Waste in product packaging

Something that's gone almost completely under the radar screen here in the US is the massive effort in Britain, led by the Independent, to reduce waste in food and other product packaging -- an important measure to preserve the environment. Now, another major supermarket chain has joined in:

Morrisons has become the latest supermarket chain to cut packaging, promising a reduction of 15 per cent in the next three years.

Britain's fourth biggest grocer listed the target among several new green pledges this week as it signalled its determination to overturn its poor reputation on the environment.

By 2010 Morrisons promised to:

* Slash its carbon footprint by 36 per cent

* Cut energy use by 8 per cent per metre

* Obtain 10 per cent renewable energy

* Halve waste sent to landfill

* Use 15 per cent less water

Morrisons' action on packaging follows The Independent's campaign against waste, which has garnered strong interest from readers, retailers and policy-makers.

This is a campaign that someone should start here. The amount of waste in product packaging is apalling. Just take, for example, the huge plastic packages that your little printer ink cartridge comes in. It takes me about ten minutes with a razor knife just to break the things open and fills the entire waste basket, once the ink cartridge is removed.