Outreach Campaign

Seems like it would be easier to get the manufacturers of these labels to use a different glue. Didn't the post office go through the same problem (problems for paper recyclers) when gummed stamps first came out?

Laurie J. Tenace

Florida Department of Environmental Protection
PH: (850) 245-8759
[email protected]

Hi Kay,

You know those labels your grocer puts on produce (like on bananas, apples or tomatoes)? Apparently, the labels show up at wastewater treatment plants and go through treatment unscathed. They are gumming up the reclaimed water uptake pipes and causing some problems. A colleague of mine wants to do some sort of outreach to the public asking them to remove the labels, and prevent them from going down the drain.

There's an insidious problem! Another "benefit" of computerization. Why have those labels there in the first place? I do dislike the glue that is left on a fruit's edible skin. Isn't the purpose of the labels to tell the cashier which code to enter at the checkout computer? Most store assistants can tell the difference between a banana and an apple, though it is true that many of us would be hard pressed to identify all the different apple varieties; that would be up to the store personnel to label the containers of the bulk fruit adequately. Belgium (and possibly other European) stores get round the problem by pricing all apples the same, usually differentiating between them as "red apples" and "green apples" but giving them the same price - though they still carry the sticky labels, presumably because they are put on by the supplier. Of course, the labels also tell us the provenance of the fruit, but who reads every fruit label anyway? Again, wouldn't it be enough to indicate clearly in the store where the fruit came from?

Elizabeth Griffin
(Victoria, Canada)

Kay,

I'm glad to see this issue finally come to surface (despite going down the drain). In addition to causing problems in the sewer, these insidious labels find their way into our soils via the compost heap. Why not take aim at the industry that has adopted this practice and try to reduce the use of plastic fruit labelling all together? Could CBSM be applied to make behaviour change at that level rather than shifting the burden?

Cheers,
Neil

They survive composting, too. Why aren't they compostable, like the produce they are attached to? In fact, they should be food grade so they are harmless when eaten.

Joel

I've seen examples of inscribing the fruit and vegetable codes into the skin with lasers. Maybe the approach is to ask for this to be expanded in addition to paper based stickers instead of plastic ones for things like onions that can't be inscribed. 

Eric Rardin

Nonprofit Services Director 
Care2.com  1100 15th St. NW Suite 600
Washington, DC 20005
Office: 202.465.3777 ext. 9104
Direct: 202.785.7305
Cell: 703.473.2825
[email protected]

Laurie -

I don't think the glue is the problem, it's the plastic "paper" they make the labels from.. it's simply not degradable. That material was probably selected because labels would be easy to peel off whereas paper labels would tear. This is a classic case of the Universal Law of Unintended Consequences and even the Butterfly Theory.. everything in the world is so interconnected that a stupid little label can cause such problems. An education campaign would reach the committed minority who are probably already removing these labels. The rest of the community hardly care. Probably little hope of getting supermarkets to alter their procedures and stop labelling every damn piece of fruit.. they don't label potatoes and broccoli (imagine that) but they can't take the chance that you might slip in more expensive apples to your bag of cheapies. There's far more hope of getting the labels changed at the point of attachment so that they're degradable. Nice challenge for a materials scientist and the regulators.

regards
Lisha K.

James Cook University,
Australia
Tel: (07) 4781 6535
Mobile: 0438 011 550

I think you're absolutely right Lisha--< An education campaign would reach the committed minority who are probably already removing these labels. The rest of the community hardly care.> This is why I think "we", those "committed minority" have to work at a higher level, with all of these issues. As Neil Chura also said-- Yes! This has worked for smoking bans, lead bans, pesticide bans, etc. I think we can also work Styrofoam bans (because it's bad whether it ends up in landfills or in lakes, rivers and oceans) and others at industry level with voluntary or legislated solutions, and also at the community level with voluntary or ordinance solutions at local establishments. We replace free plastic/paper grocery bags with canvas, but don't worry about what to line your trash bin with--my hometown provides bags that you have to buy from the city for garbage pickup. The more garbage you make, the more bags you have to buy, and also the composition of the bags can be controlled. Many communities also provide composting facilities, and you just have to make one more division of your garbage and recyclables. I'm convinced going to higher levels of social organization than the individual will make a bigger impact, and reduce environmental problems faster.

