Appendix H
Packaging Tools: Case Studies
Oregon DEQ's Land Quality Division - Packaging: Case Studies
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Case Studies
Businesses in Oregon and elsewhere are saving thousands – sometimes
even millions – of dollars every year through packaging improvements.
z
ANG Newspapers (37k PDF)
Reusable plastic pallets improve safety and efficiency while reducing
waste and purchasing costs.
z
Aveda (46k PDF)
A redesign of bottles for hair care products reduced materials use,
increased post-consumer content, and improved recyclability, with
subsequent reductions in environmental packaging fees in European
markets.
z
Nike (61k PDF)
Carton reuse in an order fulfillment center saves more than $50,000
annually.
z
Norm Thompson (210k PDF)
Packaging waste prevention saves Norm Thompson $1.6 - $1.8 million
annually. This case study highlights 17 different actions in the areas of
vendor relations, internal stock management, and shipments to
customers.
z
OfficeMax (42k PDF)
OfficeMax's Portland distribution center has switched to bags for local
shipments, reuses cartons, and has reduced its use of void fill, saving
more than $46,000 a year.
z
Panasonic Shikoku Electronics Corporation of America (390k PDF)
Returning transport packaging to an overseas vendor and reusing
packaging in-house saves more than $600,000 per year at this
manufacturer of multimedia displays and TV/VCR/DVD combos.
z
PolyVision (86k PDF)
Drop tests and packaging redesign have reduced polyurethane and
polystyrene foam by 40% in protective electronics packaging.
z
Rejuvenation (54k PDF)
This manufacturer and direct marketer of period-authentic lighting and
house parts re-uses vendor cartons for shipments to stores, other
vendor, and customers.
Contracting
Factsheets
Forms
Public Notices
Statutes, Rules
& Guidance
http://www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/packaging/cs/index.htm
9/27/2005
Oregon DEQ's Land Quality Division - Packaging: Case Studies
z
Set-N-Me-Free (49k PDF)
Extensive packaging reuse at this web-based retailer of skin care
products saves thousands of dollars every year.
z
Toyota Logistics Center (68k PDF)
Processing and outfitting hundreds of thousands of vehicles annually,
Toyota's West Coast Vehicle Distribution Centers demonstrate the
benefits of reusable containers.
z
Traex Food Services Supplies (35k PDF)
Reusable pallet bands replaced pallet wrap for internal pallet
stabilization at this manufacturer, saving almost $50,000 a year.
z
Williams-Sonoma (62k PDF)
Box scoring, optimizing box sizes, and reducing double-bagging are all
waste prevention strategies adopted by this high-end retailer.
z
Wrigley (60k PDF)
By eliminating a layer of chewing gum packaging, Wrigley reduced the
total weight of a 5-stick pack of chewing gum by approximately 37%,
with corresponding savings in international packaging fees.
z
Xerox (38k PDF)
At a manufacturing site in New York, Xerox required all parts suppliers
to use standard sizes of corrugated cartons, thus making it easier to
separate the cartons for reuse.
Page 2 of 2
Be sure to also check out best practices and other resources.
Updated: August 30, 2005
DEQ Online is the official web site for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
If you have questions or comments about the web site contact DEQ's webmaster.
http://www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/packaging/cs/index.htm
9/27/2005
Packaging Waste Reduction Case Study
ANG Newspapers
ANG Newspapers (ANG) is one of the largest newspaper companies in the San
Francisco Bay area and publishes six papers, including The Oakland Tribune. The
publisher employs 500 people in four facilities.
Costs associated with repairing wooden pallets were eating into the company’s
profits. ANG’s solution: reusable plastic pallets. The purchase of 1,700 reusable
plastic pallets at a cost of $75,000 cut labor costs by $46,000 and prevents 37 tons of
wood waste annually.
Reusable plastic pallets also offer many safety and performance advantages to ANG.
• If a wooden pallet is damaged or broken, it may collapse under a heavy load;
but the durability of reusable plastic pallets improves worker safety.
• To improve efficiency, ANG color-coded its plastic pallets. The color-coding
helps drivers know instantly which loads they are to pick up.
• The standardized shape makes handling and storage easier than with a fleet
of mismatched wooden pallets.
Plastic pallets work well at ANG because of its closed distribution system.
Backhauling is easy: trucks make deliveries and then pick up and return empties.
Tracking the pallets is also easy. Every day, the four production facilities coordinate
delivery needs and existing pallet inventory. The packaging plant manager says this
work hasn’t changed significantly from how it was done with the wooden pallets. The
plastic pallets are hot-stamped for identification to help keep them in the system.
