While most supermarkets are taking their sweet time to find good alternatives to plastic packaging, a supermarket in Thailand has come up with a surprisingly simple way to reduce plastic packaging by wrapping its produce in banana leaves.
The use of banana leaves instead of plastic for packaging vegetables is a great way to reduce single-use plastic. While it looks like they use some plastic for adhering the label, this method significantly reduces the amount of plastic required. They are simply wrapped in a banana leaf and secured using a rubber band.
Banana leaves are a great alternative to plastic as the leaf is large, thick and supple enough to be folded. And since the banana is one of the most popular fruits in the world, there are plenty of leftover banana leaves that can be used for packaging.
Ever since photos of the packaging emerged online, the idea has quickly gained widespread attention. Simon from Perfect Homes Chiang Mai limited (who took these pics) says, “these were simple pictures taken of my mobile phone of a what I thought was a great idea. I certainly was amazed when they went viral.” Perhaps this will be the start of a new trend in plastic alternatives.
