Cabramatta resident speaks out on “suffocating” food wrapping

FAIRFIELD ADVANCE: A campaign to rid supermarkets of unnecessary plastic food wrapping is taking hold in Cabramatta.

Cabramatta resident Charles Gream outside of Fairfield Town centre, corner of Nelson and Smart street. He is petitioning against the over packaging and wrapping of food in some stores.

Supermarkets need to cut back on the growing trend to “suffocate” small fruit and vegetable items with plastic wrapping, a Cabramatta resident says.

Charles Gream has joined a national campaign to cut the amount of plastic and excess wrapping used on fresh produce.

Mr Gream actively works with local groups on environmental issues.

Mr Gream is campaigning against pointless food wrapping. .

“I understand there is a need to use this wrapping for some things, but they really need to work a lot harder to reduce the amount of plastics,” he said.

“They need to be more careful. The extent of it is just out of hand.”

Mr Gream has signed a Change.org petition, “Scrap The Wrap”, a campaign against pointless wrapping of small produce.

STATE SMOKING BAN WILL HIT BUSINESSES HARD, FAIRFIELD CAFE’S FEAR

He said it was ironic that organic fruit and vegetables were more frequently subjected to small-scale wrapping than other produce.

Items such as a single head of broccoli, or one solitary sweet potato or zucchini are packaged in cling wrap and styrofoam.

CSIRO research has found that three-quarters of the rubbish along Australia’s coast is plastic.

Individual cucumbers are also being frequently shrink wrapped.

“The other issue I have with this is the fact that it also dictates to the consumer how many they have to buy,” he said.

“I might have to buy eight apples, when I only want two.”

Retailers say fresh produce is often wrapped because of logistics and food safety. Yet the “Scrap The Wrap” campaign, which has now garnered more than 105,000 signatures, argues against the growing trend to use plastic packaging for small items.

It says this adds to landfill and local pollution, as well as being unnecessary.

TOP 10 DISHES IN SYDNEY’S HOTTEST FOOD SPOTS: FAIRFIELD, CANLEY VALE

Food rescue organisation OzHarvest spokeswoman Louise Tran also says excess wrapping was unnecessary. “Fruit and vegetables come complete with their own packaging,” she said.

“It’s unnecessary to add more to that.”

WHY: CSIRO research has found that three-quarters of the rubbish along Australia’s coast is plastic

WHAT: Plastic debris is a danger to the environment because it breaks into small particles and enters the marine food chain, and potentially the human food chain. The particles can be so small they are invisible to the naked eye, with the biggest being 5mm in diameter