Sustainable is Good | Where design, lifestyle and packaging meet

Toronto Considers Retail Packaging Ban

The city of Toronto is considering tough action to address a waste produced by overly packaged consumer products. 

The Toronto Globe and Mail reported  the city is considering all options including an outright ban on materials used in food takeout to a tax on retail plastic bags to a city-run deposit-return program.

"I expect there may be some voluntary measures, and there may be some that have other strategies," said Mayor David Miller, after he spoke to the forum that drew heavy attendance from uneasy retailers and the packaging industry.

Any move to ban certain types of packaging or impose new taxes or fees would put Toronto at the forefront of Canadian municipalities, but the mayor emphasized "no decisions have been made."

He praised individual efforts by some retailers, but warned time is running out for action on waste reduction.

"A lot of it can be voluntary, but on the other hand, why has it not happened yet?" he asked. "If industry is capable of doing it voluntarily, they have not chosen to today."

Kim McKinnon, Ontario vice-president of the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors, told the session her members support voluntary action on packaging.

As proof of what is possible, she cited a 2007 plan by her association and other retailers to cut plastic-bag use by 50 per cent by 2010, with a 9-per-cent drop in consumption so far.

Joseph Hruska, a municipal relations official with the Environmental and Plastics Industry Council, whose members make packaging, questioned the need for imposed measures.

"We have a blue box [recycling] or we have these return to retail programs," he said, citing options for consumers to leave packaging at stores. "Why regulate when you already have the tools to divert?"

As they reported the answer lies in Toronto's strategy to divert 70 per cent of waste from landfill by 2010, up from 42 percent today.

Beyond recycling, with polystyrene and plastic film to be added to the blue box later this year, and extension of "green bin" organic waste pickup from multi-residential units starting this November, the city wants a 10,000-tonne reduction in packaging use. A drop in outright consumption would extend the life of the city-owned Green Lane landfill by 10 years to 2034, say Toronto officials.

via Toronto Globe and Mail

European PET Recycling Increases

Petcore (PET containers recycling Europe a non-profit European trade association) announced that European post-sorting PET collection reached 1.13m tons in 2007, an increase of about 20% on 2006.

In 2007 just about 40% of all PET bottles in the market were collected for recycle.

The overall share of fibers as an end use for recycled PET decreased from 52% to 47%, although the tonnage processed continued to grow. The sheet market tonnage increased and its share
rose to 24%.

“I am delighted with the continued increase in PET collection throughout Europe and our high rate of recycle. Thanks to the efforts of the Collection Agencies, National Bodies, European Recyclers
and the PET Industry Chain, recycled PET has become a reliable and sought-after feedstock in the PET resin portfolio.” said Roberto Bertaggia, Chairman of the Petcore Board.

He commented further that it should be recognized that PET is the most important polymer in contributing towards achieving the plastics targets stipulated in the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (2004/12/EC) which lays down that most Member States should recycle 22.5% minimum of plastics packaging this year.

These recycling targets will further increase to 50% recycling or reuse of plastics from household streams by 2020 and PET will be an important part of this sustainability activity.

The Chairman emphasized that Petcore’s task will be to ensure that the growth in PET recycling continues such that it remains an important mainstay in meeting future recycle legislation.

It was estimated that there is a total mechanical reclamation nameplate capacity in the European region of 1.2m tons in 2008 with approximately 100 ktes of extra capacity planned.

PETA Targets Hormel and Tyson Packaging for Greenhouse Gas Impact Info

PETA, which owns 100 shares of meatpacking giant Hormel Foods as part of its corporate responsibility project, has submitted a shareholder resolution calling on the Austin, Minn.-based company to include information on all of its meat packages about the greenhouse-gas "footprint" that the meat passes on to consumers.

The group points out that shoppers are increasingly concerned about global warming and that meat production is the leading cause of greenhouse-gas emissions.  They are turning to Hormel's packaging for the inclusion of disclosure information on the greenhouse-gas impact their products have.

According to PETA, some food companies have already begun printing greenhouse-gas emissions levels per serving on product labels--but Hormel is not among them.

The animal rights group's focus on packaging indicates the importance packaging plays in consumers buying decisions as well as the increase in the importance consumers place on greener more eco-friendly product options.

The resolution represents a new tactic in PETA's international campaign against factory farming.

The group cites the following as evidence about meat's devastating impact on the environment:

U.N. scientists have determined that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, SUVs, trucks, and planes in the world combined.