Thanks all,
Sally

I think Sally is right on this. It is far more efficient to attack the source of the problem. I was frankly amazed that in this more enlightened age something so obviously wrong as non-degradable labels on food items would ever see the light of day. I would have thought that this kind of myopic thinking (solving the immediate problem without regard for the downstream consequences) would jump out at any manager with half a brain in his or her head. Clearly there is much work to be done instilling the idea of responsibility. Incidentally, if food wastes go into a compost bin (or vermicompost bin if you don't have a back yard for an outside bin), there is no need to separately bag or wrap anything. We use a compost bucket, which gets emptied and washed out once in a while. Keeps the messy wet stuff out of the trash as well, allowing long term storage while waiting to accumulate enough to bother to dispose of. We generate a couple of trash cans worth every year and save up a couple of years' worth before taking them to the transfer station for disposal.

Joel

When I talked to someone at our waste water facility, he was interested in just what kind of problem others were having?

Deborah suggests that the fruit labels actually contain useful information. Perhaps this is a region issue. Across western Canada, the labels (and also elasticized tags) that appear in the produce sections are largely about branding, many even lack a country of origin information. And lets face facts, we're talking about fruit and veg, not processed foods that may contain anything but fruit and veg. Here on the coast, I do see labels declaring "organic" status but not with any certification or third-party verification. Perhaps the labelling practice is more information-intensive elsewhere, but I've yet to see evidence of this.

NC 

Dear Friends--

Are we talking about the little stick on tags, usually about 1/2 in. across that have the cash register code number, brand/producer name and country of origin on each stick on tag?? I find these tags useful and I don't see what the problem is. Most of them are paper, and although rather "gummy" and heavy on the inks, I would think they would degrade well in a commercial compost. (I suppose the plastic-based tags wouldn't compost.) Besides, I collect these stickers as sort of a weird hobby. I have nearly 300 separate, different stickers. (My wife thinks I've really "lost it"!!) Many of them are actually very artfully done and some are down right beautiful in their own right. Sure beats having a bar code printed on each grapefruit or apple, although I'm sure that will be next. Humm.... Maybe we should each have a bar code tattooed on at birth. Would save all of the hassle when you lose your driver's license or when you need to have your passport renewed. Just kidding.... I'm having a really strange evening....
 

Tom

Tom Shelley
118 E. Court St.
Ithaca, NY 14850
607 342-0864
[email protected]
http://www.myspace.com/99319958

Coulda sworn that I recently read something about a new fruit labelling system coming down the pike: instead of the current glue-based stickers, someone's invented a food-grade, washable ink that can be applied directly to the fruit, thus obviating the need the for an actual label. This would be an obvious answer to those pesky stickers that are clogging water treatment facilities and frustrating us frugivores. Anyone else heard of this, or did I just dream it up (and am therefore owed millions from my new invention)?

Liz Forrestal
St. Louis, MO
[email protected]

This article may interest you as an alternative. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10352393 Instead of having a physical label, the fruit or vegetables are laser etched to look like they are tattooed.

Buy as much as possible from your local farmer and/or Farmers' Market, collect fruits in the wild, grow your own or have friends who grow too much and give it away. Organize a local "gleaning" project such as the one in Victoria, B.C. - http://www.lifecyclesproject.ca/ initiatives/fruit_tree/gleaning.php. Eat local fruits during the growing season and store or preserve fruits by freezing or canning for the rest of the year. It will taste better, feel good and support local farms.

Marion Huxtable

Someone with a technological bent could invent a process to spray on edible ink with the same info as the pasted labels. It would likely save the processors money so they might go for it. Oh and as a "by product" it would help mitigate environmental harms.