A Plastic Life Trapped in Excessive Packaging

Foodthink Says

Another 618 Shopping Festival is upon us. After the thrill of endless buying and unboxing, have you ever stopped to think about where all that plastic packaging we so casually sweep out the door actually ends up?

“Eating well” is not just about nourishing ourselves; it is also about safeguarding our planet’s ecosystems, which is fundamental to achieving true physical and mental wellbeing. For this edition of *Eat Well*, we have collected readers’ frustrations over the excessive plastic wrapping on our food, alongside their practical tips for recycling and cutting down on plastic use.

Some argue that since waste incineration plants are now running short of rubbish to burn, there is no longer a need to worry about plastic waste. In reality, the shortage is not due to a reduction in waste volumes, but rather a surge in incineration capacity across China that has created a supply-and-demand imbalance.

Furthermore, whether plastic packaging ends up in bins, landfills, and incinerators, or scatters across mountains and oceans before reappearing on our dinner tables through the food chain, it inflicts severe damage on both humanity and the natural world. Ultimately, the only solution is to cut plastic consumption at its source.

For years, our ‘use-and-toss’ way of life has locked humanity and plastic into a “toxic yet unbreakable relationship”. Our everyday lives are saturated with excessive plastic packaging that clings to our groceries and seems to “spread and multiply” beyond control. Confronted with layer after layer of plastic wrapping takeaways, vegetables, and pastries, people react with disgust or anger, but most often with bafflement and a sense of powerlessness: “I never asked for all this surplus plastic, so why is it still here?”

Plastic Takeaways, Plastic Lives

Food delivery has become woven into the fabric of our daily lives. Yet China’s nearly 100 million takeaway orders every day generate a staggering volume of plastic packaging waste. Furthermore, research indicates that takeaway containers holding hot food above 65°C leach microplastics and perfluorinated compounds, which can damage the lining of blood vessels. The severity of plastic packaging issues in the delivery sector is likely far worse than we realise.

@卷宝 (Female, 24, Tianjin): My closest daily encounter with plastic happens when I’m unpacking my takeaway. First I have to struggle to untie the plastic bag, then pry open the food container lid, and finally tear through the wrapping on the disposable cutlery. When I use a single-use plastic spoon to scoop up my soup, I can actually smell the plastic. When I head out, if I see another pile of takeaway packaging stacked by the door, I feel a wave of disgust. It’s enough to make me think that my life is, indeed, thoroughly “plastic”.

🟠Takeaway waste stacked by the front door has become an all-too-common feature of city life. Source: Foodthink

@叹息的复读机 (Male, 37, Daqing): I clearly specified “no cutlery” when placing my takeaway order, yet they still sent some. Please actually read what customers ask for! Stop blindly sending cheap, single-use cutlery wrapped in plastic bags.

@山竹 (Female, 39, Kaifeng): Takeaway delivery packaging is far more complex than what you’d get from a regular restaurant. The food goes into a plastic tub, gets wrapped in cling film to stop any spills, and then another plastic bag is thrown over the whole lot.

@lmt (Male, 29): I like to order egg-stuffed flatbread for my breakfast takeaway; it’s really delicious. But every time I see what could easily just go into a paper bag get shoved into an extra plastic sleeve, it really feels off. It’s as awkward as throwing a jacket over a short-sleeved shirt. I appreciate that an extra plastic bag gives customers peace of mind that the food won’t get messed up during delivery, but why not just seal the paper bag properly instead?

@PolarBear (Female, 36, Jinhua): The single-use gloves and small sauce containers provided with takeaway meals are truly excessive.

The Plastic Waste Behind the Shopping Frenzy

The 618 shopping festival is approaching once again. Once the “buy, buy, buy”, “receive, receive, receive”, and “unpack, unpack, unpack” cycle is over, all that’s left is to “throw it all away”. Clear tape, inflatable air pillows, plastic bags and other packaging materials are mostly sent straight to landfill. Much of this packaging is made from polyvinyl chloride, which takes over a century to degrade.

@Yanan (Female, 42, Beijing): To prevent breakage during transit, the boxes for online purchases of cooking oil or glass bottles are often stuffed with plenty of bubble columns. Perhaps retailers could reduce the amount of bubble wrap used.

@LTT (Female, 30, Beijing): Buying from e-commerce platforms inevitably involves long-distance shipping, which means plenty of plastic packaging, such as cushioning bubble bags and clear tape. If we “eat local, buy local” and cut down on transport, plastic packaging use would naturally decrease as well.

