It's an idea that sounds … well, bananas.
Del Monte has come up with individual plastic packaging for bananas, a fruit that already comes in its own natural, biodegradable wrapper.
At a time when we're all trying to reduce packaging waste, why would a company create more?
Paradoxically, Del Monte says the packaged bananas, which will be marketed as a "natural energy snack on the go" in Britain and the United States, are intended as a green initiative, according to the Daily Mail.
The clear pouches are said to contain "controlled ripening technology," purported to extend the shelf-life of the fruit by several days. The packaged bananas are also expected to be more expensive, at about $1 (U.S.) per fruit, the Daily Mail says.
Naturally, the idea is eliciting a fair amount of skepticism.
"This is a backward step which will contribute to the twin problems of landfill and litter," Gary Porter, from the Environmental Board of the Local Government Association, a British lobby group, told the newspaper.
Del Monte's U.K. managing director James Harvey offered a different take: "Del Monte's new CRT packaging is designed to provide significant carbon footprint savings by reducing the frequency of deliveries and the amount of waste going to landfill. The packaging is also recyclable."
Can extra packaging really be more environmentally friendly?