It’s very likely that if you look around right now, you’ll see at least a few plastic items nearby. (Unless you enjoy reading Bored Panda in the serenity of a forest or some other place yet unspoiled by a human’s touch.) That is because nowadays plastic is everywhere around us, from gadgets to school supplies, decor items, and furniture, among many other things. As a matter of fact, we use it so much that global plastic consumption has increased six-fold since the 1980s.

We put our food in plastic boxes, things in plastic bags, even cover ourselves with plastic if need be (a poncho on a rainy day can surely come in handy). While these plastic items can be reusable, some can’t; and to make matters worse, they might also be completely unnecessary. Today, we have listed pictures of some of the most excruciatingly useless plastic packaging, which you can find below; but beware, they might make you reasonably upset with where the world is headed.

In order to learn more about plastic and its impact on the environment, Bored Panda got in touch with an expert in plastics production and processing, Professor at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, John Vlachopoulos, and he was kind enough to answer a few of our questions. You will find his thoughts in the text below.

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#1 We Ordered Two Paint Pens From Staples

The absurdity of such packaging is often summed up in jokes saying “if only there was a natural way to safeguard this item” and referring to a peeled banana covered in plastic wrap; and unfortunately, there are quite a few examples of such packaging.

Fruits and vegetables peeled of their natural protective layer only to be covered in an artificial one doesn’t really make sense, right? It’s not cheaper, it’s not more environmentally friendly, or more delicious, so why are they sold like that?

Well, there is one solid reason for the pre-peeled or pre-cut and then packaged foods. It’s important to note that some people, the elderly or the disabled community, for instance, do benefit from such items, as they might find it difficult to peel or cut fruits and vegetables themselves. Yet, unfortunately, it’s not only food that tends to be wrapped in plastic, and often, quite excessively.

#2 This Is How I Received My New Sim Card In The Mail

#3 Plastic Packaging For A CD Disk, But Without A CD Disk In It

Professor Emeritus at the Department of Chemical Engineering at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada and expert in plastics production and processing, John Vlachopoulos, suggested that excessive packaging is most commonly used for marketing purposes.

“Excessive and fancy packaging makes products appear of higher quality than they really are,” he told Bored Panda in a recent interview. “Such packaging materials are frequently thrown away, and they end up in rivers, lakes and oceans. They are not really recyclable.”

#4 Ordered 20 Iron Nails. They Came Individually Packed In Plastic

#5 Individually Wrapped Peppers That Are Used For Salad And Pre-Cut Into 1/4s Just To Have To Be Cut Again Into Smaller Pieces

The fact that a large portion of plastic packaging can’t be recycled makes it a problem of unfathomable gravity, considering the amount of such plastic that is thrown away. Data provided by WRAP, a climate action NGO, shows that roughly 141 million tons of plastic packaging is produced globally each year, which has to end up somewhere.

As Prof. Vlachopoulos pointed out, it often ends up in rivers, lakes, and oceans, endangering all sorts of aquatic species. (To make matters worse, according to WRAP, plastic production, use, and disposal affects air pollution, too, by contributing to carbon emissions by 1.8 billion tonnes annually.)

According to Plastic Oceans International, a US-based non-profit, roughly ten tons of plastic are dumped into our oceans every year. To put it into perspective, that’s a garbage truck load of it every minute.

#6 HelloFresh Packed 5 Cloves Of Garlic Separately In 5 Plastic Bags

#7 Disposable Masks In Styrofoam And Plastic Wrap For $1 Only

#8 Reusable Bag… Sold Inside Styrofoam Tray And Plastic Wrap

Plastic Oceans International also revealed that as much as half of the plastics produced every year are made for single-use purposes. That means they are used for a few brief seconds, but then left—be it in an ocean, a landfill, or elsewhere—for hundreds of years to come.

Unfortunately, basically everyone—myself included—is adding to the problem of the baffling amount of plastics, and other packaging materials, that are discarded every year. Back in 2021, EU reports estimated that every inhabitant of 27 European Union Member States and some non-EU member countries, generated roughly 189 kilograms of packaging waste.

Paper and cardboard reportedly comprised the largest part of such packaging waste, adding up to 34.0 million tons in 2021, followed by plastics (16.1 million tons) and glass (15.6 million tons).

#9 Packaging For Pre-Peeled Bananas

#10 Costco Anti-Wrinkle Abomination

#11 Why Is The Ocean Filling Up With Plastic?

Considering that each and every one of us contributes to the problem of (plastic) waste, we can at least determine the extent to which we are willing to do it (even if fully withdrawing from using plastic nowadays is close to impossible).

According to John Vlachopoulos, even though boycotting such things as excessive plastic packaging can be quite difficult to implement, reducing the consumption of plastic—or everything else, for that matter—can be a good idea.

But the expert emphasized that the solution to the global problem is not only reducing consumption, but—most importantly—minimizing the impact on the environment; and one of the ways to do it is recycling.

“In Norway the plastic water (PET) bottles are over 97% recycled, while in the EU about 60% and about 30% in the USA. People should stop throwing cigarette butts in the streets, too, as they will end up in lakes, rivers, and oceans,” he pointed out.

#12 Coles Need To Get It Together. A “New” Pointless Plastic Product. 5 Individual Plastic Bottles Wrapped In Plastic

We can recycle as much as we like, but as long as corporations don’t change, we don’t stand a chance. This planet is doomed.

