According to the EPA, about 1/3 of all waste in landfills comes from product packaging (plastic, cardboard, etc). And if any of you have bought anything lately, you will know that many prodcuts are enclosed in excess packaging. You open up a medium-sized box to find something the size on an iPod Nano in there. And much of the packing, especially the petroleum-based plastics, is not recyclable.And unfortunately, even though 28 countries around the world have laws in place encourage the reduction of product packaging and recycling, the United States to date has none. This means that individual companies have to take the initiative to become more environmentally-friendly through good steward practices such as:
The good thing is that as global consumer demand for "green" products grows, companies will have to start re-thinking the ways they produce and package their products. According to Mintel Global New Products Database, there were only 5 environmentally-friendly products marketed in 2002. In 2007, 328 new products were marketed as "environmentally-friendly." This includes anything from household paper products and energy-efficient appliances.
Click here for an interesting article on the ways several companies, including Target, are reducing their impact on the environment.
And here are two examples of companies that have made an effort to become more environmentally-friendly (and in doing so have convinced me to start using their products):
Dial recently reinvented their Pure and Natural line of soaps and body washes to be more environmentally friendly. Their soap formula is now 98% nautral (vegetable-based) and paraben-free (which means I can use it!). The packaging for their entire product line, including liquid soaps, body washes and bar soaps, are now recyclable. And the really cool thing is that they have embedded baby's breath flower seeds in the packaging of their bar soaps. According to them, you can bury the entire biodegradable box in the ground and the flowers will grow. I have recently purchased the Cleansing Rosemary and Mint body wash and bar soaps from Walmart and soon I will be planting the soap box. I'll let you know if anything starts to grow.
I am sure those of you who watch TV on a regular basis have seen the commercials for the new eco-friendly packaging from Deer Park. In an effort to reduce their product's impact on the environment they have redesigned their water bottle to be 100% recyclable, using 30% less plastic for the bottle and 30% less paper for the label. Thus, it requires less energy to produce, emitting less carbon-dioxide overall.
I figured that if companies can figure out ways to reduce their impact on the environment, then so could I. And I admit, I am cheap. Postage is expensive enough as it is, I don't want to add several dollars in having to buy new boxes and whatnot every time I want to ship a box. And to be completely honest, since I have started this, we hve not had to buy one new shipping box or any packing materials.
So here is how I recycle packaging materials in our home:
Shredded paper. We shred any trash and junk mail that comes into our house with any personal information on it...from bills we no longer need to receipts to junk credit card applications we get in the mail. That results in a lot of shredded paper. Instead of throwing it away, we use it as packaging material in boxes that we send. It's free (yay for free!), recyclable and better for the environment than those styrofoam peanuts or other packaging materials.
Cereal Boxes. Cereal boxes can be re-used in a variety of ways. You can cover them with pretty paper and use them as magazine holders, for children's crafts and for shipping non-breakable items such as books and clothing. I got that last idea from my friend Britni. Just cover the cereal box with plain paper (I cut up paper bags from the grocery store and wrap up the boxes). Shoe boxes can also be used.
Shipping Boxes. We do about half of our shopping online, which means we get a steady supply of sturdy shipping boxes and packaging supplies. We remove the labels and save the boxes for future use.
So what do you think about the "green" packaging trend? Do you think it will last? Do you think it will help the environment? Or do you think it is a waste of time?
And let's not forget about newspapers, magazines, plastic bottles, glass and aluminum cans. All of those can be recycled and reused relatively easy.
It may just be one aluminum can but when I look at what we can gather in a week in just one household... That's quite a lot of cans. These are melted and used to make new cans.
Not only does that mean less space needed in the landfill but it also means less import of aluminum which is becoming expensive.
Granted these are slightly old numbers but from 2001 through 2005 the US import of aluminum increased from 38% to 47%. In 2005 about 3 million ton of aluminum was recovered with 63% being from manufacturing and 37% from discarded aluminum products. This may sound like high numbers but it only accounts for 16% of apparent consumption... Wanna know more? read it here.
It's hard to say how long it will last. You do have some good ideas - I like the shredded paper idea and I already save all those boxes I get for reuse in shipping.
Excess packaging makes me CRAZY.
I just do not buy things that are triple packaged.
Fresh Direct (a grocery delivery service here in NY) is just notorious for excess packaging.
This postis great. I love that you highlighted the products that are going more eco.
I got some stamps in the mail yesterday, and each 10-pack of postcard stamps came with a 5x7 or so piece of cardboard and then wrapped in plastic. Why all of that was necessary I have NO idea. It took a lot of time to get them out and a lot of space in the trash can.
My teeny town does not have a recycling program. They do newspapers and cardboard and that's about it. The fire company collects glass and cans, but nothing else. So I have to work very hard to get it all recycled.
I recently began taking my plastic to my friend's house, since her town does plastic recycling. Just by doing all of this recycling, we've reduced the amount of trash that goes out to the curb by two cans a week. That's something! We're only a family of four. Now, if I could just get rid of the flipping diapers, I know I could make a bigger impact.
I think it's great... especially if it means less trash for me to take out every day. My trash can fills up constantly, and it's a pain :)
Did you and Marie get together with the same theme...green? I had just read an interesting article about how one of the most respected environmentalists has switched his position for alternate power sources back to nuclear power. His reasoning is the bang for the buck. TO convert over to a bio solution will significantly alter the landscape and actually increase greenhouse gases to do so and the effort vs watt is high whereas nuclear is low. It was a startling thing to read.
I don't think it is people that can make the change as well as companies. Companies that produce water bottles...crazy how much waste comes from that. People need to jsut buy one bottle and fill it with water. Companies are the ones that make and waste the most. I wish they have more eco friendly ideas along with us
I love the Dial soap concept. I think they've got a new customer. Thank you on the scoop.
with the danger of making it sound like a love fest... We all have to do our part and pitch in. So it means corporations as well as individuals.
That being said I don't give much for companies that go out and charge double just because it's green...
Imagine a simple thing such as recycling your newspaper. If you get it daily and recycle it instead of throwing it in the trash can. That adds up to a good amount. If your entire street did it the refuse collectors would notice for sure.
Collecting newspapers will result in less fill in the land fill and the county can make money selling the recycled newspapers. How is that for motivation :-)
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This is a great post. If everyone takes time to do his/her own share to minimize garbage and recycle materials, we would be surprised by how much we can help the environment.
This is SUCH and important issue, so I thank you for raising awareness. I will say that I do all I can and something that I wanted to add was getting reusable bags. This will save many plastic bags. I have founds some that fit in my purse!
I recycle everything I can, so know I'm on your side!
Wanted to add one more thing.... At http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633 there is a link to recycle old cell phones. They will pay up to 5$ postage too!
Children's toy packaging has got to be one of the worst examples. Each year it gets worse as they try to figure out how to display a toy but prevent stealing.
I think it's something that will just have to improve.
The current situation is unsustainable and people are going to realise it more and more.