another incident of Amazon overpackaging.

Amazon Prime: Boxes in Boxes

When I found this box by my house I wondered what I had ordered. It couldn't possibly just be the box of diapers and the turner could it?

I have an Amazon Prime membership and in addition to being able to watch The Grand Tour, I use my membership to order various items and have them delivered to my house. This has come in handy since I recently had a baby.

This is the second time I’ve ordered diapers from Amazon and since they repeated their giant box method, I feel I need to post this. The diapers that I ordered come in a big sturdy cardboard box. Strangely, Amazon feels the need to put this box into a huge cardboard box in order to send it.

This is a seriously big box.

In this order from Amazon there was also a turner or flipper for cooking, but this was not very big. The box that they sent these two items in was huge and had lots of vacant space (partially occupied in transit by many many feet of brown paper).

Lots and lots of packing paper once removed shows how big this box really is and what a waste of packaging it is.

It’s strange they wouldn’t just wrap the diaper box in paper and send it as is and then put the flipper in a bubble envelope or something of the sort.

Look at all of this empty space.

While cardboard and brown paper are recyclable, it still takes a lot of resources to produce them and since I have no use for a box or packing paper, they’re just going straight out in the recycling. It seems like a waste. And since the diapers already come in a box and are not breakable or anything (the diapers are wrapped in a plastic wrap in the box too to protect from the elements) this is another example of overpackaging.

We need to rethink packaging as a society or there won't be any cardboard left to use in the future.