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A Study of Packaging Efficiency As It Relates to Waste Prevention Prepared by the Editors of The ULS Report February 2007. Background.
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A Study ofPackaging EfficiencyAs It Relates to Waste Prevention Prepared by the Editors of The ULS Report February 2007
Background • In 1995, we published a study on packaging efficiency that indicated that one of the best ways to improve the environmental as well as the economic efficiencies of typical consumer packaged goods was to practice source reduction -- focusing on delivering more product for the same or lesser amounts of packaging. www.use-less-stuff.com
Background • At that time, we predicted that source reduction needed to take center stage because it did not appear as if recycling would grow fast or large enough to offset increases in waste generation. www.use-less-stuff.com
Background • We even went so far as to predict that by the year 2000, the amount of material that would be discarded or combusted would be at least the same as in 1993 (about 160 million tons), even as recycling (defined by the EPA as material recovered for reuse) increased from a rate of 23% to a projected rate of 30%. www.use-less-stuff.com
Background • In the last year, issues relating to packaging, waste generation, and waste reduction have once again stirred significant interest. The renewed concern relates to at least four recent and highly related developments: www.use-less-stuff.com
Background 1. Energy and raw material prices have increased significantly, driving up the costs of maintaining the typical American lifestyle, and causing all links in a wide variety of value chains to look for opportunities to reduce waste and increase efficiencies. www.use-less-stuff.com
Background 2. The potential for greenhouse gas emissions to contribute to global climate change has become more accepted in the business, political, and media communities, as well as by the general public.Thus, the need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by reducing energy consumption is becoming widely accepted. www.use-less-stuff.com
Background 3. Reducing the use of fossil fuels has taken on national security as well as economic, political and ecologic dimensions: The potential for economically stable, environmentally friendly, more patriotic products obviously has significant allure, as evidenced by the increased interest in goods made from “renewable resources” such as corn, rather than from “non-renewable resources” such as petroleum and natural gas. www.use-less-stuff.com
Background 4. Retailers such as Wal-Mart have turned to the concept of environmental sustainability as a way to tap into public concerns relating to the environment and national security, and as a potential strategy to control rising energy costs and the costs of the goods they sell. www.use-less-stuff.com
Methodology • Fifty-two of the highest volume product categories were chosen from four outlet types: supermarkets (e.g., Kroger), mass/general merchandise (Wal-Mart), drug/health & beauty aid (Walgreen’s), and “big-box” club stores (Sam’s Club). The categories and sub-categories include data on almost 300 products. www.use-less-stuff.com
Methodology • Different containers used in each category were weighed when full and then when empty, thus determining product-to-package weight ratios. For example, the juice category includes containers made from glass; steel; aluminum; plastic coated paperboard; plastic coated foil; and composites of paper, foil and plastic. www.use-less-stuff.com
Methodology • To ensure that meaningful disposal and diversion comparisons could be made, alternatives were then converted to equivalent terms, usually pounds of packaging needed to deliver 1000 pounds of product. In categories where products could be purchased in concentrated or powdered form as well as ready-to-use form, conversions were made to the ready-to–use form. For example, juice container comparisons were based upon packaging used to deliver 100 gallons of ready-to-drink product, laundry detergent containers were based upon 1000 average loads of washed clothes, and desserts were based upon delivering 4000 servings. www.use-less-stuff.com
Methodology • Using the EPA’s latest recycling (recovery for reuse) figures or the level of post-consumer recycled content as listed on packages, credit was given for use or creation of diverted materials. (To be impartial, the higher of the recycling rate or listed post-consumer recycled content was used.) www.use-less-stuff.com
Methodology • The following formula was then applied: • Net discard quantities for packaging types within categories were compared. www.use-less-stuff.com
Major Findings A. The best way to reduce net discards is through the use of flexible packaging. Bags, pouches, vacuum brick packs, and aseptic packages are significantly lighter and thus more efficient than rigid containers, regardless of the materials used to construct flexible packages, or the much higher recycling rates of the materials used to produce rigid containers. www.use-less-stuff.com
Major Findings B. While not as significant a factor as source reduction, recycling plays a prominent role in reducing discards. This is especially true for fiberboard cartons, steel and aluminum cans, and beverage bottles made from PETE, HPDE and glass. These materials are collectively recycled at a 29% rate. They represent 51% of the primary packaging material tonnage generated in 2005, and 78% of primary packaging recycling tonnage. www.use-less-stuff.com
Major Findings C. Larger sizes are significantly more efficient than their smaller counterparts, regardless of material type. While this is not a new finding, the examples in Table 3 highlight how much more efficient large sizes can be than their smaller counterparts, regardless of the material selected. www.use-less-stuff.com
Major Findings D. Products to which water is added at the point of use, or removed at the point of manufacture, are significantly more efficient than similar products that are purchased in liquid or moist form. The next table clearly shows the significant reduction in discards when purchasing dry mixes, powders, and concentrates, rather than fully constituted form. Not only is there less packaging, but there is also less water to transport, reducing energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions. www.use-less-stuff.com
Major Findings E. The rise of single serve items, especially for snack foods, has the potential to increase waste. As shown in the next table, the differences in net discards between multi-packs and single packs of candy and potato chip items can be quite significant. This is especially true for these types of products, where portion control is not a significant issue. Unlike main meal items, snack foods are rarely wasted, and usually not discarded if there are leftovers. www.use-less-stuff.com
Conclusions A. Reducing packaging weight continues to offer significant opportunities to minimize net discards, and thus conserve both materials and energy while reducing the generation of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. This is true for all materials and packaging types, regardless of the material(s) chosen or the feedstock(s) used to produce those materials. www.use-less-stuff.com
Conclusions B. The product-to-package weight ratio is an excellent indicator to use when trying to make topline decisions about packaging efficiencies. As a topline measure, this ratio provides an easy-to-understand metric, as well as a very powerful one. It would be interesting to find or perform research that can quantify the value of this measure (e.g., 80% of impact can be accounted for the relative weight of the package to the product). www.use-less-stuff.com
Conclusions C. Consumer goods marketers and retailers should be encouraged to develop and aggressively promote flexible packaging, concentrates and refills, dry mixes, and larger sizes for appropriateapplications. While flexible packaging can cost more to produce, the savings in transportation energy generated across the supply chain can be used to offset this increase. www.use-less-stuff.com
Conclusions D. Consumer goods marketers and retailers, along with plastics producers, should coordinate efforts that can increase consumer recycling of packaging used in out-of-home applications. This is especially true for smaller size beverages, such as water, soft drinks, and juices. PETE, HDPE, steel, and aluminum have both the value and infrastructure in place to effectively reduce the use and impact of virgin materials. Consumers need to be motivated to either bring these packages home for placement in their recycling bins, or provided with easy-to-find, out-of-home, recycling collection sites. www.use-less-stuff.com
"In almost every case, the lightest package, per unit of contents, is the one with the lowest impact on the environment... Rather than legislating the choice of material or the required level of recyclability, it makes sense to adopt policies that encourage use of the lightest possible packaging for each product." -- Dr. Frank Ackerman, Director of the Global Development and Environment Institute of Tufts University www.use-less-stuff.com
Questions? www.use-less-stuff.com
