July 25, 2019

Packing With Banana Leaves

Listen Later

2 minutes

More and more places are instituting bans on single-use plastic bags. Places like California and Hawaii already have bans in place and New Jersey is considering such a ban. New York’s law will go into effect next March. Supermarkets will no longer provide plastic bags at the checkout line. But the laws have some exceptions, including the plastic bags used to hold produce and to pack up meats.

Banning or reducing single-use plastic bags is a growing trend in Asia

as well including places like South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand.

One supermarket in Thailand came up with a novel approach to

eco-friendly packaging: wrapping produce

in banana leaves. The idea quickly

became a viral hit on social media and drew the attention of supermarkets in

Vietnam. Several big supermarket chains

in that country also began experimenting with banana leaves as a packaging

alternative.

Representatives of Vietnam’s Lotte Mart chain said that the banana

leaf packaging was still in the testing phase, but they plan to replace plastic

with leaves nationwide very soon. Aside

from wrapping vegetables and fruits, the grocery chain intends to also use the

leaves for fresh meat products.

Customers seem to be quite positive about the new packaging noting

that it is actually quite attractive visually.

The banana leaf packaging also makes people more aware of the need for

protecting the environment.

While Vietnam is a relatively small country, it turns out that it

ranks number four in the world for the largest amount of plastic waste dumped

into the ocean. The country disposes of

about 2,500 tons of plastic waste per day. So, efforts like the banana leaf

packaging are not just symbolically important, they are genuinely a major

environmental imperative.

**********

Web Links

Supermarkets in Asia are Now Using Banana Leaves Instead of Plastic Packaging

Photo courtesy of Perfect Homes Chiangmai via Facebook.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

...more

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Earth Wise

By Randy Simon

4.7

1515 ratings

July 25, 2019

Packing With Banana Leaves

Listen Later

2 minutes

More and more places are instituting bans on single-use plastic bags. Places like California and Hawaii already have bans in place and New Jersey is considering such a ban. New York’s law will go into effect next March. Supermarkets will no longer provide plastic bags at the checkout line. But the laws have some exceptions, including the plastic bags used to hold produce and to pack up meats.

Banning or reducing single-use plastic bags is a growing trend in Asia

as well including places like South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand.

One supermarket in Thailand came up with a novel approach to

eco-friendly packaging: wrapping produce

in banana leaves. The idea quickly

became a viral hit on social media and drew the attention of supermarkets in

Vietnam. Several big supermarket chains

in that country also began experimenting with banana leaves as a packaging

alternative.

Representatives of Vietnam’s Lotte Mart chain said that the banana

leaf packaging was still in the testing phase, but they plan to replace plastic

with leaves nationwide very soon. Aside

from wrapping vegetables and fruits, the grocery chain intends to also use the

leaves for fresh meat products.

Customers seem to be quite positive about the new packaging noting

that it is actually quite attractive visually.

The banana leaf packaging also makes people more aware of the need for

protecting the environment.

While Vietnam is a relatively small country, it turns out that it

ranks number four in the world for the largest amount of plastic waste dumped

into the ocean. The country disposes of

about 2,500 tons of plastic waste per day. So, efforts like the banana leaf

packaging are not just symbolically important, they are genuinely a major

environmental imperative.

**********

Web Links

Supermarkets in Asia are Now Using Banana Leaves Instead of Plastic Packaging

Photo courtesy of Perfect Homes Chiangmai via Facebook.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

...more