@Daydream: I bought some strawberries from a live-streaming store, and when I unpacked them just now, I found six layers of packaging spread all over the floor. I understand that strawberries are fragile and bruise easily, but is that level of packaging really necessary? The strawberries were lovely, but stripping back all those layers left me with a distinct sense of eco-guilt. I won’t be buying strawberries that require individual parcel shipping online again.

Endlessly Nested Gift Box Packaging

Gift boxes for mooncakes, zongzi and tea are notorious for excessive packaging. Elaborate designs emerge constantly, with both retailers and consumers tacitly treating this ‘exquisite’ wrapping as a marker of luxury and value. Yet no one is willing to be the one to burst the bubble of this ‘Emperor’s new clothes’.

@HuangXiaomao (Male, 30, Beijing): There’s a wonderful Gongju chrysanthemum tea, but each flower comes in three layers of packaging—a base box, a lid box, and a small plastic bag. The individual blooms are arranged like botanical specimens.

@Huahua (Female, Xi’an): These days, when you buy a mooncake gift box, you’ll find the packaging resembles a set of Russian nesting dolls: carrier bag – mooncake gift box – plastic partition grid inside the box – individual paper boxes for each mooncake – individual plastic wrapping for each mooncake – tiny plastic trays for each mooncake. All this plastic packaging inevitably harms the environment, and it only serves to drive up the cost of mooncakes.

@Zhichao (Male, 38, Beijing, founder of the ‘Postman Slow Mail’ campaign): A mooncake comes in a large outer box, which contains smaller packaging, which in turn holds a tray… Of course, it could just as easily be a smaller package inside the tray.

🟠These days, mooncake packaging is becoming ever more elaborate, ever more expensive, and the cakes themselves are becoming ever more unpalatable. Image source: AliExpress

@wxy: Between April 2017 and November 2019, I worked at a food company. One year, I persuaded the product manager to trial reduced packaging on a best-selling mooncake gift box, but it resulted in poor sales. By the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, we had to strip the outer packaging and sell the mooncakes individually. A significant portion of these gift box purchases are made by companies for staff welfare and client relations, where there is a firm expectation for packaging that looks presentable and conveys a sense of “value.” Even with discounted prices, buyers were simply unwilling to purchase them…

Cucumbers Trapped in Cling Film

In recent years, the over-packaging of fresh produce in plastic has only grown more rampant. Slotted into plastic trays, sealed with cling film, and slipped into plastic bags, many supermarkets and online grocery platforms mandate this packaging for their fruit, vegetables, and meat, leaving consumers with not even the chance to refuse.

@Yawen (Woman, 36, Beijing): Online produce delivery platforms like Hema and Dingdong, along with some premium supermarkets, frequently pre-pack vegetables into individual portions using plastic trays and cling film. This is likely done to improve their visual appeal, eliminate the need for weighing, or reduce spoilage caused by customers picking through the stock. However, given the sheer daily volume of these goods in circulation, one can only imagine the staggering amount of plastic waste this generates each day. These platforms are undeniably convenient and therefore hard to give up, leaving us to hope for more sustainable packaging materials and smarter designs. Take the strawberries in the image, for example; surely they could be sold in a far more minimalist package.

@山竹 (Woman, 39, Kaifeng): At the morning market, every single item comes in a plastic bag. Every morning I end up hauling home loads of vegetables, meat and eggs, all bundled in plastic.

@LTT (Woman, 30, Beijing): Fruit is undoubtedly the hardest hit, though it varies depending on the type. Strawberries are invariably wrapped in multiple layers. Cling film, plastic trays, bubble wrap – all the non-recyclable materials are put to use. Apples, pears, watermelons and durians, on the other hand, are comparatively ‘robust’. Citrus fruits used to be sold almost entirely without plastic wrapping, but these days they are gradually becoming individually bagged.

This is a ‘crisp honey kumquat’ I spotted in a supermarket in Beijing. Though tiny, each one seems to be sealed up as if it were a ‘Dragon Ball’. From a distance, it looks like a glistening sea of plastic. Later, I spotted the same ‘crisp honey kumquats’ in another supermarket, but with different packaging. This time, each tiny fruit was wrapped in a gold, foil-like paper.Tucked into a gift box, they look like coffee capsules, like Pu-erh tea wrapped in green citrus, or like any other premium product you’d expect to find in such a box. You’d never guess they’re just kumquats.

@Zhichao (Male, 38, Beijing, founder of the “Slow Post” campaign): When buying vegetables at the supermarket, price labels have to go straight onto the bags, which means every single item ends up in its own plastic bag. Or take those Cui Mi kumquats you’ll see in the aisles – each fruit individually wrapped in a little bag, then sealed in cling film inside a plastic punnet.

