Over packaged products and its implications PTE

packaging waste problem

Do you think consumers should avoid over packaged products or it is the responsibility of the producer to avoid extra packaging of products?" Give your views or any relevant example with your own experience.

Whether or not to shy away from over packaged products has always been a controversial topic. I personally believe that producers shall not take on the responsibility regarding over packaging and the consumers should continue buying this type of product. Therefore, I will be pleased to discuss two reasons behind this belief and then support them with my personal examples.

First of all, most of packages these days are recyclable, therefore there is no point to stop purchasing overly packaged products. This is not at all surprising, considering that an increasing number of individual people attempt to promote sustainability; consequently, most packages can be recycled anyway. For example, when I walk into my grocery stores, most of the items that I end up purchasing always has a recycling symbol on them.

Apart from products being recyclable, by over packaging a certain product, it will most likely be well protected which is what most consumers are looking for; no one wants their products to become defective due to lack of packaging. This is especially important to picky, detailed customers as most of them expect the products to be perfect and be delivered safely to their homes. For example, I always end up with defective items as the manufacturer does not package their products properly.

Having discussed the importance of over packaging products, it can be concluded that both consumers and producers should not be against overly packaged products as they are recyclable and well protected. Consequently, I disagree with the statement above.

I somewhat agree with you on that matter. Packaging really helps extend the shelf life of the products especially food items.
As you've said, most packages these days are recyclable and biodegradable so it lessens the negative impact to our environment.
However, over packaging food items which you can consume immediately is a bit annoying. Also, it's a waste of resources, and probably will add cost.

Of course there are some exemptions. When shipping products to distant locations, I would prefer my product to arrive free from defects and spillage. So for me, it depends on the sensitivity of the items. I am not against over packaging. And for me, it is the responsibility of the producer because it's them who will do the packaging. If just packaging is enough to protect the product, then why over package?

Peter, you seem to have gotten a bit confused in your opening statement. You were unclear about simply having a package wrapped in recyclable materials as opposed to packages overwrapped for consumers. If you review the original prompt, there was no indication that the packages being mentioned were in recyclable wrapping. Yet your essay is solely focused on recycled, overwrapped products. You changed the prompt for the discussion. Since the focus of your essay is more on recycled products being overwrapped instead of simply overwrapped products, your answer will be considered selective in discussion topic and response. That means, you will get a lower than average score because of a certain degree of prompt deviation on your part.

An example of an overwrapped product are athletic shoes. Consider how the item is wrapped. There is shrink plastic wrapping the box. The box is then shielded with clear paper on top. The shoes (in some instances) are inside a reusable bag inside the box. When you take the shoes out of the bag, the shoes itself are even contained in shape retaining holders then the shoes are filled with contouring cardboards in order to keep the shape of the foot opening. That is an example of an overwrapped product. Sure the materials used are recyclable, that isn't the issue. The is the fact that before you can even get to the actual product, you have to go through way too much packaging which, as you said is not environmentally friendly.

Now, consider the case of fresh eggs. Eggs are not impact resistant and break if you even so much as place something heavy on top of the egg holder. Yet the eggs are only packaged in either plastic or cardboard containers that do very little to protect it. Shouldn't the producer bear responsibility for the packaging of this breakable item? The shoes aren't going to break and yet it is overprotected in packing. The egg, which breaks easily and has an important function in the sustenance of man, is given inferior packaging. Do you see where I am headed at here? Yes. You misunderstood the prompt to a certain degree.

Consider the types of products sold in overwrapped packaging. Do you believe that all these products should be overwrapped? Maybe some do not need to be that wrapped as in the case of the shoes. You did not take the time to consider all types of packaging considerations for this direct question essay. That is why your answer is selective. Your response in this essay should have been comparative in nature.