Happy Monday Funday!
Before I get to the meat of today’s post, which will either discuss biodegradable plastics OR the SPC meeting (I haven’t decided yet...) I wanted to provide you with a recap of Dordan’s various sustainability initiatives and miscellaneous tid bits…
Composter update:
First, our composter is totally finished; last week compost Phil added a retractable roof to keep the critters our and the smell in. She’s a real beaut! Now we are in the process of getting separate bins in the cafeteria for our employees to place their food scraps in, thereby providing our compost pile with the nitrogen required for success! Pictures to come!
Zero-waste update:
Because I have been so busy with miscellaneous Pack Expo tasks (check out Dordan’s exciting 2010 Pack Expo-only Show Specials at: http://www.dordan.com/dordan_2010_pack_expo_only_show_specials.shtml) the zero-waste initiative was placed on the backburner. Now that I am back and don’t have any plans to travel in the near future, I am in the process of creating a zero-waste action plan. More details to come but I assume another waste audit is on the horizonL.
Victory Garden Update:
Emily and Phil have staked out the plot for their organic farm next spring. While it was smaller than anticipated, they are very excited about Dordan donating the use of its land to the production of organics for local restaurants. Due to their intentions of growing an organic garden on Dordan’s land next spring, we have cancelled plans to spray our land with pesticides, which in the past has been done to preserve our yard and trees from annoying infestations. Emily has plans to plow the area this fall to determine the quality of the soil prior to retiring for the winter. In addition, she and I are researching how to build a greenhouse as she expressed a desire for a warm room to start her seedlings in before moving them outside with the start of the growing season next spring.
Grassroots education update:
I am going to the Woodstock High school this Wednesday for their first meeting of the Environmental Task Force. The ETF is made up of administrative folk and one student representative and its task is to develop and implement various sustainability initiatives in D200 schools. I have been invited to pitch my desire to teach students about recycling to the various principals and deans that sit on the Committee and see what other ways I can get involved in the community.
SPC Executive Committee update:
As some of you know, I have been nominated for the Executive Committee of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. To recap, the SPC is…
…An industry working group dedicated to a more robust environmental vision for packaging. Through strong member support, an informed and science-based approach, supply chain collaborations and continuous outreach, we endeavor to build packaging systems that encourage economic prosperity and a sustainable flow of materials.
The Exec Committee, therefore, is described as follows:
Our Executive Committee consists of nine elected members and one GreenBlue representative, all of whom are dedicated to the SPC and our mission. As a project of GreenBlue, the SPC is ultimately governed by the charter and Board of GreenBlue. The Executive Committee is an advisory committee to GreenBlue and the SPC Director. In this advisory capacity, they provide strategic and fiscal guidance on meetings, events,?projects, and all aspects of the Coalition. The Executive Committee is required to have a minimum representation from the supply chain and elections are held once a year in the fall. Members serve three-year terms.
Here is a list of the current Exec Committee:
Scott Ballantine, Packaging Project Manager, Microsoft
Alan Blake, Associate Director, Procter & Gamble
Scott Carpenter, Senior Research Engineer, SC Johnson
Humberto Garcia, Packaging Manager Ice Cream and Beverages, Unilever
Sara Hartwell, Environmental Specialist, U.S. EPA
Lance Hosey, President and CEO, GreenBlue
Jennifer McCracken, Environmental Manager, HAVI Global Solutions
Shanna Moore, Sustainability Director, DuPont
Karen Proctor, Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology
Gerald Rebitzer, Sustainability Leader, Amcor Flexibles Europe & Americas
According to the SPC website,
…The SPC 2010 Executive Committee elections will be held online following the Fall Members-Only Meeting and each member company is entitled to one vote. There are three positions open in this election. The terms are for three years, beginning in October 2010. We are required to have at least one Executive Committee representative from each of these major supply chain groups that make up the majority of SPC members. These groups include: Material Manufacturer, Packaging Converter and Brand Owner/Retailers.
At the meeting in Phoenix last week I was introduced as a candidate for this election, along with the other nominated parties. My face was also in the brochure with a small bio, which was sort of funny. Check it out here: http://sustainablepackaging.org/uploads/Documents/SPC_Fall_2010_EC_Committee_Nominees.pdf.
