Do you’re feeling a bit misplaced when individuals discuss with sure environmental sustainability subjects and aren’t positive the place to begin with regards to studying extra? Sustainability 101 is a weblog sequence that you would be able to flip to for details about totally different environmental phrases which will come up at work, throughout discussions with buddies, and even at your annual vacation gathering.
This weblog was written by Nicole Kenney, Program Supervisor, Sustainable Packaging, and Drew Phan, Packaging Engineer.
As a part of fashionable life, a lot of the merchandise we purchase are available plastic packaging. Whenever you purchase one thing with plastic packaging, you’re most likely not conscious of what kind of plastic it’s. There’s recycled plastic, which is when recycled bits of plastic are reprocessed into plastic merchandise. And there may be additionally virgin plastic, also referred to as virgin plastic polymers, which based on a 2022 report, means “newly manufactured resin produced from petrochemical or biomass feedstock used because the uncooked materials for the manufacture of plastic merchandise and which has by no means been used or processed earlier than.”
Basically, virgin plastics are manufactured from beforehand unused supplies, which implies they will take a much bigger toll on the surroundings.
Because the Nineteen Fifties, plastic has overrun the packaging trade by offering cheap and lightweight safety for merchandise. Plastic packaging is extensively accessible within the type of standard foams, luggage, and clamshell trays. Over the a long time, this has led to a worldwide construct up of plastic air pollution, since these supplies should not at all times managed accurately at finish of use. Though plastics are present in all main municipal stable waste classes, in the USA the containers and packaging class had probably the most plastic tonnage at over 14.5 million tons in 2018 alone (EPA Supply #1). That’s equal to the load of over 300,000 grey whales. The sheer quantity of waste has led to rising consciousness across the impression of packaging and elevated buyer demand for sustainable options.
On the identical time, a product has little to no worth if it arrives broken. Cisco’s Packaging Engineering division thinks holistically with regards to designing Cisco’s packaging with sustainability in thoughts. We’re rethinking product packaging and are sourcing different supplies to plastic. Our technique consists of eliminating plastic luggage in our packaging wherever doable. For example, we’ve eliminated plastic packaging from our energy cords, leading to a discount of over 10 million luggage yearly. Work is underway to use the identical efforts throughout further part classes.
Design for Recyclability
The place we can’t fully take away plastic packaging, we should select options with a smaller environmental footprint. This implies choosing recyclable supplies which can be simply separated and extensively accepted in curbside recycling streams. As soon as these supplies are recovered, they are often damaged down and re-processed into the feedstock for the following spherical of packaging.
For example, our plastic thermoform cushions are fabricated from the identical high-density polyethylene materials as milk jugs and could be accepted in the identical plastic curbside recycling stream.* In keeping with the U.S. Environmental Safety Company (EPA), HDPE (Excessive Density Polyethylene) is likely one of the most steadily recycled plastics in the USA (EPA supply #1).
Within the case of plastic luggage in our accent kits, efforts are underway to make the most of fiber-based paper envelopes and corrugated sleeves which can be recyclable. Paper is presently the most effective different as a result of it’s the most recycled materials in the USA (EPA supply #2).
Select Recycled Supplies
Recycled supplies are totally different from recyclable supplies in that recycled packaging has a proportion of fabric inputs which have already been damaged down and reprocessed after use. By incorporating extra recycled content material into our packaging, we preserve beneficial assets and cut back greenhouse gasoline emissions in comparison with manufacturing virgin supplies. Selecting recycled supplies additionally promotes recycling by rising the demand for recycled supplies.
We’re focusing our vitality on recyclable and recycled plastics as a result of, sadly, biodegradable and compostable plastics aren’t effectively suited to use within the electronics trade.
Biodegradable and bio-based are phrases used loosely to explain plastics constructed from plant sources. The largest concern for these supplies is that it’s not at all times clear how lengthy it’s going to take for these plastics to interrupt down. Since they’re usually not licensed compostable, they will doubtlessly leech toxins into the soil. (SPC supply #3)
With regards to compostable packaging, the U.S. Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) Inexperienced Guides clarify that this packaging have to be licensed with “competent and dependable scientific proof that each one supplies within the product or bundle will break down into — or turn into a part of — usable compost safely and in about the identical time because the supplies with which it’s composted” (FTC supply #4). That is good for natural waste like meals scraps, grass clippings and yard waste. However presently, the shorter shelf lifetime of compostable packaging makes it higher suited to meals packaging than the electronics trade.
A round technique
We’re evolving to a extra round mannequin wherein we cut back the assets we devour and the waste we generate. With this strategy, we attempt to prioritize supplies with recycled content material; design merchandise for useful resource effectivity; and facilitate restore, remanufacturing, and recycling to increase product life. That’s why we’ve a purpose for 100% of recent Cisco merchandise and packaging to include Round Design Ideas by fiscal 12 months 2025.** Utilizing recycled supplies is an instance of certainly one of our ideas.
By pursuing our purpose to include Round Design Ideas, we will use much less virgin materials, and devour much less materials general. Decreasing our packaging carbon footprint will drive progress in direction of Cisco’s packaging targets (Supply #5).
As we take the mandatory steps to embed Round Design Ideas into our packaging portfolio, you will need to keep in mind that each selection has tradeoffs — there is no such thing as a one-size matches all answer. Attaining circularity is an iterative course of — what’s greatest for in the present day might not be what’s greatest for tomorrow. But when we stay agile and attempt for achievement, we will proceed to maneuver in a constructive course in direction of a round economic system.
Comply with our Packaging Engineering group’s journey as we proceed to evolve our round packaging portfolio (Supply #6).
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* Verify your native municipality for more information.
** In fiscal 12 months 2022, we had performed a delicate launch of a brand new scoring device that evaluates circularity in merchandise and packaging. We used the delicate launch to guage 13% of recent merchandise and packaging, and located that 33% of them efficiently met our round design standards. That is equal to 4% of complete new merchandise and packaging launched in fiscal 12 months 2022 assembly round design standards. In early fiscal 2023, the scoring device was formally launched throughout all enterprise models, and we anticipate the universe of recent merchandise and packaging evaluated to extend in fiscal 2023.
SOURCES:
- Plastics: Materials-Particular Information | US EPA
- Paper and Paperboard: Materials-Particular Information | US EPA
- Public_SPC-Place-Statement_Biodegradable-Packaging.pdf (sustainablepackaging.org)
- Environmental Claims: Abstract of the Inexperienced Guides | Federal Commerce Fee (ftc.gov)
- Environmental Targets – Cisco ESG Hub
- Cisco Sustainable Packaging – Cisco
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