Blog

Day 2: Oct. 10, 2009

Posted by Chandler Slavin on Oct 16, 2012 9:31:00 AM

After nearly missing the train from Chicago to Woodstock and spilling coffee on my new pencil skirt, I made it to the office, hoping that something would be waiting there to lift my spirits: 1 new email from Robert Carlson! Yippee!

Chandler,

It was nice meeting you as well.

I don't have a lot of time just now to address your question, but I'll try to point you to the most likely location of that info and then do some research a bit later when I have more time.? I'd suggest looking at the AF&PA's website (American Forestry and Paper Association). They have a lot of information although a fair amount of it must be paid for.?

My experience has been that this info can be difficult to get for a few reasons...1) some people don't like to talk about this stuff, they call it proprietary or they think it will taint their image...2) It varies considerably from mill to mill depending on if they're using scrap from the timber industry for energy or if they're using natural gas or grid electricity... Anyway, have a look at AF&PA and if that doesn't pan out for you, I'll try to look through some of my resources a bit later on.

Hope you're doing well, Robert

Hmmm I thought to myself as I scrolled through the email; I had never thought of data about the environment as being proprietary…shouldn’t the public have access to the information about how certain consumer goods and packages impact our world? I guess if people don’t even check where their clothes or shoes or Gucci bags are made and in what kind of conditions (ahem, dormitories in factories anyone?) they obviously don’t care to investigate the repercussions that their buying decisions have on the environment—especially when it comes to packaging! But that’s changing, I thought to myself, as I clung on to the shred of idealism still remaining from college. And, I continued to reason, it is my job as the Sustainability Coordinator at a plastic packaging company to know the effects that packaging has on the global community. How hard can it be, I questioned?

Having spent the last four years in the cushy atmosphere of college where one little user name and password grants you access into some of the most powerful databases in the world (LexusNexus, for one), I reasoned with myself that I could find the information I was looking for; little did I know, however, the extent to which the “proprietary” bubble expanded into the blurring world between business and the environment.

Tune in Monday to see how, by law, chemical manufacturing companies can hide behind a veil of secrecy; otherwise know as the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act.

Read More

Introduction to the "Recycling project"

Posted by Chandler Slavin on Oct 16, 2012 9:30:00 AM

I am a third-generation thermoformer, which means I have a passion for plastic packaging; it's in my blood. Having just graduated from DePaul University with a degree in Religious Ethics, I entered the family business at an interesting time: the economy was in the pits and "sustainability," as it pertains to packaging, was the "it" word. Because of my background in academia, I was given the task of understanding the sustainability debate from the perspective of a packaging professional. Four months later, I am proud to call myself the Sustainability Coordinator at Dordan Manufacturing, which is a successful, National supplier of custom design thermoformed packaging, such as clamshells, blisters, trays and components.

At my first “business conference” in Atlanta this past fall for the members-only meeting of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, I learned that most plastic thermoformed packaging is NOT recycled in American communities[1], nor is A LOT of other packaging materials. Outraged that my family’s pride-and-joy often ends up in landfills, I made it my personal project to discover: (1) why thermoforms are not accepted for recycling at most Material Recovery Facilities (hereafter, MRF); and (2) how we could integrate thermoformed packaging into the existing recycling infrastructure. With no previous background in environmental science, I took to the books, armed with nothing more than a recent graduate's motivation and altruism, to uncover the complexities of recycling in America.

What follows is a day-by-day account of my attempts to find an end-of-life market for plastic thermoform packaging; I am still working towards that goal.

This is the recycling project.


[1] Less than 60% of American communities.

Read More

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR BLOG:

LATEST POSTS: