The Polystyrene Trap

Why does humanity not utilize coir, old newspapers and hay instead of styrofoam, sponge and plastic for product packaging and cushioning?!

You order anything from online stores, say any electronic items from Flipkart or Amazon, and more than fifty percent of the bundle that arrives at home is non-biodegradable garbage that leaches into the oceans and is impossible to collect and recycle. Forty percent of urban landfills are choked due to this..

These highly-affordable and compostable materials can easily be sandwiched between two layers of plastic (inner and outer) the same way our industry’s darling (bubblewrap) traps air and they can take absolutely any shape and withstand all sorts of impact or pressure. We shall be talking about area and not volume. Water won’t be able to touch it, thus not adding weight or attracting fungi, and nor would the goods ever be in contact, assuming it even matters for most categories. Maybe pharmaceuticals. Adopting sober and simple practices such as this can result in insane amounts of good.

The chana-jor-garam hawker and Konkani mango vendor have much to teach global giants and startup unicorns. Good time for us Instagram-fuelled, Pepsi-drinking sophisticated urban dwellers to have our minds woke.