Day 2 - Sustainability in Packaging Conference

Meeting An Important Person

I left Tampa for the conference in pitch darkness this morning and drove through a Burger King for coffee. It’s not my regular stop nor my regular coffee cup, and I found myself driving on I-4 for nearly 10 miles struggling to take my first sip. Confounded by the cup lid, which had no hole, I kept rotating the edge seeking the spout where the java comes out. Eventually in desperation, I plucked off the lid with one hand and futilely tried biting a hole in it. In the dawning daylight around Exit 28, I finally discovered the secret tab that uncovered the spout. By then in a hissy, I didn’t get the usual burst of joy from my first sip. I had forty miles to go.

Not much of a tale so far, but wait, more happened.

The conference was underway when I arrived and took one of the last seats. The gentleman seated beside me bid me a pleasant. “Good morning.” In a brief comment he assured me the presentation by Microsoft’s packaging development manager was just getting started so at last I settled in. At the first break my neighbor provided his business card. I did not recognize the company name, so I asked what they do.

“We’re one of the nation’s largest packaging suppliers for fast food restaurants. We provide cups to the largest fast food chains,” he said.

“Do you provide cups to Burger King?” I asked, sensing my eyes narrowing. (What are the odds I’d get a chance like this?)

“Yes, some of them we do.”

Poor man. He had no idea what was coming. I spewed the tale of the obstinate cup with its secret tab. And yet, the materials engineer remained gentlemanly and thoughtful. He overlooked my hostility, and listened to my issue.

Here is the real question: Is it the packing supplier or the retailer that is responsible for packaging design?

The relationship between packaging supplier and the retailer is the crux of this conference. Sometimes the retailer determines the specifications for the packaging; sometimes the packager has a new innovative product to introduce. This conference has provided a major communication platform where suppliers and retailers put their heads together to learn more about packaging that is eco-friendly and economically sustainable.

More factoids:

• Waste Management Inc. is implementing recycling centers that will use automatic optical scanners to sort recyclable waste.
• Coca Cola, the world’s largest beverage company. is building its own reuse center for reclaiming and reusing containers. Coca Cola Enterprises is a container recycling company.
• Use of clear hard-shell plastic casing called clam shells designed to prevent theft will be reduced by using tear proof paperboard by MeadWestVaco.
• KW Plastic, the worlds’ largest plastic recycler, started its business recycling automobile battery casings. KW took in battery casings, washed them, broke them up into small pieces and sold the product back to battery manufacturers to be made into new batteries.
• Aveda a natural beauty products company uses 100% natural recycled containers, which can be returned to the Aveda salon for recycling.
• Most colored plastic bottle caps are not recyclable.
• Nestle corporation, the world’s largest food company, engineered a new line of eco-friendly bottles from 100% recycled PET. Smaller labels were designed to reduce use of paper. The bottle has a clear recyclable cap.
• Greenopolis.com is a burgeoning online green community, a meeting place for all facets of sustainability with education and media resources.

Day 1 - From the Sustainability in Packaging Conference

Who’s here.

The workshop room is packed and because of it, for once a conference room that’s not freezing. Attendance has nearly tripled since last year up from 100 to 300. Major corporations are here to teach and learn from each other how to improve packaging for sustainability. I’m seated next to a chemical engineer from DuPont. On the other side of her is Savannah Foods and behind me is Eclipse Film Technologies. According to the roster a sampling of who's filling some of the other tables are Proctor and Gamble, Exxon Mobil, Whole Foods Market, Cabot Creamery and Coca Cola.

Here are some factoids I’ve picked up so far:

• WalMart has the Power. A noticeable percentage of attendees are here to learn how they can achieve the requirements of WalMart's sustainability scorecard. The scorecard isn't perfect, sustainability experts agree, but it requires WM suppliers to assess their packaging materials and systems.

• The weight of the finished package is a major factor in determining the carbon footprint of the product. The heavier the product+ its packaging, the more fuel it requires to transport it. In the end, that fuel is what most effects the carbon footprint and the environment.
  

• Packaging milk and other drinks in a pouch instead of bottle seems like a good idea when weight and materials are the leading factors. They've been packaging drinks in pouches for years in the UK.
  

• Glass containers, because of their weight and transportation requirements, may result in a higher carbon footprint than a disposable container.

• The UK is proposing green labels on products giving the carbon footprint information on the product much like the nutritional information on food products.

• Consumer behavior can determine the eventual carbon footprint of bags provided by supermarkets. The value lies in how many times a bag is reused, says Gary Parker, LCA expert from Ciba Expert Services A plastic bag reused as a trash can liner will have a lower carbon footprint than the reuseable cloth bag if the consumer only uses the cloth bag one time. That's because more materials and energy went into making the cloth bag and by weight more fuel goes into transporting it.

More tomorrow.

Precyling Beats Recycling

The word for this week is Pre-cycle. Placing the sustainable packaging aspect into a supply line contract can bring about changes in all industries.

On March 11 and 12, I’ll be in Orlando attending the second annual conference on Sustainability in Packaging. Scores of major corporations are attending. I anticipate finding the mother lode of new technology in packaging and I’ll be reporting back to you.

For information on the Sustainability in Packaging conference go to: http://www.sustainability-in-packaging.com/

The Last Thirteen Steps Are The Last Straw

I’m not a prophet, but I think I can see the day when not every arm and finger of print media has a headline touting a new list of 100 steps to being green. Don’t get me wrong; I need the reminders, but I’m ready to draw the line somewhere around tip #87. By the time I get to the last thirteen on the list, I’m rolling my eyes exclaiming, “Get out! I’m not doing it!”

One tip that stirred me up was water saving item #95. I doggedly adhere to #12, which is, “Don’t run the dishwasher until it is completely full.” But I cannot combine that with #95, which advises, “Don’t rinse the dishes before loading them into the dishwasher.”

Considering the unrinsed milk glasses from Sunday morning and the unrinsed plates that held our blackened salmon dinner, I'm looking for one of these green list makers who can still breathe each time he opens the dishwasher and continues loading for the next two days until it's full.

I think there is a point to make here for sensible sustainability. Not rinsing dishes that are going to sit for a couple of days is unwise. Rinse the dishes, but don't just turn on the faucet and let it run full force constantly while you're cleaning up. Be mindful of the water you're using and invent ways to conserve it.