Let’s face it, pollution is a pressing issue that affects all of us. While the government and the public are making efforts to rely less on plastic to reduce pollution, it looks like this supermarket found a simple and effective way to significantly reduce its use of plastic.
Rimping Supermarket in Chiangmai, Thailand, has been getting a lot of attention from thousands of netizens recently after a post on the Perfect Homes Chiangmai Facebook page about its banana leaf packaging went viral.
Well done Veggie first and Rimping. Let's hope there are more great ways to cut plastic!
Posted by Perfect Homes Chiangmai on Thursday, March 21, 2019
The photos, which show fresh produce wrapped in banana leaves, received a lot of praise from netizens, garnering over 15,600 shares on Facebook as of Monday (25th March). While a lot of them praised the environmentally-friendly measure, some also commented that this packaging could also double as compost.
However, some users pointed out that plastic was still being used on some of these vegetables, as seen in one photo of cucumbers. While it is true that some plastic is still being used in this packaging, many agree that this still shows some progress.
While many in Southeast Asia still use banana leaves and/or rubber bands for food packaging in local wet markets, its use has become less frequent in larger supermarkets due to the growing production and sales of single-use plastics. However, with many nations cutting back on these plastics, it appears that the banana leaf is indeed making a huge comeback!
What do you think of this packaging? Should Malaysian supermarkets and hypermarkets adopt this method as well? Let us know in the comments section!
Also read: Ditching Plastic Straws? Try These 6 Alternatives That Are More Eco-Friendly!