If you thought this was going to be a post about food…sorry. It’s a tech post about an innovative way of creating foam packaging [amongst other things] out of, yes, popcorn. 🙂
You can find the full article here: https://newatlas.com/environment/popcorn-expanded-polystyrene-foam/?utm_source=New+Atlas+Subscribers&utm_campaign=b2daaabfa4-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_11_18_11_54&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-b2daaabfa4-92416841
Climate change is too big for any one person to do much about, but if we all demanded non-plastic packaging, we might clean up those garbage patches in the oceans.
I’m still getting supermarket stuff home delivered [about 4 weeks until I’m fully vaccinated], and the thing I hate the most is that the packer puts each kind of fruit and veg. into a separate plastic bag. Back when I did my own choosing, all my fruit and veg went straight into the trolley or straight into one of my own bags. I know that’s not possible now, but… -sigh-
Anyway, I’m looking forward to edible packaging. 🙂
Meeks
Meeka's Mind 
November 22nd, 2021 at 3:26 pm
Bring on those shots! 😀 … of vaccine, and caffeine! 😀
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November 23rd, 2021 at 9:28 am
-grin- Amen! I think I’ll live dangerously and have a double latte! 😀
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November 26th, 2021 at 7:22 pm
You wild thing! 😀
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November 27th, 2021 at 9:21 am
-blush- I know. 😀
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November 22nd, 2021 at 5:40 am
Edible packaging? What a concept. I love that. Package in rice and beans? Too heavy, I guess. Popcorn works. Or Cheese Puffs. 🙂 Congrats on being close to getting vaccinated!
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November 22nd, 2021 at 8:54 am
I could see Rice Bubbles working. 😉 And thanks. If all goes well I should be done just in time for xmas. Maybe I’ll even get that latte. 🙂
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November 22nd, 2021 at 9:01 am
Wow. That’s awesome. First draft? Or done?
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November 22nd, 2021 at 9:13 am
Oh! No…:( I means fully vaxxed. Sorry, just having my first coffee of the day. I haven’t been doing anything creative lately. Just mowing, mowing, mowing.
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November 22nd, 2021 at 9:24 am
Hahaha. Oh, Haha. I forgot that you’re heading into Summer! And congrats on the vax! You’ll feel so much more secure. 🙂
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November 22nd, 2021 at 11:15 am
-facepalm- Just realised how garbled my answer was. I really don’t do well without coffee. And yes, I can almost taste the freedom. 🙂
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November 22nd, 2021 at 1:03 pm
It’s my brain. It goes right to book and stories regardless of what anyone else is talking about. 🙂
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November 23rd, 2021 at 9:30 am
-giggles- First laugh of the day. kaching! You are a true writer. 😉
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November 23rd, 2021 at 11:26 am
Hehe
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November 21st, 2021 at 7:26 am
I have this vision of people buying a product and then being able to crumble up the packaging and go to the cinema… 🙂 On matters of eco-packing, I bought a new vacuum-cleaner a while back and was very pleased to find it packaged in moulded and unbleached cardboard – all fully recyclable and hopefully made from renewable softwoods. Admirable shift from polystyrene.
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November 21st, 2021 at 8:54 am
Aaaaah! Given how much paper simply goes to waste, it’s great to see that some of it is being recycled into useful things. And that takes care of Alicia’s concerns about rats too! lol
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November 21st, 2021 at 12:46 am
Yes… the time for edible, bio-degradable packing materials is NOW! I just got a package from a museum. None of the items were breakable and yet they were packed with plastic bubble wrap.Why?
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November 21st, 2021 at 9:06 am
-facepalm- Why indeed???? That’s insane. It’s as if we’ve been conditioned to believe that all that packaging is a necessity. I guess retailers don’t want to have to refund customers for goods that arrive broken but…when they’re unbreakable? Just crazy.
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November 20th, 2021 at 9:04 pm
I ordered some glass jars last week from Ikea and I am happy to report that there was not one bit of plastic to be seen anywhere in the packing or on my glass jars but I do believe Ikea have been ahead of game for a number of years and it applies here….happy face…
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November 21st, 2021 at 9:07 am
Oh! So what were they wrapped in? And I wonder if our local Ikea do the same here? I need some glass jars too.
