INNOVATING OUT OF THE WASTE PROBLEM |
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PHOTOGRAPH BY CHARLES PURVIS / TRUNK ARCHIVE |
“ Packaging does an important job making sure goods don ’ t get damaged as they move through the supply chain to the consumer , but it ’ s also a visible sign of waste ,” says Nina Goodrich , director of the nonprofit Sustainable Packaging Coalition . “ Companies need to cut out packaging where they can , as long as they don ’ t compromise product protection .”
Each year , the average American discards nearly 500 pounds of containers and packaging , made up of paper and paperboard , glass , steel , aluminum , plastics , wood , and small amounts of other materials . In 2017 , this amounted to 80.1 million tons of US-generated packaging waste , only half of which was recycled ; the rest ended up incinerated , in landfills , or in the ocean . Packaging accounted for 23 % of the 139 million tons of municipal trash that went to landfills in 2017 . While some of it will decompose over time , the process emits the methane equivalent of more than 20 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere .
To address this issue , municipalities have begun to restrict certain types of packaging , including single-use plastics , which will reduce the 30 million tons that US and European consumers throw out each year . Yet , as Goodrich points out , these actions are only part of the picture , and , as a society , we all must embrace new ways to support and invest in recycling .
“ We need to build capacity to recycle all materials — paper and plastic — and create value for these undervalued materials ,” she says . “ It ’ s going to take all of us to fix this packaging waste problem .”
Leading companies , such as HP and Nestlé , and their suppliers are setting goals to dramatically decrease product packaging waste by switching to recyclable or compostable materials and by reducing the amount of packaging used . Through the growing number of sustainability-focused investment opportunities , the market is increasingly incentivizing innovations that diminish packaging waste and increase sustainability .
This article originally appeared as part of the Bloomberg Green + HP partnership .
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For HP , reducing packaging material starts with its products . The company , which currently uses more than a million tons of packing materials each year , is rethinking its manufacturing process to reduce the amount of packaging that gets discarded , while continuing to increase its use of recyclable materials . HP is also reducing paper and cardboard use and replacing expanded polystyrene packing cushions — the white foam that protects PCs , laptops , and printers in transit — with recyclable molded paper pulp , among other changes . In 2019 , HP eliminated 933 metric tons of hard-to-recycle expanded plastic foam from its product packaging by shipping more than 6.8 million units in molded fiber packaging .
HP is on its way to meeting several ambitious waste-reduction targets for packaging . In its most recent annual Sustainable Impact Report , the company announced that , by 2025 , it aims to eliminate 75 % of its single-use plastic packaging , compared with 2018 . This year , HP also plans to accelerate its reduction of expanded plastic foam cushioning , and ensure that all paper used for packaging comes from recycled or certified sustainable sources .
“ The trend for us really is for less packaging in general ,” says Erik Troelsen , HP ’ s Director of Packaging Design and Procurement . “ There ’ s this curve of using just enough packaging to protect the product and to offer the customer a great out-of-box experience , but not using too much . We ’ ve been reducing and optimizing the equation for the right amount of packaging per product for many years .”
Troelsen has spearheaded HP ’ s efforts to use sustainable materials , like turning leftover straw from wheat harvests in rural China into reusable shipping pallets that protect products as they ’ re transported across Asia . ( The straw is typically burned , contributing to China ’ s air pollution .)
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PACKAGING WASTE
20 million tons CO2 equivalent of methane released into the atmosphere by decomposing packaging in landfills
8 million tons of packaging burned by incinerators each year
32 million tons of packaging trash sent to landfills in 2017
500 pounds of container and packaging waste thrown out by the average American each year
SOURCE : EPA
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