@Wu Xiaowai (Female, 44, Xiamen, drafter of the *Zero Waste Events Guide*): I cook at home two-thirds of the time and eat out a third, but I mainly source my groceries from Sam’s Club and Pupu’s dark stores, so it’s unavoidable that I’ll end up with plastic bags, plastic packaging for fresh produce, insulated bags for frozen items, and ice packs.

@Zicai Danhua Tang (Female): Whenever I shop at the supermarket, I’m always puzzled as to why perfectly fine cucumbers have to be put in a plastic punnet and then wrapped in cling film. You’d never see this at a local market, but it’s pretty much standard across large grocery chains. What’s the reasoning behind it?

@PolarBear (Female, 36, Jinhua): When I occasionally lack the time to shop for groceries and use Dingdong for online delivery instead, every vegetable or meat and seafood item comes with a fair amount of plastic packaging. Some of it is necessary, but some clearly isn’t. I feel there ought to be better biodegradable alternatives, such as using paper materials for sorting or wrapping.

@Wu Xiaowai (Female, 44, Xiamen, Creator of the *Zero-Waste Event Guide*): I just received some broccoli from Sam’s Club today. It came as a set of three heads, each tucked into its own individual compartment. Those plastic trays are rather thick! Having previously worked for a chain fresh-produce supermarket, I understand that some plastic packaging is unavoidable for retailers trying to minimise product damage. That said, the trays Sam’s Club uses are generally far too substantial.

Snacks Dressed in Layers

I’m not sure when exactly the trend took off, but attractive, individually wrapped snacks that you can open and eat on the go have become incredibly popular. Do consumers genuinely prefer such unnecessarily complicated packaging? Or is it merely a misguided byproduct of snack brands scrambling to differentiate themselves from the competition?

@Zhi Chao (Male, 38, Beijing, Founder of the “Postman Slow Mail” campaign): I never would have imagined that one day, when opening a packet of instant noodles, the noodle block inside would actually be sealed in an extra layer of plastic film.

@Polar Bear (Female, 36, Jinhua): Snack packaging is completely individualised; there’s just too much plastic. And the ingredient sachets for dishes like Luosifen (spicy river snail noodles) come in a frankly ridiculous number. I’ve given up buying them, yet making them from scratch means I simply can’t source all those tiny individual ingredients.

@kly: Individual wrapping is commonplace. If it’s for coffee or tea, where single-serve sachets are handy for portability, I can understand it. But why bundle a few red dates together and put them in their own separate wrapper?

Do you suffer from ‘plastic packaging hoarding’?

Some people, particularly older generations, prefer to save plastic packaging so they can reuse it later. But because the waste accumulates far faster than it gets used, many joke that they’ve developed a case of ‘plastic packaging hoarding’. Still, compared to casually tossing plastic into the bin—letting it end up in a landfill or incinerator while turning a blind eye to the potential consequences—which approach actually looks more like a genuine disorder?

@Wanqian (Woman, 35, Dongguan): Ideally, I keep what can still be used, recycle what’s recyclable, and try to find alternative uses for the rest. But in the end, my rooms are now piled high with plastic waste…

@TaroBoba (Woman, 31, Zhengzhou): I vividly remember hearing my mother and aunts complain about my grandmother’s ‘quirk’ of hoarding plastic bags when I was little. Every time those crumpled bags were finally swept out the door, I’d feel a secret sense of relief. Now that I’m running my own household, I’ve realised I’ve fallen into the exact same trap. I always convince myself I’ll need them later, but inevitably, I just end up binning them the moment they start cluttering up my home and getting on my nerves.

@PolarBear (Woman, 36, Jinhua): I keep my plastic bags. I use mineral water bottles to brew natural enzymes, or wash and sort them before taking them to the recycling centre. I also collect cardboard boxes so that waste collectors who rely on recycling for their livelihood can put them to good use.

@Stella (Woman): I’ve just finished folding a bread bag. I used to take my own bread bag along when visiting the bakery, but I noticed most loaves come with their own packaging anyway. Now, I occasionally opt to buy bread that’s sold completely unwrapped.

The other day, a colleague went out to Haidilao with the office and brought back some packed fruit. I washed and saved the takeaway container—it was incredibly clean and made of PP5 plastic. I’ve also washed and stored PP5 lunch boxes from the office, along with plastic containers from other fruit and pastry purchases. I simply can’t bear to throw them away.