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November 21st, 2021 at 9:31 am
All brown paper I was well impressed plus they are cheaper from them than some of the other places.. If they are not using plastic packaging here I’m guessing its a universal policy with them.. By the way loved the popcorn idea its great. ..big smile…
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November 22nd, 2021 at 9:06 am
I haven’t bought anything from Ikea in…decades! I think I might do some digital window shopping. 😀
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November 22nd, 2021 at 9:09 am
Neither had I until I purchased these and I was impressed with both the prices and the packaging 🙂 Enjoy your window shopping 🙂
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November 22nd, 2021 at 9:12 am
Good morning! I actually need some new glass jars so thanks for the heads up. 😀
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November 22nd, 2021 at 9:18 am
Good Morning(5..17)am here thats the trouble early to bed and early to rise but I love early mornings …smile x
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November 22nd, 2021 at 11:17 am
I’m not that fond of early mornings but as I get older I find I wake with the sun, and that’s that. The one good thing is that in summer I can do the watering and/or mowing while it’s still nice and cool. 🙂
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November 22nd, 2021 at 11:18 am
Absolutely… 😉
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November 23rd, 2021 at 9:33 am
🙂
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November 20th, 2021 at 8:37 pm
are you sure you can’t put in a request for reduced packaging in your shopping requirements (probably along with the substitution settings) I haven’t had any supermarket deliveries for a while – living in a city, with a husband working in a supermarket has meant that I’ve not wanted to use any of the slots, but last time I did place an online grocery shop, I was able to request that, and it meant all my loose veg came in one box. The driver had to hang around for a moment whilst I emptied the box for them to take back, but it would simply mean they’d bring that one in first, allowing me to empty it whilst they went back for the next. And i hate to point out Australia being behind the times again, but bio-puffed packaging has been in use for decades over here. Not for everything, and I expect it’s only used for the final bit of the shipping to the end user because of the risk of insects/rodents etc, but it’s compostable and that’s very handy.
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November 21st, 2021 at 9:10 am
I would LOVE to have all my veggies placed in a box. Sadly that is not an option here. One of the big supermarkets I get deliveries from does offer to take back the bags but I keep forgetting to put them out in time. The boot of my car is full of ’em. Must remember to take them out next time…
As for Australia being behind…-hangs head-… All I can say is that not all Australians are like the waste-of-oxygen pretending to be PM. 😦
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November 23rd, 2021 at 8:03 pm
I know, although I’ve only visited WA, which, on our first few visits in 1999 and 2003 was how I imagined the 1950’s in attitude !!!
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November 24th, 2021 at 12:23 pm
lmao – WA and Queensland have always been seen as a bit behind the times, at least by those of us in Melbourne and Sydney! Apologies to all Queenslanders and those from WA! Given the pandemic situation, there was a wee bit of envy in that comment. 😀
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November 23rd, 2021 at 8:06 pm
ps, (wish I could edit my comments!) when we went again a couple of years the attitudes – to race, equality, environment etc had come on in light years, so I expect that they’ve overtaken us now, and it’s practically utopia!! and – I thought you might be interested in this.. https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/72612794/posts/3675486264
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November 24th, 2021 at 12:36 pm
During the pandemic, WA and QLD have seemed like a bit of a utopia to us Melbournites. Back to the original question, Australia predominantly votes for conservative govts, at least at the Federal level. That has meant the maintenance of the status quo. As a result we’ve been slow to implement a lot of things, including ways to ameliorate climate change. Luckily the states have proved to be a lot more forward thinking.
I had a look at that jewellery and I suspect the style is much more Austro than Hungarian. I don’t know much about Hungarian jewellery but I know my Aunt liked the Biedermeier style and I actually have a black enamel locket that she gave me. In porcelain, Herendi is what I grew up with:
https://www.artedona.com/en/Brands/Herend/
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November 24th, 2021 at 8:53 pm
that’s gorgeous. Thank you.
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November 25th, 2021 at 12:58 pm
Glad you liked them. 😀
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November 20th, 2021 at 8:22 pm
Edible, or at least compostable, packaging sounds like a dream. Here in Switzerland, home deliveries are so over-packaged it breaks my heart. Yet the few times I’ve actually tried ordering ‘direct from the farm’ they still managed to break all the eggs! Hope you enjoy getting back to the shops when fully vaxxed.
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November 21st, 2021 at 9:12 am
It’s weird, isn’t it? And yes, I have to big dreams post-vaxx: order and drink a latte at a cafe and…choose my own fruit and veg. -sigh- getting closer now but still a number of weeks off.
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November 20th, 2021 at 7:50 pm
There is really no longer any excuse for shops not to use paper bags for fruit and veg. After all, it used to work perfectly well before.
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November 21st, 2021 at 9:14 am
I know!!!!! Hi Mick. I’m old enough to remember going to the green grocer with my Mum and having our fruit and veg placed in paper bags. Plastic bags were unheard of. Gawd…I’m really starting to sound like one of those little old ladies reminiscing about the past, aren’t I? But dammit, those paper bags were /good/.
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November 21st, 2021 at 5:38 pm
And there’s no reason why they can’t be used now. Some greengrocers do. Our baker does.
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November 22nd, 2021 at 9:01 am
Some of the independent green grocers have paper bags as an option. I always use them but I’m always surprised by how many people don’t.
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November 22nd, 2021 at 7:27 pm
Largely habit, I suspect.
