for more information about stanelco click on the links.

driver's research page link
http://www.moneyam.com/InvestorsRoom/posts.php?tid=7681#lastread
website link
http://www.stanelco.co.uk/index.htm

does that not mean they'll try to use less and less packaging of any kind, thus boosting their profits immeasurably?

Yes cynic i think your right on certain lines. But on food i dont think you can cut corners. Ive normally shop at Tescos because of convience, but i do get an awful lot of lines like chicken breasts as an example, where the seal is broken or torn. If a supermarket offered me a better guarantee on their packaging i would change to that shop, Even if it meant travelling slightly further.Trust me Its a right pain in ass getting home from a shop to find that the item your going to cook for dinner that night has a split seal, and you have to take it back to shop.

of course, if you bought your meat and fish and veg at "proper" shops, then you would not only be supporting small traders (their quality has to be right of course), who are the backbone of maintaining diversity in our high streets, but assuredly you would find that they use less packaging of any kind!

I do support my local shops & farm for that matter. But the supermarkets aren`t going away and its their packaging that needs to improve.

Of course we could all go gathering nuts berries and roots and bringing down the odd antelope. That would be really green! No transportation costs or refrigeration or storage or shop heating and lighting or...................

don't be an ******** ....one on this thread already is quite enough!

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Serious point. Where does one stop and reverse the things we already have???
How does one quantify green-ness. The packaging is but a very small part of the overall concept as was pointed out to me by my imaginary friend some 8 months ago while I discussed the trials with him.
How green is an unwashed potato that has come from a farm that cakes everything in insecticides and fertilisers and ships them hundreds of miles in gas guzzling lorries compared to a heavily packaged spud from a carbon neutral farm shipped 2 miles direct to a supermarket??
Nothing is ever clear cut and simple. Except a few posters.

Cynic,

I also shop for many items locally, but due to convenience am a regular Supermarket customer.
Also due to cost many cant afford local shop prices.
As to packaging at local shops, my local village store offers all customers a carrier bag for the smallest single item, so it can be more not less waste.
I like many take my own carrier bag but many just except whats given.
As to Hewittaland's comments...I think they were meant tongue in cheek.

in my opinion, there is still a huge amount of unnecessary packaging on both food and dry goods ..... something very simple and sort of small, but easy nevertheless ..... look underneath a yoghurt or ice-cream carton ..... there is a significant "lip" whose only purpose is to make it appear that the customer is getting more than he is.

avocados (for example) are regularly packed in pairs (sorry about the pun!), with the tray being moulded polystyrene or similar + of course wrap thereafter ..... if the tray is really necessary (questionable in itself), then why not cardboard, like the stuff they use inside cases of wine?

Cynic,

Re the excess packaging of which there is far too much, I do fully agree.
There has to be a balance between less packaging and more re-cycling, including biodegradable.
Many items are packed for necessity, re health, freshness and protection.

moulded "plastic" trays are a classic especially for the likes of avocados which come wrapped as nature intended!

Very much Toungue in cheek, Greek.
But it does show that we are ALL applying our own standards of what constitutes Green, when in truth, the only standards that apply are the majorities perception and the supermarkets decision, which will be based on saleability and profitability. I would argue that doing away altogether with packaging may increase profitabilty dramatically, but the effects on salability would be disastrous.
Alan

After last nights excesses I am very green at the moment..............never again, orange juice for ever, er.............have another night out tonight, can I stick to orange juice?

I have to agree Alan, that doing away with packaging would be disastrous, but only as far as the supermarkets are concerned, cleverly packaged goods which stand out on the shelves will attract buyers very quickly, if they were presented without packaging there would a lot of dithering by the customers which would hold up the rapid flow through of the customers. Small shops however, would benefit from less packaging as customers of that type of shopping scenario like to spend time browsing and deciding which product they would like to buy more by seeing the product 'naked' (the product that is!) not hidden by colourful packaging which states that the contents are second to none.

supermarkets like prepackaging stuff as they then get away with charging a significant and unwarranted premium .... have a look at the price per kg for plastic bags of say potatoes, and the comparative price for exactly the same variety etc etc , including being washed, when sold loose ..... I am afraid my wife allows herself to get suckered in this way

The last line says it all really. The great British public want packaging and will pay a premium for it. Its a no brainer for the supermarkets. Give them what they want and charge a bit extra anyway.

What's all this? Cynic making intelligent comments and referring to himself as the only arsehole? Disappointing though to compare the ASDA comments with those from Leahy of Tesco. Particularly as they have the Stenalco lead - I can see Tesco or M&S beating them to the punch. What has become clear is that a major drag on take-up of GreenSeal is the fact that many (most?) suppliers cover several supermarket chains. In other words, the initial breakthrough will be from particular suppliers leading to a pull-through from customers. That in turn leads to Stenalco become an industry standard! By gum, I am working myself up to buying some more!

Eric

All i was trying to say is that the everyday joe bloggs, Who shops in supermarkets wants better packaging. That which stanelco can supply, So maybe some arsehole somewhere will see this and do something about it. Rather than sitting with his head up his own!, like some people.
Bye

Eric ... you know the story about infinite monkies etc etc ..... clearly applies to me too!

by the way, the answer to the point i raised in 23696 is 0.99 per kg of small washed new spuds ..... 1.99 / 2.98 .... and the justification is ...... some mugs will still buy the pre-packaged!

The real issue here should be SEO and their inability to move further than providing a few execs a free day out looking at boxes. Eric has drilled into the matter - it is the packaging machines that determin what the supermarket gets...unless one supermarket wants something very specific, most cakes (for example) will be made in one factory and it is the boxes that give the "brand", although there will be variations in the ingredients etc.
unfortunately SEO got to the wrong-end and spent time talking to ASDA who really can't influence the packing machinery as much (say) as Mr Kipling. However as with all established processes it isn't easy to break with tradition (there being so many vested interests and JobsWorths about), so I suppose we have to be grateful SEO is still in business; for it amazes me that a company can take so long to do so little.
If I treated cutting the lawn with such indifference, it would be lush meadow by now.....with no hope of ever cutting it with my B&D electric.
I just hope SEO has started..........

I'm not convinced that Mrs cynic is wrong to buy vegetables pre-packed - very often the veg are near the start of shopping (in Tesco, anyway), so if you handle the loose spuds, you get dirty hands. So much better to buy a bag of spuds then you can move on quickly. I haven't noticed a price-difference but now you mention it, I'll check. I will agree the "peeled" versions (carrots) are more expensive, but usually in smaller quantities, so for a quickie-meal it saves time. Obviously if cynic's family is large, then the loose veg will save money long-term. I'm quite a bargain-hunter myself and I find the variation week-week is enough to dictate my buying of potatoes. Once home I cut the bag open and put it in a large black-bag. This allows the spuds to breathe in darkness.

However, I thought SEO packing was about meat...and very few customers want product that others have turned-over. Hence the packing is an essential element. What SEO can eliminate is the vast quantities of plastic trays.....that's their claim, but sadly I haven't seen any of their products to know-so. It is typical of companies to approach the market from the "wrong-end" pavkaging will be consumer-driven* and the fiasco over machinery is just the tip of a larger measure of incompetance....er, IMHO.

Has anyone (here) seen/touched SEO material?
/
Regards.

* the charging for waste-collection might help; but consumers have to live with imperfect food before the packing will diminish. I won't buy dented tins - am I wicked for this trait?