Do you are feeling a bit misplaced when folks confer with sure environmental sustainability matters and aren’t positive the place to start out in relation to studying extra? Sustainability 101 is a weblog collection which you can flip to for details about totally different environmental phrases which will come up at work, throughout discussions with mates, 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. Once you purchase one thing with plastic packaging, you’re in all probability not conscious of what sort of plastic it’s. There may be recycled plastic, which is when recycled bits of plastic are reprocessed into plastic merchandise. And there may be additionally virgin plastic, often known as virgin plastic polymers, which in keeping with 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 suggests they will take a much bigger toll on the setting.
For the reason that Nineteen Fifties, plastic has overrun the packaging trade by offering cheap and lightweight safety for merchandise. Plastic packaging is broadly accessible within the type of typical foams, baggage, and clamshell trays. Over the many years, this has led to a world construct up of plastic air pollution, since these supplies are usually not at all times managed accurately at finish of use. Though plastics are present in all main municipal stable waste classes, in the US the containers and packaging class had essentially 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 affect of packaging and elevated buyer demand for sustainable alternate options.
On the identical time, a product has little to no worth if it arrives broken. Cisco’s Packaging Engineering division thinks holistically in relation to designing Cisco’s packaging with sustainability in thoughts. We’re rethinking product packaging and are sourcing different supplies to plastic. Our technique contains eliminating plastic baggage in our packaging wherever doable. For example, we’ve eliminated plastic packaging from our energy cords, leading to a discount of over 10 million baggage yearly. Work is underway to use the identical efforts throughout extra part classes.
Design for Recyclability
The place we can’t utterly take away plastic packaging, we should select alternate options with a smaller environmental footprint. This implies choosing recyclable supplies which can be simply separated and broadly 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 made from the identical high-density polyethylene materials as milk jugs and may be accepted in the identical plastic curbside recycling stream.* In line with the U.S. Environmental Safety Company (EPA), HDPE (Excessive Density Polyethylene) is without doubt one of the most regularly recycled plastics in the US (EPA supply #1).
Within the case of plastic baggage 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 at the moment the very best different as a result of it’s the most recycled materials in the US (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 invaluable assets and cut back greenhouse gasoline emissions in comparison with manufacturing virgin supplies. Selecting recycled supplies additionally promotes recycling by growing the demand for recycled supplies.
We’re focusing our power on recyclable and recycled plastics as a result of, sadly, biodegradable and compostable plastics aren’t properly fitted to use within the electronics trade.
Biodegradable and bio-based are phrases used loosely to explain plastics constructed from plant sources. The most important 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)
In terms of compostable packaging, the U.S. Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) Inexperienced Guides clarify that this packaging should be licensed with “competent and dependable scientific proof that each one supplies within the product or bundle will break down into — or grow to be 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 at the moment, the shorter shelf lifetime of compostable packaging makes it higher fitted to meals packaging than the electronics trade.
A round technique
We’re evolving to a extra round mannequin by which we cut back the assets we devour and the waste we generate. With this method, 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 Rules by fiscal yr 2025.** Utilizing recycled supplies is an instance of one among our rules.
By pursuing our purpose to include Round Design Rules, 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 objectives (Supply #5).
As we take the required steps to embed Round Design Rules into our packaging portfolio, it is very important keep in mind that each selection has tradeoffs — there isn’t any one-size suits all resolution. Reaching circularity is an iterative course of — what’s finest for immediately will not be what’s finest for tomorrow. But when we stay agile and try for achievement, we will proceed to maneuver in a constructive path in direction of a round financial system.
Observe our Packaging Engineering workforce’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 yr 2022, we had carried out a mushy launch of a brand new scoring software that evaluates circularity in merchandise and packaging. We used the mushy 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 yr 2022 assembly round design standards. In early fiscal 2023, the scoring software was formally launched throughout all enterprise items, 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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