• Summit Publishing is nearing the launch of GreenerPackage.com, a
one-stop destination for packaging professionals interested in all
things sustainable. Expert-guided discussion groups will offer the
GreenerPackage.com community the opportunity to interact with
sustainability experts who have joined the GreenerPackage.com advisory
board. Board members include Amy Zettlemoyer-Lazar, director of
packaging for Walmart-owned Sam's Club, and Dr. Mark Caul, senior
packaging technologist at Marks & Spencer. Other members of the
board come from such companies as Albertsons, Cadbury Schweppes,
ConAgra, Costco, Estée Lauder, Frito-Lay, Kraft Foods, S.C. Johnson,
Sears, Unilever, and Victoria's Secret. The GreenerPackage.com site
will also feature news, white papers, a products directory, and an
annual sustainable packaging awards competition. Learn more
• In January, Coca-Cola and United Resource Recovery Corp. (URRC) joined government leaders and environmental experts at the grand opening of the world's largest plastic bottle-to-bottle recycling plant. Coca-Cola's goal is to recycle and reuse 100% of its bottles and cans in the United States. When fully operational, the recycling plant will produce approximately 100 million pounds of food-grade recycled PET each year--the equivalent of nearly 2 billion 20-oz Coca-Cola bottles. Over the next 10 years, the plant will prevent the release of 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions--the equivalent of removing 215,000 cars from the road. In addition to environmental benefits, the 30-acre Spartanburg, SC, plant has created 100 new jobs. At the event, Coca-Cola announced the launch of a multimillion-dollar marketing effort supporting recycling called "Give it Back." Read more
• Dell announced that the company will reduce its desktop and laptop packaging by 10% over the next four years, a move Dell says will save both 20 million pounds of packaging materials and more than $8 million. In addition, Dell says it will increase the amount of sustainable content in its cushioning and corrugate packaging by 40% and ensure that 75% of its packaging components are curbside-recyclable by 2012. Read more
• In January, Coca-Cola and United Resource Recovery Corp. (URRC) joined government leaders and environmental experts at the grand opening of the world's largest plastic bottle-to-bottle recycling plant. Coca-Cola's goal is to recycle and reuse 100% of its bottles and cans in the United States. When fully operational, the recycling plant will produce approximately 100 million pounds of food-grade recycled PET each year--the equivalent of nearly 2 billion 20-oz Coca-Cola bottles. Over the next 10 years, the plant will prevent the release of 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions--the equivalent of removing 215,000 cars from the road. In addition to environmental benefits, the 30-acre Spartanburg, SC, plant has created 100 new jobs. At the event, Coca-Cola announced the launch of a multimillion-dollar marketing effort supporting recycling called "Give it Back." Read more
• Dell announced that the company will reduce its desktop and laptop packaging by 10% over the next four years, a move Dell says will save both 20 million pounds of packaging materials and more than $8 million. In addition, Dell says it will increase the amount of sustainable content in its cushioning and corrugate packaging by 40% and ensure that 75% of its packaging components are curbside-recyclable by 2012. Read more
