Costco Chicken Fiasco - It's in the bag

Well, the environmentalists aren't going to like glass either for things like gallon milk containers. It's much heavier than plastic and will surely increase the shipping costs and pollution from the trucks carrying it to the stores. And then there is cost and pollution for collecting the empty glass milk containers, shipping them back the recycling facility, and the energy to melt the glass down and reshape it for future use.

My point is that there is no free lunch here and we likely already have the best of the alternatives in place.

I just don't like being told that it is up to me to save the planet and that I have to go out of my way to do so. It's really up to industry and commerce to take care of it. I'll go along with what I see fit, but I can't do their job for them.
 
"Don't put the onus on me. I'm happy to do what the container says to do.
But if the manufacturer/supplier doesn't know what should be done with the packaging, or doesn't choose to print the instructions, then I don't feel any obligation to do anything other than putting it in the trash."

Don't we all have an obligation to use our own brains and do what we reason to be best, rather than blindly follow vested interests? Surely not a big ask is it? In the UK we used hundreds of millions of free supermarket plactic bags per year, and for decades. In theory they could be recycled, but few were, most being sent to landfill. Some years ago people were made to pay for them, awareness grew, and now hardly any are used. It caused a bit of moaning at first but was worth it in the end. Evolution, in all things. I've thought for some time that all packaging should only be made from unmixed materials, and a reduced range of materials used so aiding recycling. But unless people speak up, tell their leaders it's an issue, (who then change laws) nothing will happen.

Going back to the issue of the food itself, I find watching a video or two (made by third or activist parties) about the processes used in its production always clears up any questions about it's quality (or lack thereof).
 
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Plastic bags from grocery stores have been banned here as well for many years. You can get a paper bag for 10 cents, but most people bring their own reusable cloth bags instead.

We actually have very little plastic waste now. Most food products we use come in either cardboard boxes or glass containers. One exception is milk that we get in plastic bottles and those do get recycled.

The other exception is the plastic containers Costco uses for cooked chickens, which is the subject that I used to start this tread. The current plastic bag is not a suitable alternative for the chicken packaging. The mess it creates is far beyond what any customer should have to deal with. Costco needs to tell us whether the previous plastic container is recyclable or not, and if not then find one that is.

Maybe as chicken sales go down, as I think they will, Costco will change back to something better than the awful, greasy, flimsy, plastic bags. It's the worst possible way to package and sell a cooked chicken.
 
Costco will change back to something better than the awful, greasy, flimsy, plastic bags
Probably. There is a real problem in finding truly recyclable alternatives to plastic packaging.

I bung stuff in the recycling bins I have in the UK but I've no confidence that a significant portion is actually recycled.

I see a lot of stuff that's theoretically recyclable but has to be taken to a specialist. That's a car journey so kinda self defeating...

Ultimately we also have to find ways to use less plastic and try to reserve it for things where it's irreplaceable. There are a lot of those, starting with my house wiring.
 
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Exactly,,,local journo found that all our carefully washed glass containers put out in approved recycling bin was going straight to landfill because....colours were mixed !!
One container for glassware, no advisory that only A/B/C colour is allowed...what were they thinking ?
Well the council were not thinking, just wanted our rates money and wouldn't provide any info because "commercial sensitivity" can't tell because contracts with third party collection agencies.
So from the organisation that instituted compulsory user pays glass recycling we find they were only in it for the money..OURS! and weren't even bothering to do what they demanded we do.

However, without casting aspersions, I find it the norm that people will 'save the planet' unless it directly impacts them and their 'go to favourite' consumer items. Costco people I see you.
 
I am surprised that no picture has been taken, or plastic analysis has been done on this alleged "Costco Chicken Fiasco" box or bag.

Thus must reserve judgement or opinion on this food retailer.

What I can tell you is my own city of Portsmouth has by recent survey, one of the worst recycling schemes in Britain.

They charge you for rubble and soil recycling at £2 a bag. They don't take aluminium food containers.

Objects accepted for recycling in the green bins are very limited:

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95% of general household rubbish is incinerated at the local centre, which provides electric power enough for 20,000 households. Excellent!

I don't know whether this makes CO2 and pollution though, but the smoke blows towards Chichester, so we don't care.

Myself and some other workers in the Naval dockyard were amazed one morning to watch the rubbish lorry throw the contents of the workplace recycling bins and general waste (but not toxic waste) all into the same lorry.