#13 Saw Somebody Post A Pic Of Plastic-Wrapped Potatoes. I Raise To You, Plastic-Wrapped Coconuts

#14 14 Pieces Of Unnecessary Packaging And “Freebies” For A Tiny 15 Ml Spray From Paco Rabanne

Dr. Vlachopoulos continued to note that it’s not only the visible items, such as said cigarette butts and truck loads of trash, that end up in bodies of water, but small plastic particles, too. That’s why he emphasized that things such as minimizing microplastics from washing machines can have an impact on the level of water pollution.

“I recently bought a washer-dryer, and the dryer has a screen for collecting lint. There is no trap for the microplastics shedding each time I wash my clothes, though,” the expert shared.

“About 30% of microplastics in the oceans and lakes are from washing clothes, 30% from car tires. There are some contraptions that can be applied to laundry machines, but they’re difficult to find and use. Legislation by governments is needed; no washing machine should be sold without a trap for microplastics.”

#15 Ordered 5 Nail Polishes From Amazon

#16 Individually Wrapped Gummy Bears

#17 Hypocrites At Sobeys Grocery Store In Halifax, Nova Scotia

Even if they don’t have a microplastic-catching contraption on their washing machines, people understand the severity of the microplastic problem. Statistics show that the vast majority of them—83% to be exact—strongly or somewhat agree that such particles pose a serious environmental issue.

Nowadays, people seem to be more and more mindful of their impact on the environment in general, as well as willing to take action personally to combat related challenges.

#18 Fruits That Are Already Protected Naturally, Wrapped In Plastic

#19 This Is How We’re Suffocating The Earth In Plastic

#20 If Only Nature Would Find A Way To Cover These Tomatoes So We Wouldn’t Waste So Much Plastic On Them

The director of the food waste program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, Elizabeth Balkan, pointed out that lately, there have been powerful shifts in consumer awareness regarding single use-items, such as straws and bags.

“People are starting to see that the dependence we’ve formed on these things—we can undo it, if we wish to. And not having them—it might not make our lives any harder or more complicated; it could even make them much better,” she told National Geographic.

#21 Ordered A Replacement Bolt From Trek, This Is The Amount Of Packaging It Came In

#22 Just Why

#23 Why Is There So Much Packaging For A Single Claritin? Isn’t This Wasteful?

It’s not only individual effort that is changing the situation one straw at a time, as entire countries are taking action to combat the problem, too; and it seems to be working (to some extent, at least).

Green News reports that more than 100 countries now have full or partial bans on single-use plastic bags. In the nearly a decade between 2010 and 2019, the number of public policies seeking to phase out plastic carryout bags has tripled.

#24 Not Only Is It Egregious, But It’s Infuriating

#25 The Marshmallows In This Bag Come Individually Wrapped

#26 My School Started An Eco-Friendly Project By Giving Out Apples To Students

According to Prof. John Vlachopoulos, the old adage ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ is always modern, which is why caring for the environment shouldn’t be just a short-term trend.

If you’re looking for ways to help make our planet a more livable place for both humans and other species likewise, or if you would like to learn more about the wonderful eco-friendly initiatives out there, check out Bored Panda’s piece on a community dedicated to environmentally friendly matters to find both.

#27 This Aluminum Can Comes Wrapped In Plastic

#28 Ordered 150 Washers. This Is How They Were Packaged

#29 My Eco-Friendly Packaged Toothpicks Are Individually Wrapped In Plastic

#30 These “Save Our Planet” Cups Are Individually Sealed In Plastic At Our Hotel

#31 Xfinity Was Giving Away Reusable Straws At An Art Fest. The Straw Is Wrapped In Plastic, Then Put In A Cheap Velvet Pouch, Then Wrapped In Plastic Again. Way To Save The Environment Xfinity

#32 All Of This For One Purse (Cat For Scale)

#33 Hello Fresh Sent My Carrots For One Meal In 8 Separately Sealed Plastic Bags

#34 Purchased A Year’s Worth Of Zinc Tablets Online. To My Surprise, I Got 6 Bottles Instead Of 1. These Pills Must Be Pretty Big, I Thought

Well… No. The bottles were 90% empty. All 360 tablets fit in a single bottle. What a waste.

#35 Individually Packed Olives My Roommate Bought

#36 Why Does This Garlic Have A Plastic Wrapper?

#37 Such A Waste Of Plastic

#38 The Amount Of Packaging Amazon Used For A Single Box Of Brita Filters

#39 Even My Toddlers Were Like “Father, This Seems Rather Egregious For Three Plastic Boards You Ordered At The Same Time From Amazon”

#40 A Very Special Tomato I Guess

#41 I Ordered 20 Books And All Arrived Individually Packaged. 3 Are Still Missing

#42 My Chef Saved $2.50/300 Units If They Come Individually Wrapped. So I Spent The First Hour Of My Shift Unwrapping Them

#43 If Only Oranges Came With Their Own Protective Packaging So We Didn’t Have To Use Plastic

#44 Individually Wrapped Lemon Slices

#45 The Amount Of Packaging Required For Me To Buy The Additional Equipment I Need To Use My iPhone

All of this would have come in the phone’s box five years ago, but Apple decided to stop including them to cut down on packaging and waste.

#46 The Amount Of Unnecessary Plastic That This Toy Package Has

#47 This Needlessly Large Packaging For A 20 Mm Sized Micro SD Card

#48 Costco Sells A Tiny Sachet Of Saffron In A Bulk-Sized Spice Container

#49 Why? For What Reason? To What Possible Advantage?

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