, it’s important to always keep the three R’s—reduce, reuse, and recycle—in mind when shopping. “Many grocery items require packaging to protect the products inside and reduce food waste," she says."To shop more sustainably, it’s important to keep in mind reduce, reuse, and recycle—in that order."
Let’s break that down. Huded explains that the first R, reduce, is especially important when choosing which items to get. “Reduce packaging waste by buying in bulk, and consider buying items without additional wraps or packaging. Reusable or refillable models are also a good way to reduce waste.
Huded also wants us to remember that though the chasing arrows recycling symbol can signify recyclability, it’s not always as straightforward as just chucking the waste into your curbside recycling bin. “The chasing arrows symbol denotes recyclability for most common household recyclables. For packaging that is not widely recyclable in residential recycling programs, instructions may be included, like ‘check locally’ or ‘return to the store,’” Huded says.
According to Huded, simplicity is key when it comes to grocery shopping. “The fewer combinations of materials in a package, usually the better. The recycling system is designed to take commingled materials and separate them into different commodities to return economic value for paper, metals, glass, and plastics. Packaging that combines many materials—like plastic and metal—into one makes the separation into commodities, and their resulting value, challenging,” she says.
“Packaging is often produced on a national scale and labeled according to its recyclability for the majority, 60 percent or more, of U.S. residents. Meanwhile, there are more than 9,000 local recycling programs across the U.S., and one size does not fit all,” Huded explains.
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