Granted I am very excited and honored to be nominated for this Committee, I honestly don’t think I even stand a chance as most of those who I am running against have been in the sustainable packaging industry for longer than I have been alive! I actually feel kind of silly to be listed alongside these truly outstanding people as I have so little experience; oh well, now is not a time to get sheepish—if I don’t get nominated this year there is always next year and the following year and the following year etc. until I am as experienced and renowned as those who have won a seat on this coveted Committee. Three cheers for perseverance!
And, this is totally ridiculous but AWSOME: An industry-friend who is also running for the Exec Committee sent the following email to those parties vested in the outcome of the election; HILARIOUS!
Subject: Exec Committee Elections ... maybe this isn't for prime time but I thought I'd kick it over to those of you I know for a laugh
Hello fellow SPC members
As some of you may know, I have been nominated by at least … oh, I don’t know, a hundred people or so for the exec committee at the SPC. I have developed some great relationships with many of you as we travel in small circles within the sustainable packaging community. From sitting across each other and watching the tumbleweeds blow down the aisle at the Wal-Mart expo, touring stinky MRF’s as members of SERDC, hiking around Asia on the US Delegation for ISO and making fun of some of the applications on the GreenerPackage judging committee.
But, the purpose of this email is to talk about something much more serious. Now, I’ve been told to run a clean campaign and I intend to do so but there are some things going on with some of the other candidates that I must bring to your attention.
Why, just the other day someone sent me this snapshot of Chandler Slavin.
Upsetting, I know. I thought I knew chandler well but it appears that she has a few stamps on her passport to Kabul and I just don’t know what to say.
The author of the email then goes on to display silly pictures of all the other candidates running, followed by a “vote for me” call to action. Why I outta…
Sustainability logo design update:
Dordan has finally decided on a sustainability logo, which was developed in an attempt to brand Dordan’s 2011 Sustainability Efforts. We are in the process of polishing it up prior to giving it to our web designer for incorporation on Dordan’s homepage. Look out for our new logo in the upcoming weeks; I hope you like it!
Traditional Dordan logo redesign:
We have currently put off plans to re-do Dordan’s traditional logo (4 D’s) because, as I moved into the position of Marketing Manager this summer, I began to feel as though we/I had bitten off more than is chewable, or something like that. Also, to transition Dordan’s traditional aesthetic to a new one right before Pack Expo may be confusing for those just starting to become familiar with the Dordan brand, as this is the first year since the eighties that we have done any branding marketing in the form of print ads.
Speaking opportunity:
Guess what: Yours truly has been invited to present at “Sustainable Plastics Packaging 2010” in Atlanta on December 8th-9th about my work on recycling clamshells! Again, for those of you who have not read it, visit http://www.greenerpackage.com/recycling to download my report on recycling. This is the result of a year’s research and draws on my involvement with Walmart-Canada, though it is an independent work. It is a concise yet technical treatment of why thermoforms are not recycled in most American communities, with suggestion for the industry. The name of my presentation will be the name of my report (Recycling Report: the truth about clamshell/blister recycling in America with suggestions for industry) and I am required to fill a whole 30 minutes; yikes! While I am getting better at public speaking, I consider myself no pro, so I am actually very nervous about this and plan to practice the yet-to-be-made presentation daily until the presentation itself! Overkill? I think not!
As an aside, I am in the process of copyrighting this Report and spent all day Thursday emailing it to those I thought would be interested in the content. Below is an email from one recipient, who provided the best feedback I have received to-date. While I can’t disclose his name and/or position, he is a governmental official for the waste management industry and has been a featured speaker at two conferences I have attended this y ear about recycling and issues related to extended producer responsibility.
Hi Chandler,
It was great to see you in Phoenix and now after reading your paper (finally!), I wish we had found more time to talk. I actually think this topic would make a very interesting and insightful session at a packaging conference because, as you have done with your piece, it would be instructive as to all the kinds of things that need to come together for any type of package to become recyclable.
