Do you have trouble getting things open these days?

[Bob Glenn]

I don't know if the packaging engineers are getting mean or my old fingers just don't work like they used to. The new zip lock packages have a tear off strip that I usually end up cutting off with scissors, then I have a problem getting the two sides to separate to pull it open. Packaged snack crackers are sometimes hard to open and don't get me started on the bubble wrap packaging that can slice through your skin if you are not careful. Other plastic packaging resists tearing until you finally get it open then you can't get the tears to stop before they reach the other end of the bag requiring you to place the left over contents in a new plastic bag. I think the makers of zip lock plastic bags have something to do with this.

I try to avoid the bubble packs of pills. Some of those were designed by demons. I usually end up cutting the pills free with scissors also. Tooth paste tubes seem to remain okay unless you get one that has the handy flip top cap. Those are good for about a week, then the dried out tooth paste that collects around the cap makes it impossible to fully close the cap.

Beer makers have it right with the pop tops tabs on the cans and the twist off caps are great until you try to open one with your bare hands that requires a bottle opener. The resulting abrasion to your fingers and thumb makes me want to get on the wagon. Screw off wine bottle caps made wine drinking easier than the corked variety but were looked down upon by connoissuers. We buy our wine in a box now.

[Matt Day]

I think it’s just that you’re getting old, like the rest of us, lol.

I hear you though about the tear off plastic bag tops that never seem to tear off correctly and is always a pain to open. The green pistachio bags are the worst!

[Roger Feeley]

There are some things that just don’t make sense to me. Some cereals are sealed so well that the inner bag tears before the seal separates. I often go to my daughters house and see inner cereal bags torn so that they can’t be folded over to maintain freshness.

I’m just a bit arthritic and these things are hard for me. I can’t imagine what it’s like for those with real problems.

[Kev Williams]

Saltine's packages, haven't had open on the seam for years...

[lowell holmes]

That's why I have both scissors and box cutters in my shop.

Old age may be tough but it sure beats the alternative.

[Jim Allen]

I try to avoid the bubble packs of pills. Some of those were designed by demons. I usually end up cutting the pills free with scissors also.

And they're usually only for when you're sick and really don't want to have to mess with um. A knife and tweezers works for me.

[Steve Demuth]

Frequent topic of conversation in my household. Yes. It's getting worse. Getting old doesn't help, but my 30 year old son says the same thing, and frankly he's at the stage of male existence where in a pinch he can just crush most things if that's necessary.

[Jim Andrew]

Cereal and cracker packages used to be made from waxed paper, now it is plastic and a lot tougher to open. Waxed paper used to fold when you closed it up, plastic requires a clothes pin. I hate the rip off strips on bags, they always rip in the wrong place. Plastic should be illegal for throw away packaging. Waxed paper will degrade if left outside, plastic lasts for years. Same thing with paper cups vs plastic.

[Ron Citerone]

Do you have trouble getting things open these days?
YES! Beyond my aging fingers, I think manufacturers are doing it to make their packaging more secure?

[Barry McFadden]

I find the worst is trying to get into packaged Romain Lettuce. I tear off the strip and the bag is so thin there is no way to pull the two sides apart to try to get the zip lock part open. Always rips the bag. Another complaint is with fresh dog food. I buy a package of Fresh Pet dog food just because I think he would like some of it mixed in with the hard kibble. At least half of the time it is very hard to get the zip lock part to stay closed so when I pull it out of the fridge it spills all over the floor!! I've been meaning to contact them about it but it's still on my cranky old fart list of things to do....

[Steve Demuth]

I've run into potato or corn chip bags from some brands that I literally could not open without getting a scissors.

On the hardware side, I've bought things in "clamshells" so sturdy I couldn't open them with​ a scissors, having to resort to a sheet metal "snips." 8" X10" of double layered hard plastic, glued at the edges, requiring hand tools to open - for a part that should have been in a little paperboard box.

[Tom Stenzel]

I've run into potato or corn chip bags from some brands that I literally could not open without getting a scissors.

On the hardware side, I've bought things in "clamshells" so sturdy I couldn't open them with​ a scissors, having to resort to a sheet metal "snips." 8" X10" of double layered hard plastic, glued at the edges, requiring hand tools to open - for a part that should have been in a little paperboard box.

+1

I've used tin snips to open up some of the really miserable hard plastic packages too.

-Tom

[Bill Jobe]

I'd like to add that the lid design on this bottle of baby aspirin should be mandated on all pill bottles and such.

[Brian Elfert]

How would processed food stay fresh for long periods of time in waxed paper? Yes, I know waxed paper was used before plastic became common, but back in those days food was more local and people generally shopped more often.

