Do you are feeling a bit misplaced when folks discuss with sure environmental sustainability matters and aren’t positive the place to begin in terms of studying extra? Sustainability 101 is a weblog collection that you could flip to for details about completely 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, many of the merchandise we purchase are available plastic packaging. While you purchase one thing with plastic packaging, you’re most likely not conscious of what sort 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, often known 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.”

Primarily, virgin plastics are manufactured from beforehand unused supplies, which implies they will take a much bigger toll on the surroundings.

For the reason that Fifties, plastic has overrun the packaging business by offering cheap and lightweight safety for merchandise. Plastic packaging is broadly out there within the type of standard foams, baggage, and clamshell trays. Over the many years, this has led to a world construct up of plastic air pollution, since these supplies usually are not all the time managed appropriately 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 burden of over 300,000 grey whales. The sheer quantity of waste has led to rising consciousness across the influence 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 in terms of designing Cisco’s packaging with sustainability in thoughts. We’re rethinking product packaging and are sourcing various supplies to plastic. Our technique consists of eliminating plastic baggage in our packaging wherever potential.  For example, we have now 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 element classes.

Design for Recyclability

The place we can not fully take away plastic packaging, we should select options with a smaller environmental footprint.  This implies choosing recyclable supplies which are 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 subsequent spherical of packaging.

For example, our plastic thermoform cushions are made from the identical high-density polyethylene materials as milk jugs and will be accepted in the identical plastic curbside recycling stream.* In line with the U.S. Environmental Safety Company (EPA), HDPE (Excessive Density Polyethylene) is among the most regularly recycled plastics in the USA (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 are recyclable. Paper is presently the very best various as a result of it’s the most recycled materials in the USA (EPA supply #2).

Select Recycled Supplies

Recycled supplies are completely different from recyclable supplies in that recycled packaging has a share of fabric inputs which have already been damaged down and reprocessed after use. By incorporating extra recycled content material into our packaging, we preserve helpful 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 power on recyclable and recycled plastics as a result of, sadly, biodegradable and compostable plastics aren’t nicely suited to use within the electronics business.

Biodegradable and bio-based are phrases used loosely to explain plastics comprised of plant sources. The most important concern for these supplies is that it’s not all the time clear how lengthy it should take for these plastics to interrupt down. Since they’re typically not licensed compostable, they will probably leech toxins into the soil. (SPC supply #3)

On the subject 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 every one supplies within the product or bundle will break down into — or develop 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 business.

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 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 have now a purpose for 100% of latest Cisco merchandise and packaging to include Round Design Ideas by fiscal 12 months 2025.** Utilizing recycled supplies is an instance of one among 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 the direction of Cisco’s packaging targets (Supply #5).

As we take the mandatory steps to embed Round Design Ideas into our packaging portfolio, it is very important do not forget that each selection has tradeoffs — there isn’t any one-size suits all answer. Reaching circularity is an iterative course of — what’s finest for right now might 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 the direction of a round economic system.

Observe our Packaging Engineering crew’s journey as we proceed to evolve our round packaging portfolio (Supply #6).

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* Test your native municipality for more information.

** In fiscal 12 months 2022, we had carried out a comfortable launch of a brand new scoring software that evaluates circularity in merchandise and packaging. We used the comfortable launch to guage 13% of latest merchandise and packaging, and located that 33% of them efficiently met our round design standards. That is equal to 4% of whole new merchandise and packaging launched in fiscal 12 months 2022 assembly round design standards. In early fiscal 2023, the scoring software was formally launched throughout all enterprise items, and we count on the universe of latest merchandise and packaging evaluated to extend in fiscal 2023.

SOURCES:

1. Plastics: Materials-Particular Knowledge | US EPA
2. Paper and Paperboard: Materials-Particular Knowledge | US EPA
3. Public_SPC-Place-Statement_Biodegradable-Packaging.pdf (sustainablepackaging.org)
4. Environmental Claims: Abstract of the Inexperienced Guides | Federal Commerce Fee (ftc.gov)
5. Environmental Targets – Cisco ESG Hub
6. Cisco Sustainable Packaging – Cisco

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