Fast Food Packaging Industry Destroying Southern US Forests
By NunoXEI • May 20th, 2008 • Category: BlogAmerica is eating up its forests, literally. In addition to a recent report by the non-profit Dogwood Alliance, a new campaign called No Free Refills has been launched to highlight the fast-food industry’s major role in the deforestation of the Southern forests of the US. Their eye-catching and informative website doesn’t go lightly on “DeluxDeforestation” either, stating that: “Packaging symbolizes the disposable society we have become. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the fast food industry.”
With nearly a 100 paper packaging mills in the region and thousands of restaurants worldwide, fast-food giants such as McDonalds, Wendy’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Arby’s, Quizzno’s and Taco Bell are major consumers of paper products sourced from the area. “Every year millions of pounds of food packaging waste litter our roadways, clog our landfills and spoil our quality of life. Southern forests, the jewel of the American landscape, are being destroyed to bring you fried chicken, burgers and fries, and super-sized convenience in a glut of wrappers, boxes and cups,” says Lauren Barnett, the Alliance Media Outreach coordinator.
The Southern forests of North America are a major source of wood and paper products, supplying 60% of the US and 15% of global markets. This has resulted in a total decline from 356 million acres in colonial times to 182 million acres today, threatening the region’s bio-diversity and its endangered species, not to mention the deterioration of a major carbon sink.
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NunoXEI is Co-Founder of TheGreenRocket.com and self proclaimed internet-surfing-guru. You can find his personal blog at NunoXEI.com, the home of his podcast, The Lowdown, as well as his webcomic, Republic Domain.
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“Packaging symbolizes the disposable society we have become. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the fast food industry.”
Sooooooo true. We are slaves to convenience, having to rinse something out ourselves is quickly becoming an outdated concept.
Don’t you have to reuse your cup for refills though? Or has that been eliminated now for health reasons. It would be interesting to view how many health issues there were from reusing cups and having silverware instead of plastic forks and knives vs. now where all the knives and forks are individually packaged (especially on airplanes), etc. Also what the differences in environmental consequences are for excess packaging vs. rewashing everything.
Did you know that there is a plastic which is both recyclable and biodegradable? It isn’t the well known hydro-biodegradable plastic known as spudware, which is not recyclable. Apparently, spudware is no longer welcome in commercial quantities at compost facilities, according to Whole Foods. See the alternative at: http://biogreenproducts.biz/ .
If you are interested in our products, we would be happy to speak with a representative of your organization.
Thanks,
Tim Dunn
http://biogreenproducts.biz/
360-652-4703