Americans Want To Waste Less, But Need Guidance

As a whole, Americans throw away a lot of garbage – possibly more than most people think. Though the government’s official estimates find that the average person throws away 4.4 pounds of garbage per day, according to the Wall Street Journal, other counts differ. For instance, in 2009, researchers at MIT calculated that Americans actually throw away as much as 7 pounds each day.

At the same time, Americans are also disposing of an awful lot of food: about $165 billion worth annually, according to the Washington Post. But despite our preference for waste, a growing number of people seem aware of the problem and clearly want to do something about it. A recent study by marketing intelligence agency

80 percent of U.S. shoppers want to reduce both food and packaging waste.

Fifty-two percent of respondents said that they preferred their food products to have minimal to no packaging, according to an analysis by Food Business News.

In addition, 81 percent said they wanted more packages to be resealable to make it easier to keep the food fresh longer. Many even claimed they would pay extra for such packaging.

The study suggested that while many Americans may want to recycle, they are having trouble determining what they can do with food containers. Twenty-five percent said that labels do not clearly show whether a package can be recycled, and as a result only 13 percent avoid buying food wrapped in non-recyclable materials. 

If food manufacturers want to help Americans cut down on waste, improving their product labeling is a good first step. Contact us today!