Month: September 2016

Categories
Eliminate Toxicity

First Plasticizer Listed in CleanGredients

Eastman 168 SG non-phthalate plasticizer is the first plasticizer to be listed in CleanGredients that meets the criteria of the EPA Safer Choice program. Eastman 168 SG represents a new category of products in CleanGredients not specific to cleaning applications, broadening the reach of the Safer Choice program into new industries and applications.

What is Eastman 168 SG, and how does it fit into Eastman’s sustainable product portfolio?

Plasticizers are often used to make plastics more pliable, particularly polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl). Eastman 168 SG is a non-phthalate plasticizer, and is the main alternative to phthalates in applications from flooring and wallcoverings to toys to medical devices and many other applications that require flexible vinyl. Eastman 168 SG can also be used in some waterborne adhesives and in some rubber formulations. Eastman 168 SG has several US FDA and European food-contact clearances in adhesive and plastics applications.
Eastman 168 SG comes with the security of supply required by manufacturers of flexible vinyl products facing demanding quality assurance protocols and compliance requirements such as toys, medical devices, and food-contact articles. Eastman Chemical is the only domestic manufacturer of this vital molecule, with two facilities supplying the US and global markets.  With Eastman 168 SG, manufacturers have a proven and cost effective non-phthalate alternative to make PVC flexible. Eastman 168 SG maintains high purity standards, a clean toxicological profile, and excellent physical properties such as migration resistance, color consistency, thermal stability, RF and solvent welding, and printability.
Eastman Chemical has dedicated decades of research and development seeking sustainable solutions for the market. In addition to the success story of Eastman 168 SG, Eastman also has its Omnia solvent product listed in CleanGredients for use in cleaning solutions. Eastman Omnia™ high-performance solvent has an excellent safety profile that enables formulators and end users to comply with increasingly stringent regulatory standards and market demands for exceptional performance. This solvent is readily biodegradable and non-flammable, helping ensure the safety of people and the environment.

Why is Eastman 168 SG listed in CleanGredients when it isn’t used in cleaning products with the EPA Safer Choice label?

CleanGredients is a resource not only for formulators of products carrying the Safer Choice label, but for anyone looking to source materials with greener chemistries. Companies like Eastman want to proactively screen their products against the Safer Choice criteria to verify they are safe, and are looking for a way to communicate this information to their customers who want to purchase greener products. To meet this need, we are expanding CleanGredients to include ingredients that meet the EPA Safer Choice Master Criteria but are not necessarily used to formulate Safer Choice-labeled products. You can identify this type of listing in CleanGredients based on the term “Third Party Reviewed” in the “Safer Choice Status” field.
It can be challenging to find plasticizers with both the performance you need and the toxicological characteristics you and your customers are looking for. Eastman 168 SG fills that niche, making it a great addition to the CleanGredients database. Like all of the ingredients listed in CleanGredients, it has been reviewed by a third party profiler and meets the EPA Safer Choice Master Criteria, so you can trust that it is safer for human health and the environment.

What are the toxicological characteristics of Eastman 168 SG?

Eastman 168 SG is a well-characterized non-ortho phthalate plasticizer that passes the Safer Choice Master Criteria after a thorough assessment by a Safer Choice-authorized Third Party Profiler. Some assessors may choose to conservatively designate Eastman 168 SG as having a low-to-moderate hazard for reproductive toxicity; disagreement among toxicologists in interpretation of experimental findings is not unusual. Eastman 168 SG passes all other Safer Choice human health, ecological and fate endpoints. CleanGredients and Eastman support transparent disclosure of assessment outcomes to support safer chemistry decisions.

How can I learn more?

You can subscribe to CleanGredients to have access to data on Eastman 168 SG and other products meeting the EPA Safer Choice criteria.
screen_shot_2016-09-14_at_9-44-42_am

