Category: Sustainable Packaging Coalition

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Sustainable Packaging Coalition

What’s in a Package?

What’s in a package? If you are like many of the leading brands and consumer packaged goods companies thinking about packaging sustainability, there’s probably some recycled content in your package. And, if your packaging is fiber-based, figuring out how to optimize recycled content might just get a little easier with the release of GreenBlue’s Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s Guidelines for the Use of Recycled Content in Fiber Packaging.

The Guidelines draw heavily upon the expertise of some of the largest based packaging converters and paper mill operators including Amcor, Caraustar Industries Inc., Graphic Packaging International, International Paper, Pratt Industries, RockTenn Company, and Sunoco Products Company to provide science-based, practical information on using both pre and post-consumer recycled content in packaging. With a focused look at 20 high volume packaging applications in retail environments, my expert team and I looked at when, where, and how to optimize recycled content and why some packaging applications lend themselves to the use of high percentages of recycled content, while others do not. Here are some of the things I learned while developing these Guidelines:
Six Key Criteria
When contemplating the use of recycled content, there are six key criteria to consider 1) packaging performance requirements, 2) regulatory compliance, 3) technical/operational factors, 4) aesthetic considerations, 5) material availability, and 6) cost. Packaging design and engineering teams must first understand how the package needs to perform in the marketplace to fulfill job #1─product protection. Some good questions to ask their technical counterparts might be, How does recycling affect fiber and/or change its characteristics or attributes?
Strength, Strength, Strength
As I just suggested, it is really all about performance and one of the my big take aways from this effort is that strength—defined as compression strength, edge crush strength, burst strength, tensile strength, score bend strength, and drop impact strength—is absolutely critical in fiber packaging. Since the repulping process causes the fibers to shorten, which can then cause their cell walls to collapse during the drying process, recycled fibers tend to be weaker than virgin fiber. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t make a high performing packaging using significant percentages of recycled content; it simply means that for many applications, mixing recycled content with some percentage of virgin fiber will yield the best results.
The FDA
It’s more challenging to use recycled content in direct food/beverage or drug contact packaging due to the need to comply with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations. But, keep in mind that the same regulations—specifically FDA 21CFR170 to 21CFR180— apply to food and drug packaging produced with virgin content. The one difference is that Section 176.260 states that pulp from reclaimed fiber may be used in food contact articles if the recycled content “does not contain deleterious substances that may migrate to food so as to be potentially injurious to the health of the consumers.” Being able to demonstrate, through appropriate testing, that the reclaimed fiber is not introducing any materials of concern is key.
Mill Technology
Mill technology is one of the primary factors in efficient and effective use of recycle fiber in packaging. The good news is that a number of technological advances in multi-ply recycled paperboard manufacturing have made better and faster sheet formation possible. Most of these involve a different means of applying pulp to the rotating cylinders of a conventional multiply machine. Improvements in press section and coating technology are also common. Distributed control systems (DCSs—i.e., that eliminate manual control of paperboard production) have also improved the ability to produce recycled content board. DCSs comprise an array of scanners, measurements, profilers, control software, and high-speed communication interfaces with operators to deliver both optimum sheet characteristics and maximum production. These systems can also help monitor overall energy consumption
Contaminants
Contamination in the recycle stream is another operational challenge. Unfortunately, with a trend toward single stream recycling, contamination may become a bigger factor in the short term. On the other hand, technological improvements in cleaning equipment that is being employed at an increasing number of mills could compensate for the increased contamination in the long term. In many cases, these improvements result from advances in alloys and other materials, which have led to the development of more sophisticated screening equipment. A 12,000-slot screen used to be required for fine screening. Today, a 6,000-slot screen provides optimum performance.
White and Bright
While many may say aesthetics should not be a barrier to recycled content use, consider the following scenario. You need an over the counter pain reliever. On one end of the shelf several offerings are packed in bright white (bleached) boxes. On the other end of the shelf a few options are packed in dull, uneven-toned brown or beige boxes. Because of the nature of the product, chances are you reach for the “clean” looking box. Consumer education may eventually eliminate selection based on perception, but we’re not there yet, and most brands won’t (really can’t) take the risk of losing market share. Nonetheless, until consumers really get on board with more eco-friendly choices, packaging converters have a number of options to achieve a whiter brighter packaging even when using significant percentages of recycled content. For example, keeping newsprint (which shouldn’t be used in food and drug contact packaging anyway) out of the furnish helps with coloration. Using multi-stage cleansing processes that utilize elemental chlorine-free and chlorine-free bleaching agents, such as hydrogen peroxide and other biodegradable cleaners, organic chelants, and/or optical brightening agents, can help achieve desired results. Another solution is the use of white pigmented coatings that have been specifically formulated for whiteness and brightness, for example, coatings with titanium dioxide.
Supply and Demand
Even though fiber is the most recycled packaging material—71.8 percent of paper and paperboard packaging was recycled in 2009, according to US EPA data—demand exceeds supply. This is partly true because offshore markets are willing to pay higher prices for recycled fiber. As an indication of current trends, the AF&PA reports that the US exported 3 percent more recovered paper in April than in March 2011 and by August 2011, year-to-date exports of recovered paper were up 13 percent.
Economics
Finally, if you think cost is the biggest consideration for brand owners and converters in deciding if and how much recycled content to use in their fiber-based packaging, think again. It’s not. As is true of virgin fiber, cost of recycled paper and paperboard fluctuates, so at any given time recycled paperboard may cost less than virgin or vice versa. It’s all about watching the market and making smart purchasing decisions.
Guidelines for the Use of Recycled Content in Fiber Packaging is available free to Sustainable Packaging Coalition members and to non-members for $125.00.
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Sustainable Packaging Coalition

