Too much packaging waste: An open letter to Costco

Dear Costco,

I am a long-time loyal customer of of yours, but there's something that's been bugging me that I have to get off my chest. It has to do with the environmentally unfriendly amount of excess packaging used on many of your products—especially, surprisingly, some of your produce. Take, for example, the somewhat artsy photo above of a package of six mangos. Was it really necessary to use so much hard plastic?

I have also seen 24-packs of Apples, packed in 2-foot-long plastic monstrosities that will cut you if you're not careful. The thing barely fit in my recycling can, and left room for very little else.

Yes, I know, we can recycle much of your packaging, and my town does pick up separated materials for recycling. But I have news for you: There is a glut of separated recycle materials and a small, dwindling market for it. My town, like too many others, is simply forced to dump our carefully separated and boxed recyclables in the same dump as the rest of our garbage. We're going through the motions so that if, one day, the demand for recyclable plastics and metals returns, we won't forget how to separate our stuff.

Why not simply put your produce in bins and provide thin plastic (or better yet, PLA biodegradable) bags and let your customers bag what they want? It would greatly reduce waste. And since you do such a massive amount of business, you can use your clout to lean on your suppliers to make them come up with more environmentally responsible packaging.

And that brings up another, related bone of contention: bottled water. Your bottled water is clogging up landfill and polluting the landscape. I urge you to consider the packaging approach taken by Glacia, which packs its Icebox water in recyclable, renewable and compostable material. People are carting out your bottled water 36 bottles at a time...imagine how much landfill you can save by using this product instead. (In fact, wouldn't it be great if all bottled water makers followed their packaging lead?)
I hope management at Costco, whose creativity and marketing savvy have made you a retail giant, will take a leading role in reducing wasteful packaging. You can start with Mangos. And water.

Sincerely,
Mason Resnick