1. The Challenges, Opportunities and Solutions to Increasing Paper Recovery in Developing Countries: The New Paper Chase

   Posted by Reclay StewardEdge on Oct 29, 2013

   Recovered paper (RCP) supply is heading towards global supply challenges which points towards less developed countries as only major untapped sources. However, the normal conditions that drive recovery – RCP value versus virgin fiber, recovery costs lower than waste disposal costs, and efficient collection and processing infrastructure – are absent or limited in many of these areas.

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2. Business of Sustainability – Paper Recycling Conference

   Posted by Reclay StewardEdge on Oct 10, 2013

   In this opening presentation for the Paper Recycling Conference, Betsy Dorn discusses the general drivers for sustainability and the factors that lead to sustainable innovation as they relate to paper packaging and products.

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3. The Evolving Role of Suppliers and Brand Owners in Managing Packaging’s End of Life

   Posted by Reclay StewardEdge on Aug 31, 2013

   In the United States, packaging manufacturers, brand owners, and their respective industry associations are assuming greater responsibility for the end-of-life management of their products and associated packaging. An entire new cadre of professionals now exists to work in this arena. Conferences and meetings addressing this topic abound, and new organizations have cropped up with producer responsibility as their sole mission. Companies are becoming increasingly involved in building the recovery infrastructure for their packaging, and some are even creating new product lines to serve as “closed loop” end markets for the packaging recovered.

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4. Is my EPR policy bigger and better than your EPR policy?

   Posted by Reclay StewardEdge on Jul 26, 2013

   Can you fairly hold an EPR beauty contest between the Recycling Regulation in British Columbia and the Waste Diversion Act (WDA) in Ontario? The BC Recycling Regulation was enacted in 2004 replacing previous regulations dating back to 1971 and explicitly states the intent to provide producers “with the flexibility to design product stewardship programs that work best for their businesses”. The stated purpose of the WDA, formulated in 2000 and enacted in 2002, “ is to promote the reduction, reuse and recycling of waste and to provide for the development, implementation and operation of waste diversion programs”. You will not find “EPR” defined or referenced in either of them.

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5. Retailers – The Essential Change Agents

   Posted by Reclay StewardEdge on Jun 27, 2013

   Retailers are the front line of consumer interaction with products and packaging. They have an opportunity to directly impact decisions that will be made in the home and also provide feedback to producers in regard to consumer preferences driving change up and down the supply chain. They also have the commercial clout to force change on their suppliers, if required. This influence can help to optimize the design and use of products to lessen environmental impact.  In emerging and middle income economies, the retailer is often the first industry sector to respond to rising consumer demands for the opportunity to recycle their used packaging and products.   Even in developed markets with well-established household recycling systems in place, retailers may offer a take-back service for used products not suitable for multi-material collection programs.

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6. Capturing More Resources

   Posted by Reclay StewardEdge on May 21, 2013

   Attention is now turning to collecting recyclables from public spaces to capture the last mile left behind in parks, beaches, streetscapes, rest stops, and buildings and at public events. Branded packaging improperly discarded in public spaces has long been considered a risk to the reputation of leading companies. This risk is growing as changing lifestyles across the globe are resulting in ever more used packaging to be generated away from home.

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7. Emerging Markets – The New Frontier for Producer Responsibility

   Posted by Reclay StewardEdge on May 21, 2013

   With that comes increased consumption of consumer packaged goods and in turn, dramatic increases in both packaging waste generation and the costs to manage it. Municipal waste generation globally is projected to increase from 1.3 to 2.2 billion tonnes per year with $375 billion of waste management costs falling hardest on cities in low-income countries (source: World Bank, 2012. Climate Change Focused Attention Sustainable Development in 2012).

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8. Product Stewardship is the New Global Reality

   Posted by Reclay StewardEdge on Apr 15, 2013

   In some countries where waste management remains a state, provincial, lander or canton responsibility a producer’s obligation may vary at the sub-national level. As a result, multinational companies are now required to participate in hundreds of individually-regulated producer responsibility programs around the globe, each with differing rules and responsibilities.

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9. Holistic, Brand-Led EPR Initiatives Key for Achieving Benefits of Circular Economy – Sustainable Brands

   Posted by Reclay StewardEdge on Mar 15, 2013

   With three billion new middle-class consumers projected to enter the global marketplace in the coming decades, it is now widely acknowledged that the global economy of tomorrow will face material scarcity and supply chain insecurity at an unprecedented scale. In this article, we argue that a holistic approach that entails the thoughtful design and harmonization of stewardship programs coupled with a radical shift in internal corporate decision-making will produce the scale of change needed to feed the supply chains of the future.

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10. Picking Up Foodservice Packaging – Resource Recycling

    Posted by Reclay StewardEdge on Mar 01, 2013

    The Foodservice Packaging Institute’s (FPI) ongoing packaging recovery initiative is seeking to capture more of what’s being thrown away at restaurants and other establishments where foodservice packaging is found. This article describes the group’s progress, the biggest challenges they’ve encountered and how FPI is working to address them.

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