Whisper it quietly, but it ALL gets burnt! I got friendly with a worker at the incinerator who told me they chuck EVERYTHING into the incinerator. Batteries, electrical appliances, bottles of weedkiller, you name it!

I hope the stuff in the domestic green bins is recycled, but really don't know. For sure a lot people in my house throw almost anything in the green bins. They even wrap unsuitable items in brown bags to sneak them in past my vigilance. This is just this weeks reject items in my special idiots bin:

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Cardboard takeaway food containers like pizza boxes are unrecyclable because the grease and food waste wrecks the process.

We have a bottle bank nearby for glass.

Those little Yakult yoghurt containers are made of some weird tough type 4 or 5 plastic. Half-full pill containers are not wanted by our council, Portsmouth only takes Type 1 or 2 polyethylene.

Plasticised cardboard milk and juice cartons are impossible. As are metallised Pringles tubes. Black rigid plastic food containers are also generally considered unrecyclable,

Here's a quiz for you. What is recyclable here in Portsmouth, UK?

DSCN0045.JPG


FWIW, the sausages came in a hard brown plastic and cellophane container which I already consigned to general waste for incineration.

(BTW Just add onion gravy and it is all quite yummy. Bangers and mash. A classic British dish which makes us the envy of the World.)
 
Not to take this further OT... but for those that care to learn more about consumer packaging / product recycling in their country, it's been heavily researched and generally published how much 'curbside' or consumer recyclable waste actually winds up being recycled. It (of course) varies widely by country, but some of you may be surprised at the numbers.

Putting the recycling in the 'proper' bin is barely the beginning...

I know of one municipality that takes the 'recycling' straight to the same landfill as the 'trash'. Why? There's no profitable market for the recyclables.

Back to the birds...
 
Well, the environmentalists aren't going to like glass either for things like gallon milk containers. It's much heavier than plastic and will surely increase the shipping costs and pollution from the trucks carrying it to the stores. And then there is cost and pollution for collecting the empty glass milk containers, shipping them back the recycling facility, and the energy to melt the glass down and reshape it for future use.

My point is that there is no free lunch here and we likely already have the best of the alternatives in place.

I just don't like being told that it is up to me to save the planet and that I have to go out of my way to do so. It's really up to industry and commerce to take care of it. I'll go along with what I see fit, but I can't do their job for them.

There is alternative to fuel powered trucks: we have a bunch of city in here where hydrogen based motors are used for public transport.

If you think we already have the best of alternatives in place i find it sad: there is still many things to invent and discover.

You don't like to be told it's up to you to save the planet (which i didn't, as i think our planet doesn't care about us and is a dynamic self regulating system whatever the causes are for it's equilibrium to move, it'll adjust to something... right or wrong for us. I was talking about saving our species), i don't like to think intelligent people to not take their responsability on what can/could be done at every stage involved including personal.

If find way too easy to say 'not my fault but the one of preceding stage in the chain', kind of childish behavior.

Recycling is complex subject for sure. And there is probably not a single and universal answer to this and it ask for effort on us.

The first one being imo to understand that as customers our choices validate or not a way of thinking/system.

We live in differents places and as such have differents habits but food we all eat as it's basic need for us.

If you favour low prices produced food then it validate a system in which we destroy our environment but our health too at global level not even talking about social impact either.

You started a thread about an issue related to convenience and then talk about non being patient enough about waste produced.

I stand on nihilism. We have an expression in there ' Après moi le déluge' ( 'after myself the flood' (biblical flood)).

Next time you see a kid look in their eyes.

I won't bother anymore with OT. Enjoy the yummy chicken.
 
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On a few occasions I purchased whole roast chicken from a Safeway in Aylesbury as a late home from work, last resort meal. It's was decent and came in a bag.

Warmed a glass dish in the oven and carefully slid bird out of the bag into the dish. Mess free.

It can be done. I'm sure Costco would be thrilled to sell you a suitable dish. And an oven to warm it in...
 
Well maybe you are a lot more agile in the kitchen than my wife. She has been cooking and preparing food for many years, but getting the chicken out of the bag and trying to cut it up on board created a huge mess for her compared to doing it in the previous container. So much so that she won't do it again.

And Costco hasn't really solved a problem at all. It appears now that the previous plastic tub was recyclable in most places while the new plastic bags may not be.
 