Researchers at the University of Chicago have determined that switching to a vegan diet is more effective in countering global warming than switching from a standard car to a Toyota Prius.

PETA will file an identical resolution with meat giant Tyson Foods later this week.

The two resolutions mark an interesting new approach in providing consumer additional information on product packaging.

California Considering Ban on PFOA in Food Packaging by 2010

The Los Angeles Times ran an important story yesterday on the use of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in food packaging.  The California legislature is considering a bill that would eliminate the use of PFOA in all food packaging by 2010.

The PFOA is used in food packaging as a coating to prevent food from sticking to the packaging.  PFOA-based coatings are used to repel grease on a variety of fast food packages, including pizza boxes, microwave popcorn packages and french fry containers. 

The chemical coating is also used a large amount of consumer food packaging including candy and other pre-packaged foods.

According to the LA Times, studies show that PFOA is present in 98% of Americans' blood and 100% of newborns. It doesn't break down and thus accumulates in the system over time.

Federal investigators determined in 2005 that PFOA is a "likely carcinogen" and called for expanded testing to study its potential to cause liver, breast, testicular and pancreatic cancer.

The chemical industry says there's no reason to worry about PFOA, which is used to make Teflon pans and Gore-Tex clothing, and to prevent food from sticking to paper packaging. The industry says that while the EPA's carcinogenic concerns are based on animal tests, there's no evidence that PFOA is harmful to humans.

DuPont Co., the sole U.S. manufacturer of PFOA.

3M used to produce the chemical but stopped production in 2000 after learning that the chemical was accumulating in people's bodies.

California State Sen. Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro), has drafted legislation -- SB 1313 -- that would ban PFOA and a similar compound in any food packaging sold in California by 2010.

The bill has been approved by the state Senate and passed the Assembly Health Committee last month. It's expected to come before the full Assembly in the next few weeks.

"I was shocked to learn that people are being exposed to toxic chemicals in foods they serve to their family and may ingest every day," Corbett said.

No clear way to determine which packaging uses PFOA

She said she was also troubled that it's virtually impossible to know which manufacturers have PFOA in their packaging. There are no labeling requirements.

In 2006, the EPA invited all companies involved with PFOA to join a voluntary "stewardship program" to reduce use and emissions of the chemical by 2010 and eliminate the substance by 2015.

DuPont said in a letter to the agency that it would eliminate "where possible" use and emissions of PFOA "so that any residuals are reduced to the maximum extent feasible." The company is working on alternative chemicals.

via LA Times:  Read full story here

TerraCycle Turns Kraft Packaging into New Products

Kraft Foods recently announced a new partnership with TerraCycle, an upstart upcycling company that takes packages and materials that are challenging to recycle and turns them into affordable, high quality goods.

The partnership will greatly expand the number of collection sites TerraCycle has available across the country and will help prevent a significant amount of packaging waste from going into landfills.

Kraft will become the first major multi-category corporation to fund the collection of used packaging associated with its products. Several Kraft brands, including Balance bars and South Beach Living bars, Capri Sun beverages, and Chips Ahoy! and Oreo cookies, are now the lead sponsors of TerraCycle Brigades. These nationwide recycling programs make a donation for every piece of packaging a location collects.

"Sustainability is about looking out for future generations. Kraft is proud to partner with TerraCycle, an innovative company who has made it their mission to reduce the impact on landfills and to educate consumers on the importance of recycling," says Jeff Chahley, Senior Director, Sustainability, Kraft Foods.

"TerraCycle’s model of rewarding ’brigade hosts’ is a novel way of collecting packaging waste that would otherwise have been sent to landfills. It’s so cool to see trash turned into merchandise that’s unlike anything else on the market."

Wegmans Looks to Reduce Packaging Waste

New York-based grocery store chain Wegmans is working on finding innovative ways to reducing packaging.

The company is trying to make the recycling of packaging easier for consumers by adding the phrase “recyclable 1” and “recyclable 2” to produce packaging.

The company also reducing packaging waste by eliminating the use of wax containers for certain deli items. The elimination resulted in a reduction of nearly 1 million pounds of packaging waste that otherwise would have been landfilled.

The idea to eliminate the wax containers came from a store manager responding to an open invitation from the company seeking ideas for reducing packaging waste.

Wegmans, like other companies is realizing the operational and PR benefits of improving efficiency and reducing waste. Packaging is an area where many companies can work to streamline.