“We’ve enjoyed a good return on the reusable plastic pallets. They’ve cut
costs, improved operations and reduced our wood waste.”
Sam Lovato
Property and Telecommunications Manager,
ANG
“Implementation was easy: five hours of employee training, five hours of
management time. There is no extra work we have to do with plastic pallets
that we didn’t do with wood.”
Randy McLeod
Packaging Plant Manager, ANG
Credits: Alameda County (CA) Waste Management Authority & Alameda County
Source Reduction and Recycling Board, www.stopwaste.org
Alternative formats (such as large type, Braille) of this document can be made
available. Contact DEQ’s Office of Communications & Outreach, Portland, at (503)
229-5317
Land Quality Division
Solid Waste Policy
and Program
Development Section
811 SW 6th Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: (503) 229-5913
1 (800) 452-4011
Fax: (503) 229-6977
www.deq.state.or.us
Updated: 07/14/05
David Allaway
05-LQ-032
Packaging Waste Reduction Case Study
Aveda
Product: Shampoo and other haircare products
Overview: In 2001, Aveda redesigned the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles
for its entire haircare line. In addition to updating the shape and artwork of the bottles
in the product line, the company increased the use of post-consumer recycled
content. The new design uses smaller caps. Further improvements are planned.
Before: Aveda’s shampoos and many of their other haircare products
are sold in the following sizes: 50 ml, 200 ml, 250 ml, 500 ml, and 1000
ml. The original bottles were co-extruded1 HDPE, with a layer composed
of post-consumer recycled material sandwiched between inner and outer
virgin resin layers. The overall fraction of post-consumer recycled
content was 45%. Many of the bottles in the line were unpigmented. The
artwork was silkscreened directly on the bottle. The bottles had a virgin
polypropylene (PP) cap.
After: All HDPE bottles in the line were replaced by co-extruded HDPE
bottles in which only the innermost layer is made of virgin material. The
bottles now have 76-83% post-consumer recycled content (percentages
vary among the sizes). The new bottle design resulted in slight weight
changes (decreases of approximately 2.5% in the 50 ml, 200 ml, and
250 ml sizes; an increase of 10%2 in the 1000 ml size)3. The redesigned
bottles are also silkscreened. The new caps are made of virgin PP but
Original and redesigned bottles.
have been reduced in size and weight (weight reductions vary by cap
size but average 11%). In addition, Aveda is planning a transition to 25% postconsumer recycled content in all PP caps.
Environmental Attributes: The redesign of the bottle represents a dramatic
increase in the proportion of post-consumer content used, resulting in an avoidance
of 143 tons of virgin HDPE annually. Aveda also projects that 9 tons of virgin PP will
be avoided annually as a result of the reduced cap weight. Their planned substitution
of 25% post-consumer recycled resin in the caps will avoid the use of another 15
tons of virgin PP annually.
Both the old and new bottle versions are optimized for recycling: they are
monomaterial4 HDPE, a material that is recyclable in most US communities (HDPE is
the same material that is used in milk jugs). Although the cap resin does not present
significant contamination issues for the HDPE recycling process, the fully detachable
caps and the use of silkscreening instead of labels reduce the proportion of
contaminants in the HDPE material stream. Furthermore, most of the bottles in the
line are unpigmented; the colored bottles have been designed to minimize the
quantity of pigment for best compatibility with recycling (and to optimize the value of
the recycled material).
1
Coextrusion is a production method by which a multi-layered container is formed in a single process. In this
case, it was used to create a container in which the post-consumer recycled resin will be separated from the
contained product by a layer of virgin resin, maintaining product purity.
Land Quality Division
Solid Waste Policy
and Program
Development Section
811 SW 6th Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: (503) 229-5913
1 (800) 452-4011
Fax: (503) 229-6977
www.deq.state.or.us
2
Although the 1000 ml package increased in weight, it still has the lowest package-to-product ratio of the line:
0.069 g/ml (compared with a range from 0.0858 g/ml for the 500 ml package to 0.2216 g/ml for the 50 ml
package). The company encourages consumers to purchase the larger size, e.g. as a refill for the smaller
bottles.
3
Precise weight data were not available for the old 500 ml bottle.
4
The bottles are made of 100% HDPE, and no other materials are joined to the bottle.
Updated: 07/14/05
David Allaway
05-LQ-033
Fee Impacts: In most countries, the difference in fees for the new bottles will simply reflect the change
in weight (i.e. a reduction of approximately 2.5% in the smaller sizes; an increase of 10% in the 1000 ml
size). For example, the 250 ml size bottle and cap would reduce the fee from 0.67¢ to 0.63¢ in France
and from 5.3¢ to 5¢ in Germany5. This is due to the fact that most fee systems do not include a
discount for recycled plastics.
