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Small Business Challenges with Eco-Friendly Packaging

Small businesses prioritize minimizing expenses, often opting for economical plastic packaging over eco-friendly alternatives due to limited working capital. Consumers are largely unaware of the severe impacts of plastic pollution and tend to favor convenience, making it difficult to shift towards sustainable practices. Additionally, high costs of recycling infrastructure and lack of incentives hinder effective recycling efforts in local communities.

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Lubabah Imran
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4 views2 pages

Small Business Challenges with Eco-Friendly Packaging

Small businesses prioritize minimizing expenses, often opting for economical plastic packaging over eco-friendly alternatives due to limited working capital. Consumers are largely unaware of the severe impacts of plastic pollution and tend to favor convenience, making it difficult to shift towards sustainable practices. Additionally, high costs of recycling infrastructure and lack of incentives hinder effective recycling efforts in local communities.

Uploaded by

Lubabah Imran
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Small businesses, such as local grocery stores, typically have limited working capital.

Their primary focus


is on sustaining day-to-day operations, stocking inventory, and covering operational expenses like rent,
utilities, and wages.

 Implication: Packaging is often viewed as a secondary expense, leading store owners to select
the most economical option available.

Eco-friendly options like biodegradable bags are made from materials such as plant-based polymers,
which are more expensive to produce than petroleum-based plastics. These higher production costs are
passed on to the end-users, i.e., small businesses.

Plastic packaging manufacturers often provide significant discounts for bulk purchases, making plastics
even more affordable. Small businesses benefit from these lower unit costs, which align with their need
to minimize expenses.

Limited Knowledge of Plastic Pollution:


Many consumers are unaware of the scale and severity of plastic pollution. For example:

 Plastics take hundreds of years to decompose, breaking down into microplastics that
contaminate soil, water, and air.

 since plastic waste is disposed of, most consumers assume it is "gone" without understanding
the inefficiency of waste management systems.

. Convenience Over Sustainability

Consumers are accustomed to the convenience of single-use plastics. Items like plastic bags, straws, and
wrappers are lightweight, disposable, and often provided for free or at minimal cost by stores. Changing
these habits requires effort and awareness.

Many consumers resist altering their shopping behaviors, such as remembering to bring reusable bags
or accepting the slight inconvenience of carrying bulkier eco-friendly alternatives.

Supermarket Scenario:
A customer buys groceries and prefers multiple plastic bags to separate items like vegetables, dairy, and
frozen goods, prioritizing convenience over reducing waste. If the cashier offers a biodegradable bag for
an additional fee, the customer may refuse and instead use multiple free plastic bags.
High Costs of Recycling Infrastructure:
Setting up recycling plants and waste collection systems requires significant investment, which many
local governments cannot afford. This leaves communities reliant on traditional waste disposal methods.

No Pickup Services for Recyclables:


Grocery stores rarely have access to recycling pickup services for materials like plastics, cardboard, and
glass. Without these services, stores rely on traditional waste collection, which does not segregate
recyclables.

Lack of Incentives:
Stores have little motivation to recycle if there are no government subsidies, tax benefits, or penalties
for waste mismanagement.

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