And Costco hasn't really solved a problem at all.
It depends on which problem ...

This article, among others, does a reasonable job of holding a balance.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2024/07/01/costco-rotisserie-chicken-bag-packaging/

There will be hiccups of course, but they've clearly stated the reasoning and goals. I read about it in the Costco Connections mag a month or so ago. Unless I missed it, recycling was never mentioned. A reduction in raw materials usage (which in general, results in better outcomes overall) along with freight reduction and materials cost were clearly stated goals.

Not diminishing your original issues of the mess... that seems to be a common complaint. They might address that issue, but who knows.

If someone wants to discuss overall environmental impact of the change (which can include recycling and recyclability) then I leave that to bigger brains with more knowledge and experience.

With that said, given the general statistics for plastics actually being recycled, my SWAG is - I think there's a strong argument that the new solution is a net positive for overall environmental impact.

Costco seems pretty adept at understanding the impact of changes. Given that the chickens are a loss-leader, if they notice that traffic has diminished significantly along with chicken sales... they may adjust. It's a well-run business, IMO.

Again... not at all trying to say that a messy chicken isn't a PITA. We usually get one a week, but they haven't switched in our area yet (best I know), and we've been on the road for a few weeks. I'm sure we'll grab one on the way home from the airport later in the week. I hope it's not a total mess. Note... I seriously did keep a few of the old containers in anticipation.
 
Well maybe you are a lot more agile in the kitchen than my wife
Doubt it. But it would depend a lot on the bag. Perhaps there's a better bag out there? My chicken experience was a couple of decades ago, so details elude me, but I don't remember it being overly messy...

Your point about the recyclability of these things is well made though. Still, even if a thing is recyclable it's only true when it's recycled. It's a conundrum that haunts all of recyclability.

Especially in Portsmouth (apparently) 🙂
 
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Too bad.

I hope you don't mind either what your grandchildren will think about your action of the moment in their future.

It sound like nihilism to me. I don't get it.

Not that i'm particularly happy to have multiple bins and to pay ( a lot!) for our junks to be taken either. But it's mildly annoyance to me versus legacy we will let to our kids.
The legacy is visible on every street. Half naked, fat ,tattooed from the bottom to the top chimps looking for instant gratification at every turn. Surely , that piece of plastic which after all is said and done ends up in garbage anyway once it leaves the fancy " recycle " containers is going to save us and future generations: )
Thankfully the cows farts and all the carbon we generate is making the earth greener, food prices are going down ( just not in western world retail ) and population peak is right over the hill preceeding a decline. None of the forecasted catastrophic events are going to happen except a radical decline of Western World living standards caused by excessive consumption on credit. Back to Costco my only beef with the retailer is the type of people it attracts. You see shopping carts loaded to a hilt every weekend like there is going to be a war. Hence the fat, tattooed, half naked whales stomping like a rhinos on the sidewalks .
 
You guys have missed the point.its not the chicken that has any nutrition.its the bag it comes in.and as a bonus it breaks down to micro plastics and everybody eats this stuff through the food chain so just eat the bag. Another side affect is you avoid chook growth hormones and antibiotic resistance which kills millions globally every year.win win.
 
In the UK a few supermarkets experimented with milk in bags. Take bag home, fit bag in your 'milk in bag' jug, enjoy milk and save planet & money.

Except bag and jug were plastic, jug had to be washed after every bag, and spills were routine.

The whole scheme lasted less than 6 months.
Eh? Grew up here with milk in bags and the jug only rarely needed washing. Talent & experience keeps the jug free of errant milk.
 
Grew up here with milk in bags and the jug only rarely needed washing
Oh believe me I tried. I had bags that leaked on their way home as well as those that were wouldn't open according to 'plan'.

I know the bag scheme has worked elsewhere, but I suspect there was, as usual, a large amount of NIH in the way the UK scheme was developed.

Also any scheme that relies on the skill of the users is probably doomed. If that makes me a Muppet, so be it.
 
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Wal Mart and some regional grocery chains (Food City, Krogers) use the bags. It hasn't dampened sales.I would prefer a box, and despise plastics. I buy my milk in half gallons as these are available in cardboard cartons. Soda and bottled water are the worst/biggest source of microplastics. I rarely drink either, unless I am on a long road-trip and can't find them in aluminum cans..