SOUP: Images of Marine Debris

I recently came across Mandy Barker’s photography exhibit, SOUP, a series of photographs of plastic debris salvaged from beaches around the world. It’s a stunning look at the problem of marine debris. Take a look at the beautiful images that will hopefully inspire some greater action to tackle this enormous problem.

All images: Mandy Barker Photography, SOUP

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Sustainable Packaging Coalition

Join Us for the Sustainable Packaging Coalition Spring Meeting

In just over two months, GreenBlue’s Sustainable Packaging Coalition will host over 300 sustainability professionals for the packaging event of the year. We’ve just announced this year’s agenda, an exciting lineup of speakers with sessions ranging from envisioning a world without packaging waste to millennials, social media, and packaging. We hope you will consider joining us in Toronto on April 23-25!
Meeting Information and Registration

 

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Sustainable Packaging Coalition

Oxo-degradables and GreenBlue’s Not-So-Scientific Rooftop Lab

This article is by GreenBlue’s experimenters extraordinaire: Project Manager Adam Gendell and Project Associate Eric DesRoberts.
Back in August 2011 we serendipitously came across an oxo-degradable LDPE film wrap (for those of you who may not be enveloped in packaging lingo, that means it’s a thin piece of plastic with special additives that are activated under prolonged exposure to sunlight and oxygen to make the plastic film decompose into plastic dust, which may then be biodegraded by microbes).
Degradable plastic packaging like this is pretty controversial in the packaging community. In favor of oxo-degradable plastic is the argument that it will cease to persist in the environment if littered. Against oxo-degradables are arguments that the plastic dust is equally hazardous to human and environmental health, that they pose a risk to the plastic recycling stream because they downgrade the durability of the plastic with which they are mixed, and allegations that the degradability additives simply don’t work as advertised.
At GreenBlue we strive to maintain a level head and objective viewpoint, so we decided to conduct a scientific, on-the-ground (okay, on the roof) experiment to test the validity of the latter allegation that oxo-degradable additives don’t work. We did not measure the amount of sunlight and oxygen present, nor did we conduct multiple trials, nor did we use a non-degradable LDPE film as a control. What we did do is open a roof-accessible window in the GreenBlue office, place the film on the roof, throw some rocks on top of it to weigh it down, write down the date on which the “experiment” commenced, and proceeded to forget about it. About a week ago we had noted that 180 days had passed*, so we pulled it back in the office. It looked like this:

The film was definitely still recognizable as its original self, but noticeable fragmentation had indeed occurred. The film was brittle to the touch, and little bits of plastic ranging from quarter-size to dust-size were everywhere as pictured on the sticky note below.