Miller Brewing Company Packaging Recycling

Last week Miller Brewing Company released their first ever Sustainable Development Report.  The report outlines a number of initiatives and highlight of the company's efforts towards more sustainable operations.

Of interest to Sustainable is Good readers, Miller says they have diverted 2.5 million pounds of packaging waste from landfills over the past five years for an overall packaging recycling rate of 99.9%.

The report says Miller is planning on reducing the weight of their packaging and the amount of materials used.  It also indicates the company will, "Use recyclable materials, where appropriate."

"We have begun to move toward vegetable based inks in our package printing and we began working with suppliers to identify ways to reduce the cardboard content of our folding cartons and the metal content in our bottle caps," the report says.

"These slight adjustments will maintain the integrity and durability of our packaging while providing a measurable impact on our material use and environmental footprint."

Miller is using SmartGate during its product development and has teams working with Wal-Mart and Sam's club packaging and display optimization.

Consumers Confused as to Source of Fiji Water

Packaging design not enough to convince consumers the water is actually from Fiji

As we have reported extensively over the past year on both of our sites - bottled water has been the subject of increased scrutiny from a growing group of eco-conscious consumers. 

Its interesting to see Fiji Water is dealing with a new issue - consumer confusion as to where it actually comes from. 

The company is dealing with the problem through marketing and packaging design.  They have added the phrase "From the Island of Fiji" to all the bottled water packaging.

Fijilive reports at least 60 percent of Fiji Water’s customers are not convinced that the bottled mineral water comes from Fiji.

Margo Jamieson of Fiji Water said that while the source makes the product unique, consumer trial is really driven by package design and the “idea” of Fiji.

Some think that the product comes from Mount Fuji (in Japan).

At the FIA Congress, Jamieson said that definitely since the initial researches, they have started to put on the bottles “from the islands of Fiji” in their marketing.

“We point to where Fiji is unique. We are very much taking that as part of an education process and we are definitely part of it.

“In the world that we live in, where we have so many different consumer choices, different brands out there, there is confusion. But we definitely as part of our program is to market the idea of Fiji.

Jamieson says that most of Fiji Water is exported to the United States market, although non US markets are growing most rapidly.

She said Fiji Water holds 2 a percent share of the US market and that “over 600 competitors are always vying for our business.”

Fiji Water does magazine advertising with over 147 million impressions. “Our target consumers are 41 per cent more likely to read magazines and 29 per cent less likely to watch TV versus the general population.”`

via Fijilive

FTC Green Guide Packaging Forum

Wednesday's FTC forum on updating its Green Guide relating to eco-marketing claims was focused on packaging.

The Environmental Leader reported Wal-Mart and other stakeholders from consulting firms and trade associations voiced their views on updating the FTC guidelines. The forum was the second in a series organized and hosted by the FTC.

“While the advertising trade associations have asked the FTC to slow its review process, virtually every speaker at today's workshop acknowledged it is time to update the Green Guides,” said Valerie Davis, president of Green Canary Sustainability Consulting.

Amy Zettlemoyer-Lazar of Wal-Mart's Sustainable Packaging Value Network and Sam's Club Packaging spoke on how they reduced their Honest Kids orange juice drink pouch packs packaging weight from 13.6 grams to 8 grams. 

Michelle Harvey of the Environmental Defense Fund told the forum vague environmental claims are one of the most critical areas in need of FTC attention.

Packaging Digest's editor John Kalkowski said packaging needs, like portability and shelf life, don’t always reconcile with today’s environmental trends - like claims on packaging that a company is 100 percent wind-powered.

“This makes me wonder how that message gets carried through,” said Kalkowski.

“Right now, the emphasis is on the packaging itself,” he added, “but I think the next phase will emphasize the process being used to make the packaging.”

The FTC’s public comment period for packaging issues is open through May 19.  Comments can be submitted through the forum's web site.

via Environmental Leader

Ireland Exceeds Packaging Recycling Targets

According to published reports Ireland has far exceeded EU targets for the recycling of packaging waste. 

Tony Killeen, Minister of State at the Environment Department told attendees of the 2008 Repak Service Providers Conference, “The recycling of packaging waste is probably the leading Irish environmental success story.”

“For the past number of years, Ireland has consistently exceeded EU and national targets for recovery and recycling of this waste stream.”

Figures from the Irish Environmental Protection Agency show that in 2005, 64% of packaging waste was recovered against a target of 50%