We live in an age of unparalleled convenience, where practically anything—food, makeup, clothes, or even the latest iPhone—can arrive at our doorstep in hours or a few short days.
As impressive as it is, this efficiency comes at a huge cost for the planet. Deliveries are often shipped in absurdly wasteful packaging: massive boxes stuffed with plastic wrap, layers of foam, and heaps of shredded paper for something as small as a pair of earrings. This practice has become so common that people online are now sharing photos of their over-packaged orders, exposing just how ridiculous it can get.
Below, we’ve rounded up some of the most egregious examples. Scroll down to see for yourself, and don’t miss our conversation with climate and environmental consultant Anna Bohushenko about the consequences of such excess.
#1 All Of This For One Purse. (Cat For Scale)
RELATED: #2 Individually Wrapped Lemon Slices
#3 Since Oranges Don’t Have A Natural Packaging
We reached out to Anna Bohushenko, a climate and environmental consultant from Ukraine, for her expert insights on the issue of unnecessary packaging. “The use of single-use packaging, increased consumption on the go, and the growth of the e-commerce sector all contribute significantly to the increase in waste, leading to a social and environmental crisis,” Bohushenko says. “The unsustainable use of packaging materials also increases the demand for natural resources and plastic pollution.”
#4 Ordered 5 Nail Polishes From Amazon
#5 This Box Was For One Little Ds Game
#6 Seen At Target – 2 Apple Slices X 6 Plastic Bags, In A Plastic Box
“Waste is everywhere,” says Bohushenko. “It gets stuck in fences, it is scattered on streets and along beaches and roadsides, and it pollutes waterways, oceans, soil and air. Humanity is estimated to generate about 2.24 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, of which only 55% is disposed of in controlled and designated facilities.”
#7 Not Sure What The Point Of The Plastic Wrapping Is… What A Waste
#8 Included A Lipstick In A Target Pick-Up Order. They Said It Was Out Of Stock Locally, But They Could Mail Me One
#9 For F**k’s Sake
As Bohushenko explains, this could rise to 3.88 billion tonnes per year by 2050. “The waste sector is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss,” she says. “Around 931 million tonnes of food is thrown away each year, and it is expected that up to 37 million tonnes of plastic waste will end up in the ocean each year by 2040.”
“As a result of plastic pollution, most sea-birds are consuming plastics on a regular basis and a large majority are becoming sick. They are often injured and maimed by plastic trash, even if they don’t consume it.”
#10 This Tin Of Individually Wrapped Assorted Jelly Beans I Got As A Gift
#11 17-Inch Box For A 2-Inch Item, Including Whole Printed Spiel That It Was “Thoughtfully Packaged” To “Reduce Impact”
#12 “Gift Of Nothing” Is The Gift Of Egregious Packaging
#13 Some Sort Of Chip My Coworker Received
#14 All This Plastic For A Single Cough Drop
#15 Wasteful Packaging Should Be A Crime. Credit: Gegloon On Reddit Via @get.waste.ed
#16 47,785ml Of Packaging For 5.4ml Of Product. These Boxes All Came From The Same Warehouse Together
#17 Somehow Both Too Much And Not Enough
#18 Pure Absurdity
#19 Just Got A Pair Of Headphones, Why Is The Box So Big
#20 Got My Battery Today From Amazon. They Didn’t Even Add Bubble Wrap Or Craft Paper
#21 “Eco Friendly” Soft Toys All Individually Wrapped In Single Use Plastic
#22 Way Too Much Packaging For Some Batteries 🤦♂️
#23 Two Sleeves Of Pills Came In The Box Of 10
#24 My Chef Saved $2.50/300 Units If They Come Individually Wrapped. So I Spent The First Hour Of My Shift Unwrapping Them
#25 Pixy Stix
#26 Forgot About This Gem…this Was 12 Years Ago But I Believe That Was About An 18-In Ruler And It Was Absolutely The Only Thing In That Box
#27 The Box And What It Was Used For. Ordered From An Ink Supplier
#28 A Little Bottle And A Tiny Other Thing
#29 Christmas Present. A Box With Plastic Lid, Six Useless Cups, 6 Plastic Lids… All For 6 Little Sachets Of Hot Chocolate/Coffee
#30 The Forks At Buffalo Wild Wings
#31 This Is The Packaging For 8 Serving Utensils From Crate And Barrel. (Banana For Scale)
#32 A Fanny Pack
#33 A Specific Carton Just For A Single Egg
#34 A Presentation Case For A Single Tube Of Toothpaste. It’s Recyclable, Forgetting That They Could Just Not
#35 All For One Book
#36 Giant Box To Ship Five 4×6 Photos
#37 Too Much Package For 3 ‘Gourmet’ Cookies. Found At Sams Club
#38 Hannaford Supermarket Hoping To Sell You *a* Donut
#39 Nutrisystem Pizza
#40 Ordered 2 Knives From Crate And Barrel…
#41 Was The Paper Seriously Supposed To Keep The Two Items From Moving Around In This Huge Box?
#42 The Tomato Aisle In My Local Grocery Store Made Me Sad
#43 Change Wiper Blades On Two Vehicles And Win This Pile Of Bs!
#44 All This For Some Spirit Gum :/
#45 Thanks Tesla! All This Packaging For A USB Drive
#46 Wait, Why Wrap Compostable Poo Bags In Plastic?
#47 Why
#48 Can’t Be Too Careful!
#49 All This Plastic For Just 5 Toothbrush Heads
#50 Some Anti-Egregiouspackaging? I Mean, Thanks, But A Little Discretion Would Have Been Appreciated
#51 Ordered Two Lightbulbs. One Came In This Box. The Other Came In A Normal Sized Box
#52 All This For The Tiny USB Drive…
#53 This Microphone Preamp Came In A Absurdly Large Box
#54 “Eco-Box” Wrapped In Plastic
#55 Ridiculous
#56 Individually Packed 0.7 Pencil Lead
#57 A Single Circular Barbell (Butter Knife For Scale)
#58 More Of This Please
#59 Why Individually Package Them In Plastic 2 Packs When They’re Already Wrapped??
#60 This Needlessly Large Packaging For A 20mm Sized Micro Sd Card
#61 This Nail Polish Probably Felt Like It Pulled Up In A Rolls-Royce
#62 Now With More Box!
#63 Every Damn Fork Was Individually Wrapped
#64 I Was Delighted When Ca Started Free Lunches At School. Early Dismissal Means I’m Seeing It For The First Time And Am Now Horrified
#65 Literally W H Y
#66 Icy Hot
#67 4 Bars Individually Packed. Packed In Pairs. Packed In 2 Packs Of Pairs. 😡😡😡
#68 This Has So Many Depths Of Fucked Up
#69 Egregious For Other Reasons, My Girlfriend’s Copy Of Jeanette Mccurdy’s “I’m Glad My Mom Died” Came In Nick Jr Packaging
#70 Why? For What Reason? To What Possible Advantage?
#71 Individually Packaged Slices Of Bread
#72 This Is Just Infuriating
#73 Just Ordered A 140cm Shower Bar… Maybe I Ordered The Entire Bathroom
#74 One Medium Dog Food Tray, Humongous Box
#75 Does This Count?
#76 These Covid Tests From Costco. Five Per Box And You Cannot Fit A Second Box Into The Package
#77 Kinder Bueno
#78 Individually Plastic Wrapped Chocolates In A Plastic Bag
#79 A Bag With A Box Of 2 Packs Of 2 Individually Wrapped Chocolate Bars
#80 Arby’s Gave Me 4 Fry Containers