Your paper is very thoughtful and well-researched and you clearly hit on the chicken-and-egg dilemma. I think the steps you identified for more information are on target and I believe other folks are thinking the same way. To that end, how much interactions have you had the APR’s rigids sub-committee? Their current activities are revolving around the same issues – the need for data, bale specs, etc. I’ve been a pretty detached member of the committee of late, with a number of other things on my plate (including preparation for the EPR discussions), so I cannot tell you any details about the current work. It strikes me, though, that if you have time and resources to do so, you are a natural to participate in that committee.
Here are some other observations, for what they are worth. I agree with you that achieving critical mass of material is the leverage point of recyclability. For thermoforms, we may have to accept a regimen for at least awhile of MRFs generating mixed rigid plastic, non-1 and 2 bottle bales and relying heavily if not exclusively on export markets for those bales. I think the export market remains pretty forgiving and still hungry for mixed resin bales, resting on the ability of low labor cost markets to do the sortation.
So if there can continue to be the gradual expansion of collection of this material and the marketing of truckload quantities from mostly larger MRFS, eventually there could be enough to attract the development of domestic, mixed resin, mixed product plastic reclamation facilities. These would in turn take pressure off the MRFs to spend capital and make room within limited footprints for more differential sorting and storage, both of which are expensive.
In a nutshell, then, I see the export market as critical to the incubation of material market for non-bottle rigids. There is also a broker[I know] that seems to have a pretty good handle on exporting as he sources different kinds of mixed bales for Asian markets – you might find it interesting to talk to him…
Once again, I think you are being very thoughtful about this whole thing and I commend you for taking on the challenge. You already know there are no easy answers but that hasn’t stopped you from working hard on the issue, which I really admire.
Not sure when our paths will cross again – I’m only going to the packaging shows when I am invited to come. So far apparently I have not worn out my welcome. But if you have the travel time and money, I would recommend thinking about coming to one of the Plastic Scrap conferences or APR meetings. I will be going to the one next March in New Orleans. Maybe I’ll see you there!
All the best!
Rely on export markets, he says…very interesting. I will let you all marinate on this and I will comment on this in a future post.
Below is a list of confirmed speakers for the conference:
I have been invited to the next MOC meeting at the Walmart-Canada headquarters on November 20th…this also corresponds with the Walmart-Canada SVN meeting, but I don’t know if I will receive approval to attend this event(s) from upper management. I did send my Recycling Report to my co-lead, who forwarded it on to Walmart-Canada’s new sustainability packaging coordinator. I have not heard back from him nor have my notes, which I wrote summarizing the conversation from our last meeting in June, made it through Walmart legal yet…go figure.
GPP meeting update:
I believe my dream of wearing a suit in Paris in the fall has been blown to smithereens as I don’t think I will be allowed to attend the annual meeting of the Global Packaging Project scheduled for October 14th-15th in Paris. Waaaaaa!
Plane tickets are over $2,000.00!
And, the objective of this annual meeting of the GPP is to report on the success of the pilots, which were implemented by various member companies in hopes of determining the feasibility of the recently release metrics for assessing the sustainability of a package. Because Dordan had nothing to do with the development of the metrics or volunteered to test their validity via a pilot, it is difficult to justify sending a representative to this event; I have been arguing, to the dismay of our CEO, however, that it would do wonders for my insight into sustainable packaging metrics, though I hardly believe it will justify the expense!
SOOOO that’s what going on in the world of Dordan; exciting stuff!
And I know I said I would provide a recap of the SPC meeting/present my findings on biodegradable plastics today but I have exhausted my time dedicated to blogging for the day. I apologize!
See you tomorrow! You know they say Tuesday is the most productive day of the week; here’s hoping!
Before I get to the meat of today’s post, which will either discuss biodegradable plastics OR the SPC meeting (I haven’t decided yet...) I wanted to provide you with a recap of Dordan’s various sustainability initiatives and miscellaneous tid bits…
Composter update:
First, our composter is totally finished; last week compost Phil added a retractable roof to keep the critters our and the smell in. She’s a real beaut! Now we are in the process of getting separate bins in the cafeteria for our employees to place their food scraps in, thereby providing our compost pile with the nitrogen required for success! Pictures to come!
