Vietnamese supermarkets find a-peeling solution to plastic packaging
Banana leaves are being used to reduce plastic supermarket packaging. Photo: Facebook/perfecthomes
Supermarkets in Vietnam have come up with a genius way to reduce plastic packaging: To wrap produce in banana leaves instead.
Big supermarket chains, such as Lotte Mart, Saigon Co.op and Big C, got the idea from a supermarket in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai whose initiative went viral when it was posted to the Facebook page of a Chiang Mai real estate agent.
The idea kicked off in a Thai supermarket. Photo: Facebook/perfecthomes
The use of banana leaves instead of plastic for packaging vegetables is a great way to reduce single-use plastic.
While it appears that some plastic is used for the label, the use of banana leaves greatly reduces the amount of plastic waste generated.
They are simply wrapped in the banana leaf and bound using a length of bamboo.
According to Forbes, of the nine billion tonnes of plastic ever produced, only 9 per cent has been recycled.
The magazine also note that the United Nations Environment Programme estimates that by 2050 there will be 12 billion tonnes of plastic in landfills, the environment and oceans, of which cigarette butts, plastic drinking bottles, food wrappers and plastic grocery bags are the biggest contributors.