I’d built up a huge stash of these at my old office, but when it came time to move, my colleagues pointed out they’d be too much of a hassle to transport. In the end, we just binned them all together, hoping the cleaning staff might salvage them for scrap.My family still can’t understand why I insist on saving these containers. I genuinely hate throwing them away, but whenever I go shopping, so many products already come with their own boxes or bags. At this point, I can only make a conscious effort to buy items that come with minimal or no packaging.

@Yuxuan (Female, Beijing): I reuse whatever I can, whether I’m sending parcels or shopping. If an online purchase comes with excessive packaging, I’ll provide feedback to the seller and suggest they cut down on it, though more often than not, I just bin it.

@Yawen (Female, 36, Beijing): I collect takeaway bags and various plastic bags to reuse them, usually as bin liners, which means I no longer need to buy separate waste bags. I replace single-use plastic bags with durable, reusable plastic containers—for example, portioning meat for the freezer. The thicker produce bags from supermarkets also get brought home and repurposed for kitchen waste. In short, when plastic is unavoidable, I make the most of it and maximise its lifespan.

Find plastic recycling points near you

While it’s tough for individuals to fully recycle the plastic packaging they accumulate, channeling surplus packaging through centralised recycling hubs for larger-scale commercial or public use could significantly boost recycling efficiency. Do you know of any such hubs in your area? Share your findings in the comments below.

@Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market (Beijing): We continuously accept clean, sturdy, reusable second-hand packaging at the market, including spare shopping bags, cardboard boxes, and foam crates, as well as egg cartons and fruit protective wraps from our farmers. If you have leftover yarn or knitted items at home, you’re also welcome to bring them along. We’ll pass them on to the Yarn Revival Group, which knits warm clothing for children in the Tibetan regions.

Image source: Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market

@wxy: My previous role involved packaging design and procurement for the company’s own-brand products. At the time, a loyal customer got in touch to say they had amassed a pile of egg cartons and plastic containers for fruit and vegetables at home, all washed and stacked neatly, and hoped we could take them back for reuse. However, due to food safety regulations and the requirements of our quality control department, we had to politely decline. I later realised that tackling plastic reduction from the corporate side was far too difficult; every department and role has its own KPIs, which consistently take priority over cutting back on plastic. So I shifted my focus to consumer advocacy, starting with reducing the use of large plastic carrier bags.

Initially, we placed a shared bag box near the checkout, inviting customers to drop off spare bags from home so that anyone who’d forgotten theirs could pick one up for free. Naturally, some voiced hygiene concerns, given the bags would come into contact with food. We simply let that be—if people didn’t feel comfortable using them, they could just skip them. Later, we partnered with a factory where a customer worked to produce shopping bags from offcuts originally destined for pushchairs. These were sold with no profit margin, or could be redeemed using store points.

🟠 Customer-donated shopping bags available for free collection. Image source: wxy

@Huang Xiaomao (male, 30, Beijing): Some post offices collect parcel packaging to give away for free to customers sending mail.

@Zhi Chao (male, 38, Beijing, founder of the ‘Postman Slow Delivery’ initiative): I launched an initiative called ‘Postman Slow Delivery’, bringing together cycling enthusiasts, environmental campaigners, and green businesses to co-create a circular platform for zero-carbon transport. Simply put, it uses cycling to keep second-hand bags in circulation for businesses that need them.

Join Free U Nature

Scan the QR code on the poster below to join Free U Nature as a Postman Rider. As parcel deliveries accelerate and plastic waste mounts, let’s tackle the climate crisis together, harnessing the power of bicycles and the circular reuse of everyday items.

Through the Postman Slow Delivery campaign, we have compiled a list of businesses that currently accept second-hand bags for reuse, which we’re sharing with you here:

➊ Jishi (Lixiang Branch): Unit N20, Lixiang Commercial Street, The Phoenix Mall (Daily 10:00–22:00)

➋ Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market @ Shangri-La Hotel: Building 29, Zizhuyuan Road, near Zizhú Bridge, West Third Ring Road (Saturdays 9:00–12:00)

➌ Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market @ Lecheng Centre: No. 22, East Third Ring Road, Middle Section (Sundays 10:00–13:00)

➍ Guanshe: Level B1, South Zone, Guanshe, Liangmaqiao (Saturdays/Sundays 12:00–18:00)

➎ Shantao (Xueyan Building Branch): Room 103, Building B, Xueyan Building, No. 33 Shuangqing Road, Haidian (10:00–19:00)

➏ China World Hotel: Public areas / Lian Gong Chang reception / Aimer Sports (Daily 9:00–21:00)