Zero-waste update:
Because I have been so busy with miscellaneous Pack Expo tasks (check out Dordan’s exciting 2010 Pack Expo-only Show Specials at: http://www.dordan.com/dordan_2010_pack_expo_only_show_specials.shtml) the zero-waste initiative was placed on the backburner. Now that I am back and don’t have any plans to travel in the near future, I am in the process of creating a zero-waste action plan. More details to come but I assume another waste audit is on the horizonL.
Victory Garden Update:
Emily and Phil have staked out the plot for their organic farm next spring. While it was smaller than anticipated, they are very excited about Dordan donating the use of its land to the production of organics for local restaurants. Due to their intentions of growing an organic garden on Dordan’s land next spring, we have cancelled plans to spray our land with pesticides, which in the past has been done to preserve our yard and trees from annoying infestations. Emily has plans to plow the area this fall to determine the quality of the soil prior to retiring for the winter. In addition, she and I are researching how to build a greenhouse as she expressed a desire for a warm room to start her seedlings in before moving them outside with the start of the growing season next spring.
Grassroots education update:
I am going to the Woodstock High school this Wednesday for their first meeting of the Environmental Task Force. The ETF is made up of administrative folk and one student representative and its task is to develop and implement various sustainability initiatives in D200 schools. I have been invited to pitch my desire to teach students about recycling to the various principals and deans that sit on the Committee and see what other ways I can get involved in the community.
SPC Executive Committee update:
As some of you know, I have been nominated for the Executive Committee of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. To recap, the SPC is…
…An industry working group dedicated to a more robust environmental vision for packaging. Through strong member support, an informed and science-based approach, supply chain collaborations and continuous outreach, we endeavor to build packaging systems that encourage economic prosperity and a sustainable flow of materials.
The Exec Committee, therefore, is described as follows:
Our Executive Committee consists of nine elected members and one GreenBlue representative, all of whom are dedicated to the SPC and our mission. As a project of GreenBlue, the SPC is ultimately governed by the charter and Board of GreenBlue. The Executive Committee is an advisory committee to GreenBlue and the SPC Director. In this advisory capacity, they provide strategic and fiscal guidance on meetings, events,?projects, and all aspects of the Coalition. The Executive Committee is required to have a minimum representation from the supply chain and elections are held once a year in the fall. Members serve three-year terms.
Here is a list of the current Exec Committee:
Scott Ballantine, Packaging Project Manager, Microsoft
Alan Blake, Associate Director, Procter & Gamble
Scott Carpenter, Senior Research Engineer, SC Johnson
Humberto Garcia, Packaging Manager Ice Cream and Beverages, Unilever
Sara Hartwell, Environmental Specialist, U.S. EPA
Lance Hosey, President and CEO, GreenBlue
Jennifer McCracken, Environmental Manager, HAVI Global Solutions
Shanna Moore, Sustainability Director, DuPont
Karen Proctor, Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology
Gerald Rebitzer, Sustainability Leader, Amcor Flexibles Europe & Americas
According to the SPC website,
…The SPC 2010 Executive Committee elections will be held online following the Fall Members-Only Meeting and each member company is entitled to one vote. There are three positions open in this election. The terms are for three years, beginning in October 2010. We are required to have at least one Executive Committee representative from each of these major supply chain groups that make up the majority of SPC members. These groups include: Material Manufacturer, Packaging Converter and Brand Owner/Retailers.
At the meeting in Phoenix last week I was introduced as a candidate for this election, along with the other nominated parties. My face was also in the brochure with a small bio, which was sort of funny. Check it out here: http://sustainablepackaging.org/uploads/Documents/SPC_Fall_2010_EC_Committee_Nominees.pdf.
Granted I am very excited and honored to be nominated for this Committee, I honestly don’t think I even stand a chance as most of those who I am running against have been in the sustainable packaging industry for longer than I have been alive! I actually feel kind of silly to be listed alongside these truly outstanding people as I have so little experience; oh well, now is not a time to get sheepish—if I don’t get nominated this year there is always next year and the following year and the following year etc. until I am as experienced and renowned as those who have won a seat on this coveted Committee. Three cheers for perseverance!
