"recyclable" news and stories

A southern environmental organization is asking KFC to kick buckets made with trees from endangered forests out of its packaging repertoire.

"We've linked KFC's packaging to the destruction of wetlands forest in the mid-Atlantic," says Dogwood Alliance's executive director Danna Smith. "We're calling on KFC to increase its use of post-consumer recycled paper, reduce its use of paper and put recycling bins in its restaurants."

A spokesman for KFC did not return a call seeking comment, but directed Slashfood to a web page the company has created in response to Dogwood Alliance's allegations. According to the web site, all of KFC's paper bags are made from 100-percent post-industrial and post-consumer recycled content, while 30 percent of its bucket lids meet the same standard.

Fast-food restaurants get a ton of flak. For one thing, there's the food -- not-so-affectionately referred to as junk. However, the industry is increasingly criticized for creating actual garbage -- takeout requires disposable packaging, and that packaging tends to be disposed of in landfills. Where it sits. And sits. And, especially in the case of polystyrene containers, continues to sit -- for eons.

One notoriously progressive city is looking to change that. Beginning this July, all fast-food joints in Seattle will be required to use recyclable or compostable wrappers, containers, and cups, reports the Seattle PI. The Seattle City Council report was clear in its reasoning; according to the official statement, packaging waste creates "significant adverse impacts on the environment," and the cost associated with polystyrene products "creates burdens on the City's solid waste disposal system." Furthermore, the report states that Seattle is "a national leader among cities in greenhouse gas reduction and seeks to further that effort through waste reduction and increased recycling." All signs point to compostable, recyclable packaging.

Coca Cola is now selling 12-ounce plastic bottles of its products, the same size as the classic cans, but conveniently resealable. I have heard heated debates whether the soda tastes better in bottles or cans. I usually prefer Coke in cans to Coke in bottles, because I can't drink the whole bottle before the soda becomes flat. 20-ounces of soda are too much for me most of the time.  If you like the convenience (or flavor) of bottled Coke, but find that the 20-ounce size is too large for you to finish or too difficult to cram in your lunchbox, keep an eye out for these little guys at supermarkets and superstores in your area.

[Photo by Nicole Weston]