As the world continues to reduce the amount of plastic it uses to better protect the environment, iconic packaging for several products is getting ready to change, including that of American cheese.
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While the individually sliced pieces of cheese — that some argue make for the best grilled cheese— are iconic, new laws being passed in several states could see the individual plastic wrappers banned.
Even with experts pointing to data that suggests removing the packaging will better help the environment, many are pushing back on the change.
Among the main groups digging their heels in are consumers.
This isn’t anything new, as consumers tend to despise change. The most recent example of this came as Costco members were left outraged last month when the bulk retailer stopped using plastic tubs for its rotisserie chickens, instead opting for soft plastic bags.
The change has helped Costco reduce plastic usage by 75% but also left customers frustrated after they claimed they weren’t as sturdy or practical as the thicker tubs.
Sandra Goldmark, a sustainability expert at Columbia University’s Climate School, spoke about the change with The New York Times, noting that consumers aren’t always the quickest to adjust.
“Right now, many of the experiments are not working that well,” Goldmark said. “We haven’t really cracked this nut.”
But, it soon won’t matter what consumers think, as legislation proposed in New York will aim to cut plastic packaging by 50% over the next 12 years.
As part of that legislation, companies would be forced to pay a hefty fine if they aren’t able to comply with greener packaging.
And New York isn’t alone, as similar legislation has been implemented in California, Colorado, Oregon, and Maine, with more discussing the idea of doing away with wasteful packaging.
One of the lead backers of the New York bill, Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics, stressed the need for action while speaking with the New York Post.
“There was a time in America when we didn’t put a piece of plastic between every slice of cheese. They can substitute plastic with paper,” she said.
As for food manufacturers, they shared with the Post that the bill would create “a future where they’re grabbing unwrapped products – from cereals, to cheeses, to hot dogs – from grocery store bins before buying them and carrying them home.”
“There’s no question such a drastic change in shopping habits will reduce the flow of packaging waste to our landfills, but it does so at the risk of ignoring all we’ve gained in food preservation and health benefits with sanitary, air-tight, plastic packaging,” Nelson Eusebio, a representative with the National Association of Supermarkets, told the Post.
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