A not-so-peachy amount of plastic waste

Every summer, I look forward to peach season here. They're a fruit that is fairly easily accessible in my home country, but Japanese ones taste so much better. In saying that, I still can't get used to how heavily packaged they are (it's not like this in Australia!) even though I’ve been here for years now.

You've got the individual soft foam netting to keep them from bruising, then they're usually arranged on a plastic or styrofoam tray. That tray is almost always wrapped again in plastic film, sometimes with a small cardboard sleeve advertising the orchard they're from or the variety. If you buy them as a gift (since premium fruit is a popular gifting item), then the wrapping becomes even more elaborate.

Plastic on plastic...you get pristine peaches, but it's not ideal for the environment.

I do think there's some logic to it, since the over the top packaging prevents waste through spoilage. Peaches are expensive here, so the protective wrapping makes sure that every peach arrives at its destination in pristine condition...but does a dinged up peach really alter the taste that much?

We had a monthly blogging theme on City-Cost a few years ago about sustainability, and I think this is an area that Japan can definitely do better in. I think there's often the perception that there are super meticulous recycling systems here, but at the end of the day I think a lot of the packaging just ends up getting burned.