“What frustrates me Sire”, said Gnomepak to the king of the fairies, “is that we seem to be suffering from a complete lack of sound science. We have always prided ourselves on being a Kingdom that made rational decisions based on sound physical, chemical and engineering principles.
“But now we find that pure emotion seems to be taking over. We have already seen the situation with regard to the taxes on gossamer bags. In some lands they are either being completely outlawed or we have to pay one acorn for every bag just for the pleasure of using it. This means that grass bags are taking over, which are heavier, not so strong and can dissolve in the wet to make smelly gases that burn holes in the sky.
“If that was not enough, the elves who live in Cloverland across the water, are about to be told to stop using those nice little foamy containers that keep our sandwiches and baked potatoes hot. These are light, easy to use and do the job effectively but some of the less careful elves throw them about the woodland. Rather than teach them to take proper care of their environment, it looks like we may all be punished by having to eat cold potatoes in future.”
Whatever goes through the minds of those in the neverland, they are making the fundamental mistake of treating the symptoms and not the disease. Properly constructed packaging based on sound scientific principles plays a crucial part in improving our health and safety and preserving the quality of life for all of us. If a minority spoil the environment through littering, we should take effective action to target those who cause the problem.
The science will show that, contrary to the emotion, the vast majority of the packaging we use is not only vital to protect the goods we use ,but also brings with it advantages which far outweigh its minimal environmental impacts. The same can never be said about junk mail. Now that is something that really spoils the beauty of our Gnomeland!