Excitement! There’s a package awaiting me in the mailroom.
What can it be? Such a substantial object yet so light.
Couldn’t recall any online orders of recent date and of such a size.
Then memory clicks in; there was a purchase of a small item a couple of days back. From Amazon – where else?
But nothing of this size. Hope they haven’t confused their orders.
Curious, I measured the package – 9 inches by 6 inches by 4 inches.
Carefully I peeled back its sticky tape bindings.
Inside was a large piece of scrunched-up brown paper.
And hidden beneath it was my order enclosed in a carton measuring a mere 2.75 inches by 2.5 inches by 5 inches.
Which raises so many questions, all asking why?
Why load the mail system with packages more than twice the size they need to be?
Why be so wasteful in the use of paper, cardboard and wrappings?
Why incur distribution costs (based on size of item) costlier than they need to be?
Why burden society with more material waste than is absolutely necessary?
Why, why, why?
As the adage goes, size does matter – and it matters more than ever now as the world slowly sinks under an excess of packaging.
Time to measure up, Amazon.