Sustainable is Good | Where design, lifestyle and packaging meet

Glass Packaging is Back, Sustainable and Drop Dead Gorgeous

2009-06-25T06:57:00-04:00

BY DENNIS SALAZAR

One of the delights of being in the packaging industry for as long as I have been is witnessing the resurgence of many “old” packaging materials such as water activated paper tape, corrugated board in many new uses and on the retail packaging side, the old fashioned glass bottle or jar.

A quick peek in our refrigerator or kitchen pantry will show the variety of packaging materials that now satisfy some of the past, most common applications for glass containers. A wide range of newer packaging solutions ranging from multi-layer boxes to plastics in different grades now replace the traditional glass container for products such as milk, juice and even ketchup.

Clearly Glass Is Back in a Big Green Way

With the woes of the overall economy, precise industry numbers are difficult to obtain or compare but according to the Glass Packaging Institute, retail glass packaging is growing rapidly in terms of use and applications. It seems that the word is out that glass is pure, reusable, recyclable and very sustainable from several different perspectives.

According their web site www.gpi.org, “recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to power a 60-watt bulb for four hours, a computer for 30 minutes or a television for 20 minutes”. That is very neat stuff in this day and age; especially considering the relentless “anti-plastic” sentiment of the green market.

From a recycling and up cycling perspective, the new, “hot” material for green home design is counter tops manufactured from guess what? Crushed glass. You can easily see why the glass industry is growing again and why it may be one of the best “new” green packaging solutions.

The Green Packaging Bad News

With this increased use of glass, there is also an expected and proportionate rise in damage from full or partial cases of glass packaged products shipping via UPS, FedEx and USPS. Compound this with the fact that many companies now prefer glass over plastic and other non-eco friendly materials for packaging of their healthy, organic or otherwise “green” products, you can see why this is a fast growing problem. It stands to reason, the more glass we use and ship; the more likely we are to have breakage in shipment.

Sustainable packaging and Survival of the Fittest

Damage leads to unhappy customers and increased costs for everyone so it is not at all surprising to see a company like FedEx devote a large part of their website to package testing. http://www.fedex.com/us/services/pdf/PKG_Testing_Procedures.pdf Similar information can be found at USPS and UPS’s websites but FedEx makes their information clearer and much easier to locate and use.

Regardless of whether you drop test a package seven or ten times and do it from a height of 30”, 36” or 48”, the end result is often times the same. There are many different variations of this test but you can understand why it can be brutal, especially on a glass product, improperly packaged for shipment. The glass container is vulnerable to the impact shock transferred to it from a drop and that is not a good thing.

The Green Packaging Silver Lining

From the simple perspective of a packaging sales person, especially one who focuses on green, protective secondary packaging, this should all sound like great news. More damage should lead to more packaging and cushioning materials, right?

That is correct in theory but keep in mind the same green buyer who wants glass container packaging for its eco benefits is also the same customer who is likely to demand less secondary packaging, not more. So what is a packager to do?

Green Secondary Packaging

In my opinion, there has never been a time when there has been such a wide variety of affordable, eco friendly secondary packaging products and solutions as are available today. Recycled and recyclable corrugated die cut products, biodegradable inflatable products, and even molded pulp that was once relegated to drink cup carriers are all back in a big way.

There is probably not a product that I am aware of today that cannot be shipped safely anywhere in the world with use of a blocking, bracing, cushioning or void fill material that is obviously and inarguably green. If the first concern is product protection, the close second is green perception so using products that communicate a clear and consistent green message, is more important than ever.

For most of the world drop dead gorgeous means something else but for people with glass or otherwise fragile products, it means product arriving in one piece and that is truly a beautiful thing.

Dennis Salazar is the president of Salazar Packaging, Inc., a certified MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) company specializing in packaging products, equipment and solutions. With over thirty years in the packaging industry, he is known for his tongue in cheek sense of humor as well as his sustainable packaging passion and expertise. Dennis is also a featured blogger at www.packagingdigest.com.

