Tesco's Laser-Etched Avocados to Save on Packaging Waste - Core77
Tesco's Laser-Etched Avocados to Save on Packaging Waste - Core77
"Laser avocado" sounds like a Doritos flavor, but it's actually a packaging technique being trialed by Tesco. In a bid to reduce packaging waste, the UK supermarket chain is laser-etching avocados rather than using barcode stickers. And for their avocado products that come in twin packs, they're dit...
I'm sharing this because any reduction in unnecessary packaging waste is good for the planet - and because I think laser-etching avocados is funny. 🙂
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Isn't that using way more energy..?
Eh... I dunno. You'd be comparing the power consumption of the laser etching machine to the energy cost of shipping oil to make the plastic to make the label, shipping the raw plastic to a facility to actually print the labels, making the adhesive, then (probably) shipping the labels and adhesive to the packing plant and then adding in the power of the machinery to that actually sticks the label on.
I have no real numbers here but I could see zapping a avocado with a laser being the more energy efficient one.
What label? I literally have not seen any sort of stickers on fruits & veggies in years. I only see packaging on softer produce that's prone to damage, quick to dry out, or harder to carry due to size. But again, it's an avocado.
It likely only takes a few kilojoules to etch each avocado which is essentially nothing (for comparison, an avocado has around a megajoule of energy).
Not sure where the energy of the avocado becomes relevant here. It won't be used to produce electricity.
It's not really relevant, just a comparison to show how little energy that few kilojoules is.
Energy and packaging are orthogonal concerns, but we should be aware of both of them.
I don't see the point for either. It's an avocado.
It's a label with food in it now
If it can replace the not-always-compostable stickers, I think it's likely a good tradeoff.
They dont even nneed a sticker. At the self checkout at my store you just hit the "item lookup" and press "avocados" and thoe how many you have
Replace? I've not seen stickers on any veggies or fruits in many many years.