And, this is totally ridiculous but AWSOME: An industry-friend who is also running for the Exec Committee sent the following email to those parties vested in the outcome of the election; HILARIOUS!
Subject: Exec Committee Elections ... maybe this isn't for prime time but I thought I'd kick it over to those of you I know for a laugh
Hello fellow SPC members
As some of you may know, I have been nominated by at least … oh, I don’t know, a hundred people or so for the exec committee at the SPC. I have developed some great relationships with many of you as we travel in small circles within the sustainable packaging community. From sitting across each other and watching the tumbleweeds blow down the aisle at the Wal-Mart expo, touring stinky MRF’s as members of SERDC, hiking around Asia on the US Delegation for ISO and making fun of some of the applications on the GreenerPackage judging committee.
But, the purpose of this email is to talk about something much more serious. Now, I’ve been told to run a clean campaign and I intend to do so but there are some things going on with some of the other candidates that I must bring to your attention.
Why, just the other day someone sent me this snapshot of Chandler Slavin.
Upsetting, I know. I thought I knew chandler well but it appears that she has a few stamps on her passport to Kabul and I just don’t know what to say.
The author of the email then goes on to display silly pictures of all the other candidates running, followed by a “vote for me” call to action. Why I outta…
Sustainability logo design update:
Dordan has finally decided on a sustainability logo, which was developed in an attempt to brand Dordan’s 2011 Sustainability Efforts. We are in the process of polishing it up prior to giving it to our web designer for incorporation on Dordan’s homepage. Look out for our new logo in the upcoming weeks; I hope you like it!
Traditional Dordan logo redesign:
We have currently put off plans to re-do Dordan’s traditional logo (4 D’s) because, as I moved into the position of Marketing Manager this summer, I began to feel as though we/I had bitten off more than is chewable, or something like that. Also, to transition Dordan’s traditional aesthetic to a new one right before Pack Expo may be confusing for those just starting to become familiar with the Dordan brand, as this is the first year since the eighties that we have done any branding marketing in the form of print ads.
Speaking opportunity:
Guess what: Yours truly has been invited to present at “Sustainable Plastics Packaging 2010” in Atlanta on December 8th-9th about my work on recycling clamshells! Again, for those of you who have not read it, visit http://www.greenerpackage.com/recycling to download my report on recycling. This is the result of a year’s research and draws on my involvement with Walmart-Canada, though it is an independent work. It is a concise yet technical treatment of why thermoforms are not recycled in most American communities, with suggestion for the industry. The name of my presentation will be the name of my report (Recycling Report: the truth about clamshell/blister recycling in America with suggestions for industry) and I am required to fill a whole 30 minutes; yikes! While I am getting better at public speaking, I consider myself no pro, so I am actually very nervous about this and plan to practice the yet-to-be-made presentation daily until the presentation itself! Overkill? I think not!
As an aside, I am in the process of copyrighting this Report and spent all day Thursday emailing it to those I thought would be interested in the content. Below is an email from one recipient, who provided the best feedback I have received to-date. While I can’t disclose his name and/or position, he is a governmental official for the waste management industry and has been a featured speaker at two conferences I have attended this y ear about recycling and issues related to extended producer responsibility.
Hi Chandler,
It was great to see you in Phoenix and now after reading your paper (finally!), I wish we had found more time to talk. I actually think this topic would make a very interesting and insightful session at a packaging conference because, as you have done with your piece, it would be instructive as to all the kinds of things that need to come together for any type of package to become recyclable.
Your paper is very thoughtful and well-researched and you clearly hit on the chicken-and-egg dilemma. I think the steps you identified for more information are on target and I believe other folks are thinking the same way. To that end, how much interactions have you had the APR’s rigids sub-committee? Their current activities are revolving around the same issues – the need for data, bale specs, etc. I’ve been a pretty detached member of the committee of late, with a number of other things on my plate (including preparation for the EPR discussions), so I cannot tell you any details about the current work. It strikes me, though, that if you have time and resources to do so, you are a natural to participate in that committee.
