Packaging Solutions - Jump the Gun

Today's post is from guest Albert Greenhut of EMI.

This being an election year, we are hyper-aware of all the ways government impacts and affects our lives. The myriad taxes, foreign policy in the form of free trade agreements and import / export duties, even how private business interacts with the government, ongoing environmental debates, and so on.

Many of these ideas and changes have merit, but always seem to come with strings attached; some are just so convoluted and complex that it becomes difficult to determine who will be impacted and how. The view from the cheap seats allows me to ask, "what if a business could contribute toward solving many of these major issues while saving itself money and becoming more efficient?"

In Europe there have been sweeping legislations to reduce the environmental impact of industry. One of the most familiar to me is that a piece of plastic 9 square feet cannot be recycled if there is more than 50 ml of oil on it. That is less than 3.5 tablespoons of oil! I would bet that we will soon see this sort of regulation on our side of the pond. However, since many U.S. companies are enjoying increased overseas sales of product due to the weak dollar, they are quickly learning that to ship into Europe or other parts of the globe, we must comply with the packaging regulations that exist there, not just here in the U.S. So, as a company, it makes sense not to wait for the change to be mandated, but to jump the gun and do it on your own terms.

I have identified the issues above because they fit into the challenges that Intercept Technology Packaging can provide solutions for. I will start with the environmental components. Intercept can be reused and after a long life is fully recyclable as a colored PE plastic. This will be crucially important as environmental mandates from Europe start to spread, especially in response to lax Chinese standards.

For example an automotive company in South Africa switched to Intercept and enjoyed such benefits as the elimination of oils. The new choice of packaging materials allowed them break free from buying oils (whose price volatility mirrors the region from which they originate) and in fact, allowed them to close down a now unnecessary oiling plant in South Africa (and the ensuing receiving operations at the other end of the transport). Also, they no longer had to deal with health issues that their workers suffered resulting from constant inhalation of fumes emanating from oils and oily packaging. In recognition of their efforts this automotive company won an environmental award.

These are all secondary benefits, the most important bit of success was that this company had eliminated wasted time and inefficiencies in their packing system, not limited to rejections, and had increased their bottom line.

My challenge to you? Jump the gun…do it on your own terms.

Intercept Technology Packaging products fit within a sustainability strategy because they are reusable, recyclable, do not contain or use volatile components (No VOCs, Not a VCI) and leave a smaller carbon footprint than most traditional protective packaging products.