If sold in Denmark, however, the redesign would reduce the fees for the 250 ml size bottle and cap from
6.5¢ to 3.7¢ per unit, a savings of more than 40%6. Furthermore, in Denmark, the discount for recycled
content would more than offset the weight-driven increase for the 1000 ml size, resulting in a 35% fee
savings for that size.
For more information on international packaging fees, click here.
Aveda also saved approximately $1 million annually through its packaging redesign and the associated
changes in sourcing. The company reports that by working closely with its suppliers, it is generally able
to purchase packaging using post-consumer recycled content at a cost equivalent to or lower than the
cost of comparable packaging made of virgin materials.
Credits: Catherine Goodall, Environmental Packaging International. Special thanks to John Delfausse,
VP of Packaging Development, Aveda (http://www.aveda.com).
Alternative formats (such as large type, Braille) of this document can be made available. Contact
DEQ’s Office of Communications & Outreach, Portland, at (503) 229-5317
5
Based on February 2005 exchange rates: 1 EUR = USD 1.324.
6
Based on February 2005 exchange rates: 1 DKK = USD 0.178. The Danish fee structure provides a discount for plastics containing 50% or
more recycled content (pre-consumer recycled content is also eligible for the discount).
Prepared by Environmental Packaging International for Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
Packaging Waste Reduction Case Study
Nike – Wilsonville
Distribution Center
One of the challenges with reusing corrugated boxes is the problem of markings and
labels. If cartons are being reused to ship parcels via a delivery service, it is
essential that any old address labels be removed or covered over.
Nike’s Distribution Center in Wilsonville, Oregon has developed a low-cost solution
to this problem. Large, brown, self-adhesive stickers are used to cover old address
labels. The stickers have the words “Re-Use It We Are” printed on them.
Nike has reused cartons for
several years in its piece pick
operations, where customers
(such as retailers) are ordering
less than full cases of footware.
“Re-Use It” stickers cost $0.07
each. Since a ready supply of
empty boxes is on hand, there are
no costs to obtain or set-up the
reused boxes. In contrast, a new
box costs an average of $0.98
($0.75 for the box and $0.23 per
box paid to a sheltered workshop
for box set-up). So the net
savings per box reused is $0.92.
Currently, an average of 400
boxes are being reused per week
in piece pick operations, for a net
annual savings of around $19,000.
Nike recently expanded box reuse into its Return to Stock program, where
merchandise returned from retailers is placed back into the warehouse. Savings per
reused box are lower (around $0.56 net, per box), but the number of boxes reused is
higher – currently around 1,150 cartons per week. This translates into additional
savings in excess of $33,000 per year, a number that may grow, as this reuse effort
is still relatively new.
Alternative formats (such as large type, Braille) of this document can be made
available. Contact DEQ’s Office of Communications & Outreach, Portland, at (503)
229-5317
Land Quality Division
Solid Waste Policy
and Program
Development Section
811 SW 6th Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: (503) 229-5913
1 (800) 452-4011
Fax: (503) 229-6977
www.deq.state.or.us
Updated: 07/14/05
David Allaway
05-LQ-034
Packaging Waste Reduction Case Study
Norm Thompson Outfitters
Norm Thompson Outfitters is an Oregon-based catalog and Web retailer with three
sales divisions: 1) Norm Thompson – traditional, high-quality clothing for travel,
leisure, and people on the go; 2) Sahalie (formerly Early Winters) – rugged clothing
and products for those who play outdoors; and 3) Solutions – goods that make life
easier by providing “solutions” to challenges throughout the home. In 2004, Norm
Thompson distributed approximately 80 million catalogs to its national customer
base. Annual revenues were approximately $200 million.
Catalog and Web orders are fulfilled from a large distribution center in West Virginia.
A smaller, retail distribution center in Portland helps supply outlet stores and a store
at the Portland airport, and conducts a small number of direct-to-customer
shipments.
This case study highlights more than fifteen actions Norm Thompson has taken to
reduce the use and waste of packaging in three areas:
• Packaging received from vendors
• Internal (distribution center) practices
• Customer packaging
Estimates of financial savings are provided, where available. Packaging waste
prevention saves Norm Thompson $1.6 – $1.8 million dollars annually, while
reducing the use of packaging materials by an estimated 700 tons per year.
Packaging Received from Vendors
Inbound/Storage Box Sizes: Vendor Compliance and Stock Box Reuse.
