Month: November 2013

Categories
GreenBlue

Top Five Fun Facts: November

Eric DesRoberts continues his monthly series of facts and tidbits he’s uncovered during his research to better understand products and packaging. You can also check out his past Fun Facts here.

  1. In a survey conducted by the Bradley Corporation, 70% of respondents admitted to rinsing hands with water without the use of soap after using a public restroom. Roughly 75% of women participants claimed that they always washed their hands after using a public restroom compared to only 60% of men.

  2. An estimated 46 million turkeys will be cooked this holiday season. While many Thanksgiving feasters enjoy their turkey fried, every year, deep-fryer fires are Photo of wild turkey from New Hampshire Fish and Gameresponsible for around five deaths, 60 injuries, the destruction of roughly 900 homes, and more than $15 million in property damage.

  3. According to a recent post from The Economist, Singapore is the best place to do business and new companies can be formed in as little as 2 ½ days. The post also notes that wealthier parts of the world shoulder the lightest regulatory burden when it comes to conducting business.

  4. Over 60,000 Veterans are homeless on any given night. Pay tribute to the Veterans that served their country, and consider helping end veteran homelessness by 2015.

  5. We are in the thick of No-Shave-November, a month long cancer awareness event that encourages participants to put down our razors, embrace our hair, and donate the money typically spent on shaving to cancer research and awareness. The teams registered with the American Cancer Society have a total of 515 participants, and have raised over $996,000. There is still time to get involved!

Mustache Movember from The Telegraph

Categories
Sustainable Packaging Coalition

FTC Takes Landmark Enforcement Actions on Green Guides Violations

A few weeks ago, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced enforcement actions against five companies making deceptive claims for biodegradable plastics, marking the FTC’s first action against biodegradable plastic claims since publishing their recently revised Green Guides. One of these companies, ECM Biofilms, Inc., is a biodegradable additive producer, while the other four, American Plastic Manufacturing, CHAMP, Clear Choice Housewares, Inc., and Carnie Cap, Inc., make and market plastic goods with biodegradable additives.

While each case varies, the FTC’s general assertions are that these companies market their plastics, or additives, as biodegradable in common disposal methods. The FTC found that their products do not degrade within normal disposal parameters, make claims without qualification, and do not have appropriate scientific testing to prove claims. One company in particular, ECM Biofilms, Inc., also used its own “Certificates of Biodegradability of Plastic Products” and provided deceptive marketing materials to distributors.
The FTC also announced an enforcement action against AJM Packaging Corporation, a paper goods company, in violation of a pre-existing 1994 consent order barring them from continued deceptive practices. According to the FTC, the company does not have scientific evidence or substantiation of their claims and as a result, imposed a $450,000 civil penalty for their violation.
The FTC’s enforcement extends to both on-package and off-package marketing claims. These actions bring up two crucial points: are biodegradable additives a sustainable solution and how do companies ensure they make accurate environmental marketing claims?
The FTC requires a product to biodegrade (break down completely and decompose into elements found in nature) within one year in common disposal settings (landfill, litter, or backyard compost) to make an unqualified claim. This has not been the case, as landfills are not designed for biodegradation and the products have failed to show biodegradation in any conditions during the required time frame.
All of this begs the question, are these additives actually a sustainable solution for petroleum based plastics? When they degrade, the environmental investment in the product is lost as recycling or waste to energy are no longer options. Further, when some of these materials are inevitably recycled, they contaminate the recycling stream and risk degrading the performance of the recycled resin.
Biodegradation and environmental marketing are complex issues. The Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s (SPC) previous study on Biodegradation in Landfills and Industry Leadership Committee on Meaningful Marketing Claims hope to clear up confusion and digest the complexity of these issues. The SPC’s How2Recycle Label also works to alleviate confusion around some of these issues by clearly communicating what to do with a package at end of use with clear on-package labeling.
For an easy read on some of the issues with biodegradables and compostables, take a look at a recent Ask Umbra article.

Categories
Recover More Sustainable Packaging Coalition

Sustainable Packaging Coalition Celebrates America Recycles Day with a Look at How2Recycle Milestones

On this America Recycles Day, GreenBlue’s Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) celebrates America’s commitment to recycling by taking a look at How2Recycle Label milestones. Sustainability is a journey that relies on good design, accessible infrastructure, and consumer understanding of what, where, and how to recycle.

Sustainable Packaging Coalition member companies and staff identified a need for consistent on-package communication about recyclability of a package. Though consumers want to recycle, our studies found that many consumers are confused about what they can and cannot recycle, and desire clear recycling information on the package itself. The How2Recycle Label Program helps fix this problem by clearly communicating how and where certain materials should be recycled.

 Packages donning the How2Recycle label first entered the market in December, 2011. Since then, How2Recycle has grown from 11 founding participants to 20 with more to be announced soon. Press releases and website updates in the coming weeks will unveil the exciting new participants that will move with How2Recycle into its third year. SPC staff estimate at least 600 different products with How2Recycle Labels will be on shelf by the end of the year.
SPC staff continue to build relationships with partner organizations and consumers to expand the program. This includes collaborative projects with the Flexible Films Recycling Group of the American Chemistry Council, ongoing interactions with government agencies, participation in critical industry conversations, and responding to feedback from consumers.
Through a How2Recycle survey, consumer testing, and social media feedback, the public has expressed their overwhelming support of the program and its participating companies. For example, when referring to how the label made them feel about the company using it, one respondent said, “The company is obviously trying to reduce their carbon footprint and I think that is awesome and commendable.” Another noted, “It shows me the company is taking an active interest in recycling for the future of sustainability and the environment.”

About 75% of survey respondents had a positive experience with the label and about 80% thought more positively of companies if they used How2Recycle. 85% of survey respondents found How2Recycle easy to understand, a critical goal of the program. According to one respondent, “More products should do this!! It takes away the guessing game out of recycling.” Another respondent showed the educational benefit of the label, “I didn’t know that in-store plastic bag drop-offs also accept other types of plastic package film, so now I will start recycling those.”

How2Recycle’s success would not be possible without the pioneering participating companies. Their commitment to clear and concise on-package recycling labels make them leaders in their industry. Melissa Craig of Kellogg’s notes: “Consumers need clear, concise communication when it comes to recycling, so materials that can be reclaimed don’t accidentally end up in landfills. This label helps ensure all packaging components are recycled as intended, to further reduce the environmental impact of our products and promote conservation.”
GreenBlue and the SPC look forward to another successful year helping consumers and companies fulfill their America Recycles Day pledges through the How2Recycle Label Program. Our goal is to have How2Recycle Labels on the majority of consumer-facing packaging by 2016.
Let us know what you’re doing for America Recycles Day, and what you think about our How2Recycle Label on Twitter @How2Recycle or @GreenBlueOrg!