To contact Dennis, please visit his web site: www.salazarpackaging.com

Artists Create Precious Metal Made from Used Aluminum Cans for UK Recycle Week

2009-06-23T06:26:00-04:00

A spectacular 50m artwork made solely from used aluminum cans has been unveiled on top of the chalk cliffs of the Sussex coastline to mark the beginning of Recycle Week June 22-28.

Transforming thousands of used aluminum collected from around Great Britain into the world’s largest recycled artwork – dubbed Precious Metal - has taken a team of artists a week to complete and can only be fully viewed from the air.

The artwork - inspired by a classic 1949 summer poster from The Coca-Cola Company archives of a swimsuit-clad lady relaxing in the sun - is designed to inspire consumers to recycle more this summer through reminding them of the inherent value of empty cans and bottles.

Recycling aluminum is 20 times more energy-efficient than making it from scratch. At the end of Recycle Week each of the 200,000 cans will be recycled saving enough energy to keep a television running for seventy years.

Liz Lowe, Citizenship Manager at Coca-Cola Great Britain, said: “Old cans aren’t just waste, they’re precious metal. They can live forever through recycling, to be used time and time again to make a whole number of new things saving huge amounts of energy and raw materials.

“With this simple message want to inspire people to think twice about binning their empty bottles and cans…an empty drinks can that you recycle today could be back on the shelf as a brand new one in just six weeks.”

Coca-Cola is working with WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) to install Recycle Zones around the UK to help make it easier for people to recycle their cans and bottles when they’re out and about – in places like shopping centers, theme parks, airports, university campuses and at outdoor events. Launched a year ago, there are now 20 active Recycle Zones with another 60 on the way before 2011. Already over 20 tonnes of recycled materials have been collected through Recycle Zones’ bins.

Coca-Cola has teamed up with WRAP’s Recycle Now campaign to encourage people to do a little more to recycle this week.

To pledge to do more go to www.cokezone.co.uk/recyclenow where you also have the chance to win a bespoke recycled sculpture from Robert Bradford, the lead artist behind this unique project.

Survey Finds Glass Packaging Preferred by Organic Shoppers

2009-06-18T06:32:00-04:00

According to an analysis by researchers at the University of Oklahoma, most health concerned organic shoppers believe glass packaging keeps the true flavor, taste and purity of a food product.

Glass continued to be the first choice of the organic shopper by significant margins in five key areas. Glass packaging for organic foods got high marks for: maintaining true flavor/taste, purity, healthiest, maintaining quality, preserving shelf life

When it came to which packaging was best for the environment, glass was also the primary choice. Researchers report a trend towards glass packaging as the first choice of consumers who say they care about the environment and their individual and family health.

Survey comparisons show a growing trend of younger consumers expressing even more of an interest in organic foods when compared to the total population of shoppers. The survey found 57.8% of shoppers, ages 18 to 34, purchased organic food, while 38% of shoppers, ages 55 and older, purchased organic foods sometime during the year.

The survey was conducted by the University of Oklahoma. The Glass Packaging Institute, an industry advocacy group supporting Glass packaging highlighted the results of the survey on its website.

Whole Foods Baked Goods Packaging Recognized for Sustainability

2009-06-09T18:55:18-04:00

Whole Foods Market (WFM) recently had new packaging its using for its baked goods recognized with an award at the 21st DuPont Awards for Packaging and Innovation.

Whole Foods new baked goods packaging is compostable is made from 100% renewable content.

The packaging represents a major change in a sector of the market where common practice is to use multiple containers for baking and retail sale. Disposable metal trays are used for baking and then the goods are transferred to a second package for in store sales. The second package would ultimately be disposed of by the consumer as trash.

The new packaging is Sealed Air's Renew-A-Pak made by Biosphere Industries.

Now the product stays in the new oven safe, microwavable trays all the way through to the consumer and are compostable at end of life, eliminating aluminum tray disposal, the need for a 2nd package or disposed of as waste at end of life.

While this new packaging isn't as glamorous as some of the other innovations we've covered it does make a significant impact in reducing waste and I'm pleased both companies were recognized for their work. It is this type of innovation that makes a major difference and its one we need to expand beyond Whole Foods to grocery stores across the country.