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Peco - Have they gone mad?


John M Upton
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Have Peco lost the plot?

 

I have over the years bought a fair few Peco N scale products, particularly their Quality Line Wagon Kits.  Up until very recently these have always come in a easily recycled cardboard box.

 

Therefore colour me baffled when I saw their new packaging, plastic!! 

20191204_234725.jpg.8e00a1f8f382df0942cba82319ea2ae3.jpg

 

There is also the multipacks of Setrack sections which not only cost more than buying the same number of pieces individually but also come with a hard plastic insert tray that is completely unnecessary!!

 

In the current climate of way too much plastic packaging being used, what on Earth are they thinking?!?

Edited by John M Upton
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It may be more effective to raise this on the Peco Facebook page or email them. It does seem they are using more plastic in packaging - the N gauge points for instance now come in a plastic holder. I know that Peco are still a family run firm and have high standards across all that they do so this does seem rather odd. If enough people agree about thus packaging being wrong on their facebook page I'm sure they will change it.

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The track packaging is good old cardboard with a bit of wood to protect it which is great but the point packaging has gone from card to plastic. Maybe we should post all the plastic packaging back to Peco . If we all did it, it would send a message.

IMG_20191205_074829.jpg

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7 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

All forms of plastic packaging are now accepted and taken away by my local recycling contractor. Is Peco simply noting that the plastic recycling industry is now as capable as that for cardboard? 

Have to agree, plastic is as easily recycled as cardboard nowadays and probably protects the kite better. What I don't understand is why after so many years of their wagons coming in a foam lined storage box they now arrive in a box twice as big which you can no longer store them in.

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Isn't the point that there seems to be more packaging than before for the same product (and of 2 types, so necessitating sorting), so it cannot surely be a step forward?

 

That in itself would seem to make it a Bad Thing given our current eleventh hour climate crisis. 

 

What we need is Greta Thunberg (very much the Frodo to Sir David Attenborough's Gandalf, I always feel) to drop anchor in Lyme Bay and storm Beer Heights.

 

Either that or we get some really, really tiny Extinction Rebellion protesters to climb all over your wagons and bring services on your layout to a halt. 

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32 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

All forms of plastic packaging are now accepted and taken away by my local recycling contractor. Is Peco simply noting that the plastic recycling industry is now as capable as that for cardboard? 

Although more of our rubbish these days can be put in the recycling bin, my concern is whether it actually gets recycled

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/17/plastic-recycling-myth-what-really-happens-your-rubbish

 

I do think all manufactures should look at packaging, how to minimize it and make it as easily recyclable as possible

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With the wagons, it may have been a move to reduce too much ease of access with the previous packaging.  If potential buyers pop models out to examine them and decide that they're not quite what they want, then the goods will end up a bit shop-soiled and the boxes rather battered around the ends. There might also be pilferage issues.  Where points are concerned, there is probably a physical protection issue being improved. 

 

As for multipacks, if there's a markup on single item pricing, then don't bother, they'll soon get the message!

 

So long as the new packaging is recyclable, there's probably no problem. Packaging evolves, so feedback would probably be useful to Peco in reviewing their strategy!

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What a topic title! irresistible! Leaving aside the environmental concerns, I find that the plastic cracks far too easily and getting the models in and out of it is very fiddly. I much prefer the more conventional ‘Ice cube” clamshell in a cardboard box. I would much prefer the Accurascale sort of box to those of Hornby and Bachmann. The end flap is designed to lock and tears far too easily.

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1 hour ago, SDJR7F88 said:

Hi all, I've been talking to Steve Flint and the team in the RM office this morning regarding the topic. He's given me a copy of a response to a letter voicing the same concern in the September 2019 Issue of the Railway Modeller, which I've attached below.

I'll pass the feedback onto the RM Team

 

 

  

plastic by Peco.jpg

Thanks - I did say I thought Peco was a good company. I will now separate the plastic from the cardboard and onto the correct recycling.

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I think as far as their kits and track is concerned Peco should be congratulated, as all of the packaging is usually disposed of.

 

I have just noticed Wills building sheets come in small plastic boxes rather than the older card and plastic packs, which are much bigger and harder to pack away. Certainly a much better improvement for me

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The thing is ,should we be campaigning for our models not to be plastic? 

While most of us on here see our models as forever purchases there are still train sets bought for kids which will possibly end up in landfill or somewhere and causing pollution 

Mind the way the world is going all our models will end up causing pollution when the shock waves from atomic bombs blows off roofs and distributes our models all over the atmosphere 

But not much of mankind will be left to observe the mutant otter choke on a super detailed Heljan co-bo!