Did we prove or disprove anything? Not really. We successfully littered little bits of plastic on the office roof, so we earnestly hope that they will continue to disintegrate until they are small enough to become a meal for some microorganisms. Our “test” results have suggested to us that this particular oxo-degradable additive works as advertised, and we threw it back out onto the roof for further observation.
It’s possible that the film may in fact disappear one day, but these authors remain skeptical that degradable plastics are a step in the direction of sustainability. After all, that LDPE film was likely made from petroleum resources, of which we only have a limited (and coveted) quantity. Can we find other ways to combat litter so that we can keep that valuable material from becoming dust in the wind?
* 180 days is the standard amount of time in which a compostable plastic is required to disintegrate completely, but oxo-degradable plastic is not intended to be compostable. Oxo-degradable manufacturers acknowledge that the time period necessary for total disintegration is considerably longer than 180 days, so it should not be expected that the film was supposed to have disappeared when we pulled it back in the office.

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Sustainable Packaging Coalition

Seeking Leadership Companies for GreenBlue's Forest Products Working Group

We are pleased to announce that we have opened up membership for our Forest Products Working Group and we are seeking leadership companies to join this important effort.
The Forest Products Working Group brings together leading companies that rely on paper, wood, and other forest products to share their knowledge and develop new solutions for making their businesses more sustainable.
The group, following the successful blueprint of GreenBlue’s industry-leading Sustainable Packaging Coalition, launched in October 2011 with eight founding members of notable and diverse companies from across different industry sectors. The founding members are: Avery Dennison Corporation, Avon Products, Inc., Bank of America, Catalyst Paper, Domtar, HAVI Global Solutions, Sappi Fine Paper North America, and Staples.
We believe the Forest Products Working Group takes a unique approach to corporate sustainability by bringing together stakeholders to tackle unmet challenges in the forest products sector. Our members pool their resources and bring innovative thinking to identify solutions that work for business, people, and the forest.
After a founders meeting in December, the group announced its inaugural project will be to design a set of clear, science-based guidelines to inform decision-making for paper design, procurement, use, and recovery. Additional areas of potential future work include increasing the quantity and quality of recovered fiber, alternative fibers, and increasing the availability of fiber sourced from sustainably managed forests.
Any company that relies on forest products to meet business objectives—including paper suppliers, consumer product goods companies, retailers, publishing companies, and building product manufacturers—is invited to join the group.
For information on membership eligibility and benefits, and to apply for membership online, please visit the Forest Products Working Group page of our website.
 

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Sustainable Packaging Coalition

More Buzz for the How2Recycle Label

Check out last night’s clip from our local station NBC29 on the pilot of our How2Recycle label. Senior Project Manager Anne Bedarf was able to show off the label on packages in stores now. We’ve recently had more companies sign on for the effort so stay tuned for more developments!

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Sustainable Packaging Coalition

Packaging Recovery Label System in Stores Now

We are excited to announce that the Packaging Recovery Label System—a voluntary label developed by GreenBlue’s Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) to communicate to consumers how to recycle a package after its use—is officially in the marketplace!

Seventh Generation’s limited edition 180 oz. detergent bottle and new 22 oz. pre-wash spray both now carry the How 2 Recycle label. Both products are widely recycled, and carry the message to re-attach the cap and sprayer (respectively), as they are made of valuable and recyclable polypropylene. You can find these packages at Target stores. Check out the Seventh Generation blog on their participation.

Coming soon will be the label on REI’s Multi-Towels and Novara Bike Tubes, and an announcement of additional label pilot participants.

Please check out the how2recycle.info website later this month, as we begin a consumer survey to help determine the success of this labeling pilot. We’d love to hear your feedback!

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Sustainable Packaging Coalition

Down the Rabbit Hole: An International Tour of Packaging Recycling Systems

Lately I have been feeling like a character in one of the children’s novels I have loved and reread numerous times over the years. Maybe it’s Alice in Wonderland, The Phantom Tollbooth, or perhaps Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? The central plot of these books features an average person transported to a fantasy world for a series of adventures each more fantastic, silly, puzzling, absurd, or amazing than the next. Oh, and of course the main character always learns important lessons along the way.