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November 23rd, 2021 at 9:26 am
Could be, could be. I know I was very resistant to shopping with my own bags initially. lol I even petitioned the local supermarket to bring back the old paper carry bags. Ahem. Once I started though, it quickly became easy. Just another habit. 🙂
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November 23rd, 2021 at 7:18 pm
Indeed. It’s what you’re used to.
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November 24th, 2021 at 12:36 pm
Yup. Luckily habits aren’t /that/ hard to change when you have to. 🙂
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November 20th, 2021 at 1:45 pm
Edible packaging has one major flaw: it’s edible. To bugs, rats, squirrels. Unless you irradiate it or something, it has a MUCH shorter shelf life than other modern packing materials we hate – but which work very well for longevity.
Modern materials but with a designated lifetime may be better – our plastic bags degrade within a specified time. Best you’re not using them when that happens, but much better for the environment.
People don’t remember how bad rats are.
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November 20th, 2021 at 2:44 pm
Hmm…I must admit I hadn’t thought of rats. The article mentions feeding to animals after use so clearly any animal attracted to corn would find it edible. Storing stuff in edible packaging would definitely become a problem in large open warehouses where rats could easily gain access. That would be a problem.
I don’t think it’s actually possible to make plastic degrade like that, mores the pity.
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November 20th, 2021 at 5:05 pm
Yes, it is. You make linkages with molecules which are photosensitive; exposed to sunlight, the break up into simpler pieces. You do have to have the light.
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November 20th, 2021 at 7:25 pm
Does that apply to all plastics or just some? And could they be made /more/ photosensitive?
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November 20th, 2021 at 7:28 pm
Just specially designed ones. California enforces all kinds of environmental laws, including this one. Manufacturers comply because all by itself it’s a bigger economy than many country’s.
The bags themselves are very thin and flimsy; they do the job but not for years – just for long enough to get groceries home.
We use them to line our kitchen compost bin, and to take the contents down to the big composting bin in the basement.
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November 21st, 2021 at 9:16 am
Aaah. Yes, California has been ahead of the game for a long time now. What I can’t understand is why we can’t have paper bags instead. As Mick pointed out, we used to have them and they worked just fine. We don’t actually need plastic of any sort. 😦
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November 21st, 2021 at 10:15 am
Wet paper – not good. Wet plastic – still strong. Even the flimsy bags, loaded, do better when wet.
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November 22nd, 2021 at 9:05 am
Yes but…I remember when pork chops were wrapped in a couple of sheets of butchers’ paper and they were fine until we got home. Obviously really wet stuff you wouldn’t put in paper – say marinated olives – but they’d go in a different kind of container anyway.
If we started from the point that plastic use must stop, we’d quickly find ways of getting around the occasions when plastic really is better..imho. 😉
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November 20th, 2021 at 1:38 pm
Edible packaging ~ way to go! And if eating popcorn is not your thing, then it would definitely be compostable. I have an image of the worms watching movies with big buckets of popcorn!
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November 20th, 2021 at 2:45 pm
LMAO! That made me smile. Unfortunately, Alicia has a point – I’m sure rats would enjoy it too. Bit of a conundrum.
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November 20th, 2021 at 10:48 am
I remember using popcorn for packaging, and the popcorn was edible. Plastic bags were (banned) in some towns, but the banning was tabled because of Covid. I have NO idea the reasoning there.
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November 20th, 2021 at 2:47 pm
Really?? Wow. So it’s not that new. And yes, plastic bags were banned here too before covid. We had just gotten used to taking our own reusable bags every time we went shopping and bang, suddenly it wasn’t possible any more [at least during lockdowns]. The reasoning was/is to reduce points of contact.
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November 21st, 2021 at 5:16 am
I am sick and damn tired of Covid rules…I think they make it up as they go along! We do most of our grocery shopping at Aldi, supplying our own bags, and/or as I like to do…pack groceries in cardboard boxes that are readily available as displays are emptied. (I use the boxes for all sorts of things.) As for the ubiquitous plastic bags, which other stores use, I use them for lining trash cans like in the bathroom, etc. I always cut the straps to eliminate the loop which might otherwise end up around some poor bird’s neck half way around the world.
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November 21st, 2021 at 9:02 am
Melbourne has endured the longest lockdowns of any city in the world. We’re all at breaking point, and yet, what’s the alternative? Evidence from Europe shows that vaccination isn’t the magic bullet everyone hoped it would be. 😦
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November 22nd, 2021 at 2:30 am
About half of the population refuses to be vaccinated. Their right to refuse ends where my right to live without disease ends. Bah humbug!
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November 22nd, 2021 at 8:58 am
Yes. Yes. Yes. It seems we’ve all forgotten that freedom is not absolute unless you’re living on a deserted island with only a monkey for company.
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