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5 hours ago, Edwardian said:

Either that or we get some really, really tiny Extinction Rebellion protesters to climb all over your wagons and bring services on your layout to a halt. 

Hi Edwardian,

 

I suspect that the type of glue used to stick the little blighters to the carriages would depend very much upon what the model is made from and also what the tiny little catastrophobes are made from.  for instance, how do you attach white metal figures to 3d printed resins rolling stock. I fear this is a much more tricky question than simply what type packaging all of this comes in.

 

Gibbo.

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I still feel that the old cardbox plus one little plastic bag of the old wagon kits was better than an all plastic box still with aforementioned little plastic bag inside.  The clear plastic sleeves on the points are quite useful as modelling material from time to time and it is nice now to have a picture of the assembled wagon on the kits but overall I am uncomfortable with more plastic packaging being used.

 

Dispensing with the old type bubbles glued onto card on the other hand I can easily understand!

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I was impressed by the Oxford N5 as it seems to be suitably cast metal in many parts.

Re the Peco packs.... every County/Borough seems to have a different recycling regime. My area will not accept the plastics such as the point packs and other sheet plastic. If we consider the amount of energy and resource that is used in producing our toys then it could be quite off-putting. 

Plastics are amazing materials for all sorts of purposes. Look at the amazing detail and fineness of fittings on so many of our items.

The 'problem' is, of course, in the materials usage or otherwise after initial 'purpose' and at the moment plastics recycling is pathetically poor, despite some very clever ides developed by various people. As is often the case it is all about cost benefit analysis and money!  

yes, I agree with John. What are Peco doing?

Phil

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7 hours ago, russ p said:

The thing is ,should we be campaigning for our models not to be plastic? 

While most of us on here see our models as forever purchases there are still train sets bought for kids which will possibly end up in landfill or somewhere and causing pollution 

Mind the way the world is going all our models will end up causing pollution when the shock waves from atomic bombs blows off roofs and distributes our models all over the atmosphere 

But not much of mankind will be left to observe the mutant otter choke on a super detailed Heljan co-bo!

 

Just think in the year 2525 the kids (???) will be watching cartoons of The teenage mutant ninja Co-Bo Otters !!!

 

With plastic recycling, here in Wigan we have FOUR wheelie bins, Black for general landfill, Green food & garden waste goes to compost, Blue paper, cardboard and card type drink containers and Brown for tins, glass and most plastics. What defines most plastics is a mystery - how do they sort out the different types ? - or do they not ?

 

I'm sick of throw away plastic packaging - mostly made from expensive oil, such a waste.  The environmentalists are correct on this point.

 

Brit15

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6 minutes ago, APOLLO said:

 

Just think in the year 2525 the kids (???) will be watching cartoons of The teenage mutant ninja Co-Bo Otters !!!

 

With plastic recycling, here in Wigan we have FOUR wheelie bins, Black for general landfill, Green food & garden waste goes to compost, Blue paper, cardboard and card type drink containers and Brown for tins, glass and most plastics. What defines most plastics is a mystery - how do they sort out the different types ? - or do they not ?

 

I'm sick of throw away plastic packaging - mostly made from expensive oil, such a waste.  The environmentalists are correct on this point.

 

Brit15

 

FOUR wheelie bins!! I'm not sure what actually gets sorted and recycled round here all recycling goes in one bin and into the ban lorry.  There have been rumours for a long while that a lot actually goes to landfill 

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13 minutes ago, jf2682 said:

The first re-tooled Co Bo in metal could be named "Greta Thunberg"!!

 

As long as it doesn't have her on the sound chip as I'd stamp on it!

I know she has a point but if she wasn't so bloody angry all the time, polar bears are happier than her and their homes are melting! 

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55 minutes ago, russ p said:

 

As long as it doesn't have her on the sound chip as I'd stamp on it!

I know she has a point but if she wasn't so bloody angry all the time, polar bears are happier than her and their homes are melting! 

Russ, she has Asperger's buddy. She does not have conventional communication skills....just sayin'.

P

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5 minutes ago, Mallard60022 said:

Russ, she has Asperger's buddy. She does not have conventional communication skills....just sayin'.

P

 

 

I didn't know that , sorry if anyone has been offended. 

Its never mentioned if it were she may get a better press

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I know of one business where the management quickly embraced green issues and recycling, providing separate bins for paper, card, cans, etc.  What nobody saw was when the cleaner came around every evening, slung the contents of all the bins into one sack and then slung that into the general refuse bin!!!

 

That was some years ago but look carefully and you will see a lot of waste put faithfully and with good intentions out for recycling in fact still goes straight to landfill.

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