These days, for better or for worse, much of our food is made in large factories and shipped long distances rather than made locally. This is one of the reasons food costs as a percentage of total spending is a lot less than it was 50 to 70 years ago.

[Bill Jobe]

There are, of course, products such as green bags that they say the uv blocking in the bag is one way, and I think in the very near (perhaps yesterday) future genetically "programmed" vegetables and fruits that are resistant to uv will be developed.

[Lee DeRaud]

On the hardware side, I've bought things in "clamshells" so sturdy I couldn't open them with​ a scissors, having to resort to a sheet metal "snips."My recent "favorite" was a Freud saw blade packaged that way: I was pretty sure a blood sacrifice would be required before it attained its freedom.

[Lee DeRaud]

I'd like to add that the lid design on this bottle of baby aspirin should be mandated on all pill bottles and such.I bought a big bottle of naproxen with a "senior-friendly" screw-off cap maybe 10 years ago and am still using it. The childproof caps on the new ones get opened once by any means necessary (chainsaw?) and the contents transferred to the old bottle.

[Gary Ragatz]

The new zip lock packages have a tear off strip that I usually end up cutting off with scissors, then I have a problem getting the two sides to separate to pull it open.

Spent about 5 minutes yesterday morning trying to tear that strip off a package of bacon. Finally realized there was no strip - you just pull the sides apart. One of these days, I'll learn to read the directions first!

[Bill McNiel]

My mother suffered from severe arthritis in her later years. Her prescription meds came in child proof bottles that she could only open by smashing them with a rolling pin. She wrote to the provider explaining the situation and they replied with "sincere regret and empathy" and sent her a year's supply in........child proof bottles.

[Tony Pisano]

This country needs to rethink the whole process of packaging. Plastic is too easily available, used once and dumped in the waste stream. The only medicine I ever take is an occasional allergy pill, with the little corner that you're supposed to bend down and pull. It's so small you can't grab it. They provide plastic bags for produce, then put those bags in another plastic bag for people to take home. Our local Stop and Shop has a mark down rack with "too ripe" fruit and vegetables. They have bananas in little paper bags with handles and everything else is on styrofoam trays then covered in shrink wrap. When I used to tell them I didn't want a bag at the register, they looked at me like I had 2 heads.
I opened a few toys for my grandkids at Christmas. I swear the cardboard was 1/4" thick, glued with titebond, and the plastic was bullet proof lexan. Once I got through that, there were either zip ties or throw away plastic screws and nuts going through yet another piece of cardboard holding every single piece in. I hope we run out of oil soon.

[Bill Jobe]

I've read "reports" of a whirlpool of plastic the size of Texas in the Pacific.

[Ken Barney]

I've been taking Chantix (the smoking cessation medicine) for a while now. It seems to be helping/working. A month's worth of pills (2 a day) come in a box where EVERY SINGLE pill is in a punch-out conglomeration of cardboard, aluminum foil and almost bullet-proof plastic. For sake of my sanity when I get a new prescription I normally punch-out, pinch, twist, cut-out all of the pills at one time and transfer them to a normal bottle.

Afterwards.., after all that hassle.., I've got to have a cigarette to calm down. Makes me wonder if it's all in their marketing plan??

--Ken

[Roger Feeley]

Check out UPS LOOP co-sponsored by TerraCycle
You order stuff online from LOOP and it comes in various SS containers and packed in a foldable, reusable box. You store the box and return the empties. They clean and fill them and sell them again. I don't know if their business plan will work but at least someone is trying.

https://loopstore.com/

(https://loopstore.com/)

[Brian Elfert]

Check out UPS LOOP co-sponsored by TerraCycle
You order stuff online from LOOP and it comes in various SS containers and packed in a foldable, reusable box. You store the box and return the empties. They clean and fill them and sell them again. I don't know if their business plan will work but at least someone is trying.


I wonder how much is really saved after all the shipping and cleaning all those containers for reuse? It sounds like a neat idea if you already have these goods shipped to you anyhow.

Shipping semi sized loads to a single store is more efficient than shipping a small amount to hundreds of homes.

[Bob Glenn]

I bought a bag of chips and the clerk asked me if I wanted it in a bag. I told her it was already in a bag.

[James Pallas]

It’s a mater of people’s honesty. If it was easy to open people would just open it and grab a handful with no conscience about it or not be watchful of their children. It’s also about proving something is new, like tools, if it is not sealed up someone may have used it and the store put it back on the shelf. When is the last time you saw a stack of circ saw blades on one hook with no packaging at all. It is costing us a fortune to pay for all that packaging too. Now if I could just get this old foot out of the stirrup I could get off this horse.
Jim

[Kevin Beitz]

First thing I do when I get a medicine bottle is to turn it upside down
and take a screwdriver to the two part lid and pry the top lid off.
That part goes in the trash. Then it's easy to open...