➐ San Tu Second-hand Circular Shop: Floor 2, Building 19, North Xiaojie, Chaoyangmen (Daily 10:00–21:00)

➑ Xingye Shop: Xinzhuang Village, Changping (Daily 8:00–20:00)

➒ Baixing Convenience Store: Xiayuan Village, Changping (Daily 8:00–20:00)

@Wu Xiaowai (female, 44, Xiamen, author of the “Zero Waste Event Guide”): In the cities I’ve lived in, every neighbourhood waste-sorting station is equipped with a large metal-mesh ‘foam recycling bin’. These are collected at a nearby community waste-sorting education centre, compressed into blocks using specialised machinery, and then transported to recycling plants. Clean plastic packaging can be placed in smart recycling bins for a small credit, while dirty takeaway containers, plastic film, and delivery bags are tossed into the recyclables bin, destined for facilities that sort low-value recyclables.

@SanGeMao: I save takeaway tubs and plastic fruit and vegetable punnets from the supermarket to use as storage boxes, or tuck them under plant pots to catch drips – they’re just the right size. I’ve also recently learned how to make drainage holes in plastic bubble tea cups to repurpose them as plant pots. You’re usually given a set of screwdrivers with flat-pack furniture; just heat the tip over a flame and use it to pierce the holes.

@Liu Lifang (Shanghai): Shantao Charity Supermarket once ran an event where you could swap bags for books (plastic bags excluded). I swapped a few non-woven bags for several books.

A Few Tips for Cutting Down on Plastic

Recycling is just one solution to managing plastic waste. Given that plastic is inherently difficult to break down, even disposal methods like landfilling or incineration can pollute groundwater and release greenhouse gases and toxins. Therefore, we still need to tackle plastic use at the root.

@LTT (Female, 30, Beijing): I bring my own thermal flask or travel mug; I pack my own thermal lunchbox for takeaways; I use cloth bags for shopping; and I cut down on ordering food delivery.

@Polar Bear (Female, 36, Jinhua): I use reusable eco-bags when shopping at the wet market, order takeaway less often, and try to buy food in glass jars or cardboard packaging whenever possible.

@Yan Qian (Female, 35, Dongguan): I cook at home as much as possible. When I go out, I bring my own lunchbox, cutlery, and water bottle, plus a reusable bag for groceries. I cut back on snacks, conserve what I use, and avoid unnecessary purchases. When I travel to other cities, I sometimes even pack jars and containers to visit bulk food shops.

@Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market (Beijing): Our community market shop has launched an “Bulk Goods Zone” – you’re welcome to bring your own containers and refill! This hot summer, why not pick up some red beans, mung beans, dried lily bulbs, dried silver ear mushrooms, and yellow rock sugar to make a refreshing, cooling dessert soup.

Image credit: Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market

@Yu Xuan (Female, Beijing): I try to eat at home as much as possible, shop less, and bring my own containers (like glass lunchboxes) when buying things out. I ask for no single-use cutlery when eating out, and add a note to refuse extra packaging when ordering delivery.

I also believe in playing a watchdog role and reporting offending businesses. For example, if a restaurant breaks the rules on single-use cutlery, you can call the comprehensive law enforcement team for that street. They’ll usually visit and correct the issue promptly. We should compile a list of common violations and their corresponding reporting hotlines – covering issues like illegal single-use cutlery, public pollution, and unauthorised private dumping – and widely share it online so more people can keep businesses in check.

@Yawen (Female, 36, Beijing): I use silicone bowl covers instead of cling film; I bring my own shopping bags to the supermarket and avoid paying for plastic ones; and I try to steer clear of single-use items like disposable facial wipes and underwear.

@Break Free From Plastic (Guangzhou): If you’re looking for ways to ditch single-use plastics in your daily life, you’re welcome to join this fun and plastic-cutting “Eco Reuse Day” Market! You can explore green living ideas like reusable coffee cups, professional sports gear repairs, bring-your-own-container refilling, and second-hand item swaps. Together with the stallholders, you’ll discover a sustainable lifestyle that works for you.

Thank you to all the readers above for sharing your experiences. We’ll be selecting five contributors to receive a gift, and inviting one more to join us for lunch at the Foodthink office. If you have your own thoughts on excessive plastic packaging, feel free to leave a comment below. We’d also appreciate it if you could share the recycling and plastic-reduction tips mentioned in this article with your friends. Let’s work together to break our unhealthy reliance on plastic and head towards a “Zero-Waste Planet”.

Planning: Kairui

Editor: Yuyang