PET water bottles continue to make waves
Beginning July 1, 2007 city departments and agencies in San Francisco were barred from purchasing single-serving bottles of water using city funds by order of Mayor Gavin Newsom. Citing figures from the Container Recycling Institute, Newsom noted that the environmental impact of the bottled water industry has been “profound.” According to the Institute, plastic water bottle production requires the equivalent of 47 million gallons of oil. And more than 1 million plastic water bottles end up in California landfills each year. The International Bottled Water Association responded to the ban by saying, “Rather than focusing on one beverage choice, it would make more sense for our government officials to focus on improving recycling rates for all consumer packaging.”
In other news:
• In Europe members of the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) pledged to ensure that within 10 years all wood fibers used in beverage cartons will be traced back to legal, acceptable, and sustainable sources in their forest of origin. With beverage cartons made of 75% wood fiber, this pledge is designed to ensure long-term supplies. The companies taking the initiative are Tetra Pak, SIG Combibloc, and Elopak.
• Rohm and Haas introduced an impact modifier that it says broadens the usability of bioplastics-PLA-by making the material stronger without sacrificing clarity. According to the company, the packaging industry’s move toward PLA resin has been hampered by unmodified PLA being somewhat weaker and more brittle than traditional materials. Rohm and Haas’s new PLA additive, PARALOIDTM BPM-500, toughens PLA packaging, while maintaining clarity.
• All of Weyerhaeuser Co.’s U.S. Kraft paper bag plants have earned Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) certification and are authorized to use the SFI Certified Sourcing product label.
• The Australian Food and Grocery Council launched the new Shelf Ready Packaging Industry Toolkit. The toolkit has been designed to act as a set of common industry standards and guidelines aimed to assist retailers, suppliers, wholesalers, and packaging companies implement sustainable alternate packaging solutions.
Download toolkit at www.ecraustraliasia.au.
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Note: Purchase a copy of the Field Guide to Sustainable Packaging at www.packworld.com/fieldguide.
