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Solomon Lo

Mr.Van Velzer

Beginning Composition - Block 1

13 December 2015

Final Speech

Have your fingers ever been cut while you were trying to get something out of its

packaging? Chances are that you tried to open clamshell packaging. Clamshell packaging is

made when a piece of plastic is “molded” around the shape of whatever it is holding. While it

may look shiny and brand new, it’s ​absolutely​ the hardest type of packaging to open. Clamshell

packaging is wasteful, too hard to open, and bad for the environment, which is why we need to

tell manufacturers and retailers to stop using it to package things that they sell.

We need to get rid of clamshell packaging because it is too hard to open. In an article

published by TreeHugger, “Some injuries are caused by the jagged edges of half-opened,

hard-plastic wrappers. Others occur when the frustrated consumers use tools such as knives,

scissors, or wire cutters. These implements, often taken up in anger, have a tendency to glance

off the nigh-impenetrable packaging and wound the hands that wield them.” I like many other

people, have had horrible experiences with clamshell packaging.

A notable example of how hard clamshell packaging is to open was when I got a brand

new pair of headphones as a present for Christmas. They were kept under a thick layer of hard

plastic that was almost impossible to cut. I wrestled against it with a pair of scissors, hoping that

I wouldn't mutilate my hands in the process. However, as the scissors slipped off the side of the
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packaging, my finger got caught on the sharp pieces of plastic, and gave my finger a painful cut,

which probably embarrassed the people who gave me the headphones.

If we can convince people to stop using clamshell packaging, we won’t have to go

through utter pain and frustration every time we open something. To make all of our lives easier,

we need to write letters and call manufacturers and retailers to make them stop using clamshell

packaging, and to start using another alternative, like paper or cardboard.

We need to get rid of clamshell packaging because it is a waste of oil We already need oil

to make gasoline and diesel, but clamshell packaging is stealing from this limited resource. The

PVC of clamshell packaging is synthesised from crude oil, which increases gas prices because

there isn’t as much oil to make gasoline out of. In fact, there was even an article from the New

York Times, where Jeff Kellogg has stated that “​With the instability in petroleum-based

materials, people said we need an alternative to the clamshell.” Other people also agree that we

need to make a change. C​lamshell packaging does nothing but increase how much money we

need to spend every day for things we need. Because of this, we need to encourage the

companies and local stores to switch over to other forms of packaging, like cardboard, paper, or

laminate.

Clamshell packaging is also very bad for the environment. It doesn’t break down into

base materials when it is tossed into a landfill. Instead, it stays as a plastic for thousands of years,

since just about nothing from nature can break it down. According to an online article published

by HowStuffWorks.com, “Bacteria turn up their noses at plastic. Load their dinner plates with

some plastic bags and bottles, and the one-celled gluttons will skip the meal entirely. Based on
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this logic, it's safe to argue that plastic will never biodegrade.” It will never go away; it will

continue to harm us and the ecosystem far after it becomes useless.

Some people may say,”Why can’t you give it to other people to recycle?” However,

because there are no recycling standards for clamshell packaging, it is impossible to recycle. All

companies use a different method to produce clamshell packaging, which makes it hard for the

recycling facilities to precisely break it down.This is why we need to switch from clamshell

packaging to alternative packaging methods, like paper, cardboard, or other things. If we don’t,

our landfills and environment will be filled with plastic packaging that nothing can decompose,

which means that it will stay there forever.

Clamshell packaging is wasteful, too hard to open, and bad for the environment, which is

why manufacturers and retailers need to stop using it to package things that they sell. It not

necessary, nor practical, nor useful, not efficient, and not recyclable. We need to write letters or

call our local retailers, telling them about how much we need to switch to cardboard or paper,

which are obviously better solutions. In doing so, we can help save our oil, our fingers, and our

environment.