Here are some other observations, for what they are worth. I agree with you that achieving critical mass of material is the leverage point of recyclability. For thermoforms, we may have to accept a regimen for at least awhile of MRFs generating mixed rigid plastic, non-1 and 2 bottle bales and relying heavily if not exclusively on export markets for those bales. I think the export market remains pretty forgiving and still hungry for mixed resin bales, resting on the ability of low labor cost markets to do the sortation.
So if there can continue to be the gradual expansion of collection of this material and the marketing of truckload quantities from mostly larger MRFS, eventually there could be enough to attract the development of domestic, mixed resin, mixed product plastic reclamation facilities. These would in turn take pressure off the MRFs to spend capital and make room within limited footprints for more differential sorting and storage, both of which are expensive.
In a nutshell, then, I see the export market as critical to the incubation of material market for non-bottle rigids. There is also a broker[I know] that seems to have a pretty good handle on exporting as he sources different kinds of mixed bales for Asian markets – you might find it interesting to talk to him…
Once again, I think you are being very thoughtful about this whole thing and I commend you for taking on the challenge. You already know there are no easy answers but that hasn’t stopped you from working hard on the issue, which I really admire.
Not sure when our paths will cross again – I’m only going to the packaging shows when I am invited to come. So far apparently I have not worn out my welcome. But if you have the travel time and money, I would recommend thinking about coming to one of the Plastic Scrap conferences or APR meetings. I will be going to the one next March in New Orleans. Maybe I’ll see you there!
All the best!
Rely on export markets, he says…very interesting. I will let you all marinate on this and I will comment on this in a future post.
Below is a list of confirmed speakers for the conference:
- Arno Melchior, Global Packaging Director, RECKITT BENCKISER GROUP PLC
- Chandler Slavin, Sustainability Coordinator, DORDAN MANUFACTURING CO. INC.
- Dailey Tipton, Global Leader of Sales & Marketing, FIRSTCARBON SOLUTIONS
- Suzanne Shelton, CEO, SHELTON GROUP
- Michael Sansoucy, National Sales Manager OR Rick Shaffer, President, NETSTAL MACHINERY
- Patty Enneking, Group Director Global Sustainability and Environmental Affairs, KLOCKNER PENTAPLAST GROUP
- Barbara G. McCutchan, Ph.D, Associate, PACKAGING & TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS LLC
- Aaron L. Brody, Ph.D, President and CEO, BRODY INC.
- Scott Steele, Vice President – Global Analytical Labs, Global Training and Enterprise Projects, PLASTIC TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
- Dave Clark, Director of Sustainability, AMCOR RIGID PLASTICS
- Katherine O’Dea, Senior Fellow, GREENBLUE
I have been invited to the next MOC meeting at the Walmart-Canada headquarters on November 20th…this also corresponds with the Walmart-Canada SVN meeting, but I don’t know if I will receive approval to attend this event(s) from upper management. I did send my Recycling Report to my co-lead, who forwarded it on to Walmart-Canada’s new sustainability packaging coordinator. I have not heard back from him nor have my notes, which I wrote summarizing the conversation from our last meeting in June, made it through Walmart legal yet…go figure.
GPP meeting update:
I believe my dream of wearing a suit in Paris in the fall has been blown to smithereens as I don’t think I will be allowed to attend the annual meeting of the Global Packaging Project scheduled for October 14th-15th in Paris. Waaaaaa!
Plane tickets are over $2,000.00!
And, the objective of this annual meeting of the GPP is to report on the success of the pilots, which were implemented by various member companies in hopes of determining the feasibility of the recently release metrics for assessing the sustainability of a package. Because Dordan had nothing to do with the development of the metrics or volunteered to test their validity via a pilot, it is difficult to justify sending a representative to this event; I have been arguing, to the dismay of our CEO, however, that it would do wonders for my insight into sustainable packaging metrics, though I hardly believe it will justify the expense!
SOOOO that’s what going on in the world of Dordan; exciting stuff!
And I know I said I would provide a recap of the SPC meeting/present my findings on biodegradable plastics today but I have exhausted my time dedicated to blogging for the day. I apologize!
See you tomorrow! You know they say Tuesday is the most productive day of the week; here’s hoping!