# ¡Hombre, let's talk! Guy's grumbling about unnecessary packaging - Link: https://tomas-shejbal.cz/en/hombre-lets-talk-guys-grumbling-about-unnecessary-packaging/ - Published: 2025-07-26T11:14:32+02:00 - Author: tom # ¡Hombre, let's talk! Guy's grumbling about unnecessary packaging Spain ([how to get to Spain by train](https://tomas-shejbal.cz/how-to-get-from-czechia-to-spain-by-train)), sun, sea and mountains. _Olivas y aceitunas_, _vino rojo y blanco_ and dark-haired _señoritas_ with dark eyes. Markets, fresh vegetables, fruit, _queso de cabra_, but if there isn't any I won't turn down cow's cheese either. _Empanadas_, _pan de pasas_... _¿Bolsa?_ What? _No, no necesito bolsa. ¿No me escuchaste, hombre?_ I really don't need a bag... hmm, great. _¡Muchas gracias, no!_ All I can do is grumble about unnecessary packaging. Or is there another way? [⌊Grumbling about unnecessary packaging or action?⌉⌊Grumbling about unnecessary packaging or action?⌉[ Action instead of grumbling about another plastic bag _Last updated: September 13, 2023_ ## Compostable bags in supermarkets Yes, I often couldn't avoid supermarkets (mostly) in Galicia. In the Czech Republic I avoid temples of consumption (when I'm not [delivering flyers](https://tomas-shejbal.cz/coming-out-flyers-insolvency-and-the-journey-to-zero-waste)), but when traveling it's hard to plan where I'll be at what time, whether local _tiendas_ will be open, or if there will be any at all, right? So perfection goes out the window. _Supermercados_ naturally sell _quesos_ at the chilled counter. They wrap the cheese in waxed paper and then without hesitation wrap it in a compostable bag. They stick a price label on it. Not even a virus could get through. _¡Salud!_ But what to do with that compostable plastic bag? There's a pictogram on it saying shoppers should throw it in the _orgánica_ after use. And it serves its purpose very quickly. It's thinner than regular plastic bags and usually doesn't survive removing the price sticker. Which you absolutely must remove (unless you plan to just look at the contents), because it guards the knotted opening. But how is the poor _españolito_ supposed to figure this out? For decades they've been told not to throw plastic bags in general waste but in the yellow container. Now, when they're finally _acostumbrado_ and collecting good feelings one after another for their sustainable/ecological/great/exemplary behavior (from throwing away dozens of plastic bags daily), they should suddenly throw "plastic bags" in bio-waste? _¡Que va!_ The _supermercado_ manager would naturally object that it's a step toward sustainability and remind us that when a compostable "plastic bag" gets into nature, it will (and they won't even be lying here) harmlessly decompose over time. But still... do we really need to wrap everything five times in plastic when your own mesh bag or box would solve it? Maybe something like a [reusable box](https://www.rekrabicka.cz/), if not your own. ## Cuddling empanadas with croissants forbidden In small bakeries, cheese shops, fruit stands etc., they're very eager. Credit where credit's due, but there's just too much of that enthusiasm. Must be the temperament? My own mesh bags work fine, but suddenly when weighing, the staff skillfully tosses the mesh bag into a plastic bag. When the staff is slow, I try to stop this disaster. But the salesperson just smiles and with the faith of someone providing above-and- beyond service, tells me: "_Mejor así_". Yeah, I must be crazy for not wanting that extra bag. When the _hombre_ is giving it to me for free! In the bakery they stuff each type of pastry into a paper bag. As if that fragrant French elegance (croissant) doesn't want to snuggle with a lovely fragrant little _empanadita_. As if sweet bread (_pan dulce_ - pan is Spanish for bread/pastry of all kinds, _pan dulce_ is sweet pastry) doesn't want to be with whole grain bread( _pan integral_). Señor, what don't you like? The bag is paper after all! _¡Venga, hombre!_ That's replacing one package with another. _¡No, cálmate!_ I don't need it in a plastic bag too, I want to eat it right on the street! ## Transforming grumbling about unnecessary packaging into action When you constantly get more and more bags that you didn't ask for, that you often directly refused, soon there are more than _un poco_. I pondered how to deal with this ecological catastrophe. There had to be a solution. I remembered a habit Veronika and I established in the Czech Republic. Whenever someone brings us a bigger plastic bag or we get something in one, we put it in a special container. When we go on a trip, we take it with us and fill it with trash we collect along the way. [⌊Making oat milk with Nacho - mutual enrichment during a beWelcome stay.⌉⌊Making oat milk with Nacho - mutual enrichment during a beWelcome stay.⌉[ [Making oat milk](https://tomas-shejbal.cz/jak-na-rostlinne-mleko/) with Nacho - mutual enrichment during a stay on [beWelcome](https://bewelcome.org/). This transforms negative into positive. So we've cleaned up several trails and beaches from bits of litter. It stopped bothering us that we don't always successfully defend against the plastic/paper flood of disposable packaging. _Note: dear reader, this doesn't mean you should now bury me in plastic bags!_ Nacho's bag folding technique. A pretty good tip on how to store such waiting bags and plastic bags for their opportunity was shown to me by _Gallego_ Nacho. In return, I showed him how to make oat milk at home. Nacho is in the photo above, the fruits of his learning are in the video on the left. ## A hug from being moved I'm sitting in a _panadería_ in the small coastal town of _Noia_ when a guy comes in with a canvas bag for a baguette. The lady drops it in there like it's no big deal, he slaps a euro in her hand and disappears into the heat of the street. I can't believe my eyes: _¡Un abrazo, compañero!_ I wipe tears of emotion from my eyes. I've finally found a kindred spirit! I smile and carefully sip from my cup of _té negro_. I disdainfully ignore the sugar in its paper packet, with a little cookie resting beside it in plastic foil.