Categories
Sustainable Packaging Coalition

Exploring Opportunities and Caveats in Edible Packaging

Edible packaging is hardly a new phenomenon. Experts estimate that natural sausage casings have been in use for at least 6,000 years and soy film known as yuba has been used as packaging in East Asia since the 16th century. Edible packaging has even been hiding under the noses of modern consumers for years in the form of pharmaceutical capsules made of gelatin or sugar.
In recent years, however, the diversity of edible packaging options has exploded. Packaging designers are now experimenting with materials  like potato starch, beeswax, algae, and calcium, to name a few. Some of these materials offer potentially valuable attributes like extending shelf life or providing a vehicle for additives like nutrients, probiotics, and flavorings.
milkplastic
For instance, U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers just announced on August 22nd that a newly developed film made from the milk protein casein promises an oxygen barrier that is 500 times more effective than low-density polyethylene. Lead researcher Peggy Tomasula explains that this is a major opportunity as the casein film “could prevent food waste during distribution along the food chain.”
Another edible invention capable of having an equally disruptive affect on food waste is the MIT’s LiquiGlide. LiquiGlide is an edible gel-like coating that can be applied to the inside of glass, plastic, or aluminum containers and allows the product to slide out easier due to it’s “hyper slippery” quality. Though its abilities are often demonstrated in condiment bottles, the coating has many non-food applications for packaging items like toothpaste, paint, and glue.
Packaging innovations like LiquiGlide coating and casein film have been identified by ReFed as one of the three most effective strategies of 27 considered to reduce food waste nationwide. Consumer Reports estimates that LiquiGlide has the potential to circumvent the 3-15% of food waste generated when mayonnaise, or say, mustard, is stuck in a bottle. And, as the USDA estimates that Americans waste 30-40% of our food supply, that could quickly add up to a lot of diversion.
Though a majority of edible packaging is certainly intended to be eaten, like Brazilian burger chain Bob’s that offers burgers wrapped in edible paper, or WikiCells, which are soft foods like yogurt or ice cream directly coated in a hard, fruit-derived electrostatic gel, some are not. For example, Swedish design studio Tomorrow Machine designs beeswax pyramids that can be peeled like a fruit. While the beeswax is edible, it is unlikely that consumers would really want to chow down on it.
Importantly, to be sold commercially, anything edible needs to be contained in a non-edible package for the purposes of packing, transportation, and distribution. This stipulation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act effectively removes any possibility that edible packaging will encroach on the market share of conventional packaging in the near future.
rice_package2
The main benefit of edible packaging revolves around its capacity to be an alternative to traditional primary packaging like plastic film that have recycling rates in the single digits. MonoSol, for example, has expanded its product line of water-soluble packets from laundry detergent pods to food items like oatmeal, where consumers can toss pre-measured oatmeal packets directly into boiling water where the edible film dissolves. The edible nature of the film allows packaging designers to play with flavoring possibilities like cinnamon or brown sugar and also reveals further potential for products like instant coffee, hot chocolate, or cooking oils.
One might expect companies that offer food items like instant noodles, baking kits, or flavor packets in rice dishes to adopt the rice_package1use of edible, water-soluble film as it already aligns with their touchstone concept of convenience. Likewise, makers of other food products like meal replacement shakes or protein powders that could benefit from pre-measured portions may foreshadow other early adopters of edible packaging like MonoSol’s film.
The multitude of materials evolving in the edible packaging space are reason to be excited, especially those that offer alternatives to packaging that are not designed for recyclability. But, managing expectations about bringing edible packaging to scale is critical and even edible packaging’s application for composting will be constrained by the growing, but sparse presence of composting facilities in the United States. Approaching the realm of edible packaging with cautious optimism as more varieties are piloted on a commercial scale will at the very least expand the toolbox of materials available to packaging designers. At best, it may eventually prove to be an important step towards closed loop sustainable materials management.

Categories
GreenBlue

Refreshing honesty from America’s largest recycler

Photo courtesy of Resource Recycling.

