7 ms·

We canceled after a week precisely for this reason. I couldn't believe how much trash a single shipment generated.

spike021 9y ago
what's a single shipment typically composed of? Curious since I was thinking of trying it. Do you mean like cardboard/plastic packaging? I was thinking materials would come in re-usable container. Not fancy, but even somewhat "cheapy" re-usable material.
- jonknee 9y ago
  From Googling around, lots of plastic bags: https://www.jennettefulda.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/ingedients.jpg https://www.jennettefulda.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/ing...
  - icehawk219 9y ago
    I haven't used Blue Apron but used one of their competitors and you'd get the ingredients like this but they'd also be in a big styrofoam container (to help insulate against the elements). The other problem was if you had 2 recipes that each called for a cucumber you'd get 2 individually bagged cucumbers. I don't know if they're smarter about this but that was a big turn off when I tried it.
- schraitle 9y ago
  Lots of individual plastic bags, but they are recyclable in the giant plastic bag recycling box at the grocery store. We would just stuff them all into a larger bag for storage and drop it all off next time we actually went to the store.
resolaibohp 9y ago
I hear this a lot from people. When I go grocery shopping I have bags and boxes for nearly everything I purchase. When I order items on Amazon I get boxes and tons of packing materials. What is a better alternative that does not generate tons of trash? Blue Apron also does a good job at allowing you to send back the materials so they can recycle them. I just point this out as I think they get a lot of criticism for a company that I don't think generates more trash than a lot of alternatives and they give an option to recycle.
- swsieber 9y ago
  Right - but I don't have daily trash for spices. Or for eggs. It's not the fact that they generate trash. It's the frequency and quantity.
- ceejayoz 9y ago
  > When I go grocery shopping I have bags and boxes for nearly everything I purchase. You don't get enough cold packs and insulation for it to stay cold for a couple of days in a hot shipping distribution center / truck, though.
artursapek 9y ago
Trash is generally a byproduct of convenience, so I'm not surprised to hear this product generates a lot of trash. One can say the same thing about Keurigs, that hilarious Juicero thing, and many other services. I instinctively avoid this kind of thing now, not just because of the quality compromise but also this trash efficiency compromise. It's really short-sighted and lazy to consume in this fashion. Go to a damn farmer's market and plan out your week, people!
- Karunamon 9y ago
  Your accusatory comment assumes that the reader: * Lives in an area with a farmer's market in accessible range (i.e. they don't live in a food desert[1] like ~24 million Americans - and that's just any kinda real market) * Spends as much or less at the market as on a service like this, factoring in all externalities such as food waste, travel time and expense, and so on * Has the time to spend getting to the market and shopping * Has the cash on hand (many farmers markets are cash only - anyone on SNAP, ~43M people[2], is now excluded since those benefits are usually on cards) * Has a situation that allows "planning out their week" [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert [2]: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/21/donald-trump/trump-43-million-americans-food-stamps/ http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/...
  - artursapek 9y ago
    Somehow those people in "food deserts" managed to get by for hundreds of years before this era of wasteful ultra-convenience startups.
    - ceejayoz 9y ago
      They're a fairly recent development. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2516593/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2516593/ > In 1961, more than 75% of London’s inner-city population lived within 1 kilometer of a supermarket, giving them easy access to a variety of foods, says principal investigator Jason Gilliland, who directs the university’s Urban Development Program. In 2005, he says, that number was less than 20%.

what's a single shipment typically composed of? Curious since I was thinking of trying it. Do you mean like cardboard/plastic packaging? I was thinking materials would come in re-usable container. Not fancy, but even somewhat "cheapy" re-usable material.

jonknee 9y ago
From Googling around, lots of plastic bags: https://www.jennettefulda.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/ingedients.jpg https://www.jennettefulda.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/ing...
- icehawk219 9y ago
  I haven't used Blue Apron but used one of their competitors and you'd get the ingredients like this but they'd also be in a big styrofoam container (to help insulate against the elements). The other problem was if you had 2 recipes that each called for a cucumber you'd get 2 individually bagged cucumbers. I don't know if they're smarter about this but that was a big turn off when I tried it.
schraitle 9y ago
Lots of individual plastic bags, but they are recyclable in the giant plastic bag recycling box at the grocery store. We would just stuff them all into a larger bag for storage and drop it all off next time we actually went to the store.

resolaibohp 9y ago

I hear this a lot from people. When I go grocery shopping I have bags and boxes for nearly everything I purchase. When I order items on Amazon I get boxes and tons of packing materials. What is a better alternative that does not generate tons of trash? Blue Apron also does a good job at allowing you to send back the materials so they can recycle them. I just point this out as I think they get a lot of criticism for a company that I don't think generates more trash than a lot of alternatives and they give an option to recycle.

swsieber 9y ago
Right - but I don't have daily trash for spices. Or for eggs. It's not the fact that they generate trash. It's the frequency and quantity.
ceejayoz 9y ago
> When I go grocery shopping I have bags and boxes for nearly everything I purchase. You don't get enough cold packs and insulation for it to stay cold for a couple of days in a hot shipping distribution center / truck, though.

artursapek 9y ago

Trash is generally a byproduct of convenience, so I'm not surprised to hear this product generates a lot of trash. One can say the same thing about Keurigs, that hilarious Juicero thing, and many other services. I instinctively avoid this kind of thing now, not just because of the quality compromise but also this trash efficiency compromise. It's really short-sighted and lazy to consume in this fashion. Go to a damn farmer's market and plan out your week, people!

Karunamon 9y ago
Your accusatory comment assumes that the reader: * Lives in an area with a farmer's market in accessible range (i.e. they don't live in a food desert[1] like ~24 million Americans - and that's just any kinda real market) * Spends as much or less at the market as on a service like this, factoring in all externalities such as food waste, travel time and expense, and so on * Has the time to spend getting to the market and shopping * Has the cash on hand (many farmers markets are cash only - anyone on SNAP, ~43M people[2], is now excluded since those benefits are usually on cards) * Has a situation that allows "planning out their week" [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert [2]: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/21/donald-trump/trump-43-million-americans-food-stamps/ http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/...
- artursapek 9y ago
  Somehow those people in "food deserts" managed to get by for hundreds of years before this era of wasteful ultra-convenience startups.
  - ceejayoz 9y ago
    They're a fairly recent development. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2516593/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2516593/ > In 1961, more than 75% of London’s inner-city population lived within 1 kilometer of a supermarket, giving them easy access to a variety of foods, says principal investigator Jason Gilliland, who directs the university’s Urban Development Program. In 2005, he says, that number was less than 20%.