In some stores you can spot small products in big wrappers that aren't even necessary. Those wrappers are just directly going to the trash anyway so that is just a waste.

I agree that!

So true

I agree. I suggest bringing reusable bags when grocery shopping or even sending an email to the company to help them create more sustainable packaging. In the past I have emailed a small shoe company to switch their shoe boxes from plastic to card board. All it took was one email!

The production of the individual wrapper if there is an external wrapper is unnecessary  and creates even more of a problem because in making these they increase carbon and trash as well. The individual wrappers I have found are highly unnecessary and could easily be eliminated.

I agree. This is very unnecessary and wasteful. There is no need to be using these big bags for small items and plus, a lot of individually wrapped items don't even need to be put in a bag. My grandmother has a hard time lifting heavy things so the bag worker just put her bags back in the cart so she could push them all to her car (as do most workers do for anyone) so instead of putting the individual wrapped items in a bad they could just put it in the cart the way it is. We should also encourage using reusable bags in stores more often.

This a very big problem because consumers buy , for example, a bag of chips and the chip bag is only 1/3 of the way full. So essentially is wasting more plastic than needed and misleading consumers. In the farmers market that I go to there are containers of food and little baggies that you can put the amount of food you choose in. This is a very good idea because it creates less waste for the consumer because the consumer gets the exact amount wanted and the bag doesn't go to waste because it's being fully used and they're reusable unlike plastic chip bags.

The amount of waste we produce has a huge affect on Earth. People need to start reusing and re-purposing things. We are increasing the ‘carbon footprint’ of Earth by not recycling and throwing everything away, not reusing plastics, and so much more. There are so many ways in which we should go about to stop or try and reduce the waste we have.
In the article US Environmental Protection Agency; Reducing and Reusing basics, they give us a list of what we can do that require little effort to do. Some major examples they gave us were; Buying used things such as clothing or materials, finding products with the least amount of packaging, this article states, “Buying in bulk can reduce packaging and save money,” always buy reusable not disposable products, always repair things when they are broken so not to waste or throw them away, and finally borrow.
Doing these simple things everyday or as often as possible are the first steps in the right direction to reducing our production of waste. This would majorly help and protect the environment. You would also be overall saving mo ney! Do you think you can make it a goal of yours to try and reuse and recycle everyday?
Resource:
"Reducing and Reusing Basics." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 29 Sept.
2016.

I think about this all the time! Many things are wrapped in plastic when there is no need for them to be. For example, when picking fruits or veggies there is no need to place them in a plastic bag. We should bring our own bags to reduce waste. There is no point of putting them in a plastic bag just to bring them home and wash them before serving them. Another is plastic water bottles. I don't think plastic water bottles should be bought and sold at all, and they should really only be given away in cases of a natural disaster or emergency. Like many grocery stores, clothing stores should also be encouraged to switch to reusable bags other than plastic to encourage shoppers to bring their own. A charge of the reusable bag should also be applied so people can remember. I know I always forget my bag because they sell plastic bags for 10 cents. If all markets just switched to reusable bags and charged a few dollars for them every time, more and more people would remember to bring their bags while out shopping.

I think about this every time that I get a package in the mail that had a ton of bubble wrap or peanuts, and is in a box 5 times larger than the item that was purchased. It is a complete waste and not necessary.

someone from Europe could comment on this: I think in at least some European countries, stores are required to accept the wrapping from customers and make sure that it is properly recycled.

You bring up a good point! I notice in stores and when I receive packages in the mail that the items are often in very wasteful wrapping. I agree with comments above that think stores should encourage people to use reusable bags when shopping. In the city I live in they do this and I think it has proven to be quite effective. Before it plastic bags were banned we never brought are own bags, but now every time we go to the grocery store we do. Now whenever I travel to a city that has plastic bags I cringe and think how easy and better for the environment  it would be for people to bring their own bags. I also have heard of compostable containers and I think this should become a new norm. Here is a company that makes green packaging. http://begreenpackaging.com

You are right most companies will use unnecessary big wrappers and packaging for their products that will eventually end up in landfills and will cause environment pollution.