I just received the latest Choice magazine which is, as many other mags, wrapped in plastic. With current environmental concerns re plastic at all levels I wonder if this is still an acceptable practice. Maybe Choice could set an example and revert to paper envelopes?
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Thanks for the feedback @dieterfb, I’ll be sure to raise this suggestion with our leadership team.
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I agree. Most plastics cannot be recycled due to the recycling businesses unable to process.
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Soft plastics such as the palstic wrap on the magazine can be recycled…see
The first principle of waste management/minimisation is not to produce the waste itself. As plastic can live within the environment for 100s, if not 1000s, of years, it is best not to create and use plastics unless there is no alternative. Where there is no alternative, then any plastic (hard or soft) should be recycled to reduce impacts on the finite oil reserves and also to ensure that it doesn’t enter the environment as a waste.
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Or maybe save a whole lot of resources and get it electronically!
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Good suggestion @timwoolmer, however I must be getting about a dozen different subscribed and unsubscribed mags posted to me with plastic covers of which the Choice Magazine is just one. To ‘safe the planet’ we need to start the change somewhere and Choice would be ideally placed to start the process and then educate other companies/publishers to follow suit?
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I find plastic wrapped magazines better than those wrapped in paper. Sometimes when its raining the postie doesn’t place the mail completely into the letter box and only the plastic gets wet and the magazine inside survives.
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I subscribe to both Choice and Choice Computer and they have always arrived together in the one plastic package but was disappointed this month, when they arrived separately a couple of days apart. Was this just a once off mistake? Though I do recycle the soft plastics but would prefer to receive less.
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I am mostly in Indonesia these days - but i enjoy coming back to read the hardcopy mag - so much more to it than the online version. Being able to read cover to cover (especially the back cover!) without worrying about gadgetry is a joy. But - i agree that packaging is an issue.
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A lot of companies etc i feel are lazy.As a consumer we do our bit to collect our recycling.But very few companies ever use recycled materials.To me i would love to see all companies be forced to use recycled plastic or paper.It may cost a little more for the company but if everyone does it.That would make a huge difference.Then we will probably have no more issues with recycling places having to much of the stuff
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I made a letter box that will accept A4 magazines without folding, which works well and is better for the Postman.
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Why receive a paper copy? Getting choice on line saves not only the plastic but also the trees used to print the magazine.
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Thanks Dieter, This has actually been a topic at CHOICE for a while.
We’re trying to find a supplier that can work with our current publisher (I’ve seen NRMA’s Open Road mag comes in a biodegradable plastic), so it is being considered - just needs some work.
Would also take that particular plastic out of the equation when we do our carbon neutral process each year.
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See @mudpuppy above and I also like to read my paper copy in a relaxed state from front to back and earmark a few items for later follow-up. That’s the choice we have and the Choice we pay for.
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As has been mentioned by other posters - online only - think I’m just about ready for that. Is there a purely online Choice option that gives up nothing of the pulped tree in plastic option?
As a bit of an aside - once read, I keep all my Choice magazines. Along with a number of other subscriptions, including a decade or so of Byte magazines from 30+ years ago, my collection is a little like a millstone around my neck - boxes of them that follow me in each move. Are there libraries or collectors of such things, places to donate? or are they destined for mulch?
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Reassuring to know I am not alone with a similar problem.
The state libraries were maintaining full sets of periodicals for reference and research, similar to using their resources for collecting old newspapers. Choice magazine is likely to be another.
P.S.
Whether byte along with my early copies of EA and APC are desirable or maintained I have not checked this century, although both were available in the Qld State library way back when. It is worth an ask with something like Byte Magazine which was less popular (more expensive). With so much material now being digitised and the ability to share digital resources globally, perhaps paper versions of some publications are no longer retained more widely?
Sets of Encyclopaedia Britanica and early 20th century pianola seek a similar fate. For the latter it’s a bit like holding on to a working version of a 1960’s/70’s commercial mainframe computer. Say an ICL 1500 series, needing a very large air conditioned room and three phase power to run. Who needs a PC or Pi?
It’s likely there are alternate uses for all, including old Choice magazines given we do have alternatives. ZINIO is one solution in the magazine world. Although there is no simple solution that retrospectively gives credit to access previously purchased paper versions in digital form?
My old mags now go in the recycling bin, rather than deal with the inks leaching our in the mulch or manually leaching and collecting the residue in buckets of water? I do have several sets of Britanica and a pianola. The mainframe sat under the house of someone I knew well, back when power was cheap.
Yes, this was a one off. They will come together in the future, and as mentioned we’re exploring some other alternatives too. In the meantime, you can recycle the soft plastics at Coles or Woolies too.
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Thanks. Glad to hear that.
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There is more in the mag than online. I can read it anywhere. I can pass it on to others. And sometimes it is so nice to be able to read without having to interact with a gadget!
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Our box is larger than A4, but if there is a lot of mail and the postie is in a hurry in the rain, he sometimes doesn’t stuff everything in properly.
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