Sometimes we need to hear what we don’t want to hear. Such was the case at the 2016  Resource Recycling Conference, when Waste Management CEO David Steiner addressed the realities of recycling. His theme was simple: Waste Management is a for-profit corporation with a responsibility to provide shareholder value, and they cannot invest in recycling activities that do not offer a return. Perhaps this is obvious, but it needed to be said. We’ve heard a lot recently about the greenhouse gas benefits of recycling different materials, how it might make sense to prioritize some materials over others, and how we should question whether it’s the correct approach to maximize recycling for its own sake. Steiner’s message to the conference audience was much more to the point. Waste Management is in the business of solid waste disposal and recovery — not saving the planet — and their directive is one of financial success. When recycling does not lead to financial success, they will not do it. I lost count of the times he said “I won’t offer an apology for what I say.” And he’s right. No apology needed.
Photo courtesy of Resource Recycling.
Our municipal recycling system is a mostly built on taxpayer-funded contracts handed to for-profit businesses. Steiner reminded us that Waste Management will do anything for their customers in the constraints of the contracts they can negotiate, and they are fully capable of recovering a broad array of materials IF the contracts allow them to do so with economic viability. Glass and organics were the examples du jour. Waste Management can divert these materials from their landfills and send them to beneficial recovery, but it’s expensive, and they cannot do it altruistically. Put simply, someone’s gotta pay.
As much as we hear phrases like “diverting valuable materials from landfills”, it’s important to be reminded that there’s a difference between “valuable” and “profitable”. As a whole, a free market approach to recycling would fail. The costs of processing many types of waste outweigh their value on the commodity market for recycled material, and so municipalities most often use taxpayer money and/or augmented garbage utility fees to bridge the gap. This is not necessarily an alarm or reason to declare recycling a failure. Prior to Steiner’s presentation, Keefe Harrison, executive director of the Recycling Partnership, reminded us that recycling is a quality of life measure that we expect to be provided – no different than clean air and clean water, for which taxpayer dollars are used. For Waste Management, it’s simply a question of how much money the municipality can justify spending.
It’s also important to remember that there are a meaningful number of recyclers who do not operate landfills and therefore don’t have to face the question of whether it is more profitable to send waste to the landfill or the recycling facility. But our largest recycler does face this question and must stay acutely aware of its obligation to its shareholders. The bottom line from Steiner: Waste Management is in the business of making money on waste. They’re happy to save the planet – IF we can help them make it profitable.

Categories
GreenBlue

Welcome Introduction: Barbara Fowler

This summer, Barbara Fowler joins the GreenBlue team as a senior manager focused on GreenBlue meetings and conferences.  Learn more about Barbara in the interview below.

What do you hope to achieve at GreenBlue?

For the past 10 years I have been working producing events in packaging, paper, biopolymers and other industries where sustainability is embedded in their supply chains. I’ve learned it is all interconnected and I hope the experience gained and the relationships built throughout this time will make GreenBlue stand out for great events with outstanding content and attendee experience and that showcase the many projects happening at the organization and provide worthwhile networking opportunities for our members and companies interested in moving the needle in sustainability. Another goal is to further advance the educational and training opportunities GreenBlue provides and develop new ones as the organization continues to grow.

What inspired you to work in the sustainability field?

After spending so much time talking about sustainability and getting to know all these people that have devoted their lives and energy to it, it became apparent that I needed to do more than just scratch the surface. Events serve as places to gather around purpose and what better purpose than working to preserve the environment, reduce waste, educate the consumer to make better choices and get inspired by such a lofty goal as working to make a significant difference on how we leave this planet for future generations?

What do you find most inspiring about working in sustainability?

I am inspired by the possibilities: there is so much to do. I am inspired by passionate people with goals that go beyond their role or their company and that will have an effect much bigger than just the bottom line or a trend. I am also inspired by science-based sustainability that goes beyond a fad or a feel good story.

What do you find most challenging?

Running into misinformation of what makes an initiative truly sustainable. Quantifying the tradeoffs of one decision over another. Infrastructure and systems challenges. Misconceptions of what renewable really means.

What is the one thing you would like people to know that you do in your personal life to further sustainability?

We try to buy local and reduce food waste at home. We try to use the car just when it’s really needed and walk as often as we can. I’ve been trying to teach my children about water use and how it’s a finite resource (yes, they love to play with water!).

Favorite outdoor activity

Here in Wisconsin we are lucky to have a host of options to spend time outside in beautiful settings such as lakes, national parks and natural reserves. We live very close to the Wisconsin Riverfront so we enjoy going for walks there. We enjoy going to Door County every summer. I was born and raised in Mexico City, so from time to time need a big city fix and truly enjoy walking around admiring the wonderful architecture of Chicago.

Happiness is….

Hearing my kids belly-laugh, seeing them achieve new milestones and becoming great friends. Traveling to discover new and familiar places. Delicious food! Catching up with old friends and picking up like it was just yesterday we saw each other. The New York Times and freshly brewed coffee on a Sunday morning.