After almost four years of research and writing about what happens to packaging when we consumers are done using it, I have traveled the world and encountered packaging recovery systems of all shapes, sizes, flavors, and textures. The result of all this travel is my report, Closing the Loop: Road Map for Effective Material Value Recovery, a detailed analysis of international packaging recovery systems with lessons of what we can learn for the anemic US system.
Luckily for me, my adventures and the people I encountered were rarely puzzling, absurd, or silly. Instead, I discovered that there are as many effective ways to deal with packaging waste as there are groups who want to recover it. The trick is how to learn from the best ones and avoid some of the pitfalls experienced by the others.
Some of the most fantastic and amazing things I saw:

  • The Belgian household packaging recovery system run by Fost Plus is stunning in its simplicity, common sense practicality, and effectiveness.
  • Recycling drop-off centers where Swiss citizens routinely bring everything recyclable from their homes, including their mattresses, batteries, and even used Nespresso coffee capsules, and sort them into specific bins.
  • A state of the art material recovery facility in Oppin, Germany, where fourteen different optical sorters in a row made hand-sorting of recyclables a thing of the distant past.
  • A waste-to-energy facility in the middle of Vienna, Austria, accepted by Viennese citizens and now a tourist landmark because of its beautiful architecture.
  • Vertically integrated companies in Australia with a built-in “design for recycling” feedback loop: they make packaging, collect the recycling, and reprocess collected materials back into new packaging.
  • A new design for on-the-go recycling bins in Toronto, Ontario, that accept trash, cigarette butts, and recyclables, while providing an easy-to-use foot pedal allowing grime and germ-conscious citizens to recycle without soiling their hands.

A few of the most puzzling (dare I say silly?) things I saw:

  • South Australian tractor-trailer trucks transporting loads of counted, brand-sorted, uncrushed, empty (and therefore lightweight) beverage containers from collection depots to super-collectors, to be re-counted once again.
  • In the space of two blocks on the same street in the London Borough of Camden, four different types of on-the-go recycling bins, each of a different size and shape, collecting different combinations of packaging materials, with different labels.
  • Workers in Australia hand-sorting recyclables from household trash and organics in the tipping hall of a facility in a constant spray of mist, used to keep down the dust.

Without a doubt, the best part of this whole adventure was the opportunity to meet dedicated and passionate people working in all of these countries who make sure packaging materials are recovered for a beneficial purpose at end-of-life. My hosts were energetic, knowledgeable, curious, patient, and generous with their time. Despite the variety of methods they use to operate their state or country’s material recovery system, all of them have helped to set and achieve ambitious recycling and recovery goals. When it comes time to measure impact, there is no question that they do a far better job of recovering materials than the typical US system, which, like Milo in The Phantom Tollbooth, appears stuck in the doldrums and in dire need of rescue by the Armies of Wisdom.
The main lesson I learned is that there is a veritable candy store of ways to run a material recovery system, one that will suit every country. Not everyone will love Wonka’s “Whipplescrumptious Fudgemallow Delight”—some may prefer an everlasting gobstopper or some three-course chewing gum. But there is definitely no need for the US to start from scratch in figuring out how to improve our society’s use of valuable materials. Of course, not all of the ideas I encountered will work in the US. However, there are too many good options in existence that can be adapted to the US experience that we ignore them at our own peril, and that of our pocketbooks, material resources, and environment.
 

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Sustainable Packaging Coalition

Announcing the Release of Closing the Loop: Road Map for Effective Material Value Recovery

Today we’re excited to release our new report that examines alternatives to material recovery in the US, where currently just one third of all municipal solid waste is recovered by recycling or composting.
Closing the Loop: Road Map for Effective Material Value Recovery provides a detailed systems analysis of international packaging recovery systems, including successful collection, sorting, and reprocessing technologies and infrastructures, as well as the waste management policies that support or limit recycling.

Focusing on material recovery in several EU nations, as well as Australia, Ontario, Canada, and rural recycling systems, the report identifies a number of emerging best practices that could be adopted within the US, such as:
• A harmonized systems approach for all packaging materials, formats, and end-of-life options
• Four- or five-bin collection systems for clean, high-quality materials
• Investment in state of the art sorting technology
• Clear and nationally-coordinated waste policies, including extended producer responsibility legislation
• Ongoing public education campaigns encouraging participation in recycling and composting
• “Hub and spoke” regional recycling in rural areas
The report is the culmination of GreenBlue’s three-year “Closing the Loop” research project—led by Project Manager Liz Shoch and funded through a grant awarded by California’s Market Development Research Grant Program with additional support from GreenBlue’s Sustainable Packaging Coalition®—which promotes more effective material recovery systems by connecting packaging designers with available recovery options.
Download the report