At the Distribution Center, incoming products from vendors (such as clothing) are
checked and then placed in storage for use in order fulfillment. Storage space on
the shelves is at a premium. Shelves are vertically spaced to allow two standard 14inch-high “stock boxes” (or four half-height “stock boxes”) to be stacked on top of
each other on each shelf. Boxes that are higher than the standard size can only be
stacked one high, so contents are repacked into standard-sized “stock boxes”, and
the vendor boxes are discarded for recycling. Even though Norm Thompson reuses
its stock boxes, annual expenses for purchase of new stock boxes historically
averaged around $50,000/year.
In order to maximize shelf use, minimize repacking time and reduce waste, Norm
Thompson has begun requiring vendors to ship in specific sizes of boxes. Vendors
that use other sizes are charged back a fee in order to encourage compliance. In
the last three years, vendor compliance for box sizes has increased significantly.
This increase in vendor compliance has significantly reduced time spent repacking
vendor contents into stock boxes and has also significantly reduced the need to
purchase new stock boxes. In fact, since Norm Thompson also reuses its stock
boxes, the company spent only $3,500 on new stock boxes in 2004, and won’t have
to purchase any in 2005. Increased vendor compliance coupled with box reuse
reduces the need to purchase around 40,000 boxes (about 34 tons) a year, resulting
in annual procurement savings of approximately $50,000.
Inbound/Storage Box Sizes: Smaller Boxes.
As a result of communication with vendors regarding box sizes, Norm Thompson
was able to make another valuable packaging change. Previously, it required
Land Quality Division
Solid Waste Policy
and Program
Development Section
811 SW 6th Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: (503) 229-5913
1 (800) 452-4011
Fax: (503) 229-6977
www.deq.state.or.us
Updated: 07/14/05
David Allaway
05-LQ-035
master cartons from suppliers to either be “full size” (12 – 14 inches high) or “half size” (6 – 7 inches
high). In working with its largest pants vendor, Norm Thompson learned that because of the wide
variety of SKUs, the vendor was typically sending only a few items for each SKU (an SKU, or “Stock
Keeping Unit”, is a number associated with a product for inventory purposes). Because pants with
different SKUs aren’t stored in the same box, one or two pairs of pants were being placed in a box that
would easily fit 10 pairs. As a result, Norm Thompson began allowing vendors to ship in boxes even
shorter than the half size box. This change not only freed up more shelf space, it also significantly
improved shipping efficiency (and fuel) and reduced the quantity of corrugated cardboard used. It also
reduced the use of pallets, since more pants (and less empty space) are shipped per pallet if the boxes
aren’t overly large.
Vendor Influence: Save Your Back Bags.
One of Norm Thompson’s top-selling items is its line of “Save Your Back Bags”, a day bag that is
designed to reduce muscle strain and fatigue. The supplier stuffs each bag with crinkled paper so that
the bags aren’t creased and wrinkled when the customer receives them. During waste prevention
evaluations at the distribution centers, employees pointed out the bags were excessively stuffed.1
These concerns were passed to the buyers for this product, who asked the vendor to eliminate the use
of filler altogether. After realizing that this change would compromise the aesthetic of the product, the
buyers then asked the vendor to use some paper, but not as much as before, and to use recycled
paper. Both changes have been made.
The reduction in bag stuffing reduces paper use and waste generation by around 5,500 pounds per
year. It also saves around $2,900 annually for Norm Thompson on outbound delivery charges, as the
average bag now weighs less because of reduced stuffing.
Although these savings may seem small, Norm Thompson is just one of the vendor’s customers. If the
vendor reduced stuffing in all of its customers’ bags, then the environmental benefit is significantly
larger. This example illustrates one of the potential benefit of supply chain environmental efforts – by
communicating this request with its vendor, Norm Thompson may have extended influence to a large
number of other customers.
Eliminate Printing on Poly Bags.
Most clothing items shipped to the Distribution Center are packaged in a clear polyethylene bag in
order to protect the clothing from dust. The bags used to be printed with the Norm Thompson name on
them along with an inventory number, which required vendors to order custom-printed bags, oftentimes
in small lots. Norm Thompson eliminated the printing requirements, which reduces the use of ink and
makes the bags more recyclable.
Vendor Manual: Environmental Considerations.
Norm Thompson’s Vendor Compliance Manual specifies many of the company’s requirements of its
vendors. (The manual can be viewed at http://vendor.nortom.com.) Environmental and waste-related
issues are featured prominently in the vendor manual, including the following:
• Environmental leadership is explicitly called out in the introduction of the Manual. Norm
Thompson states that it is “committed to being a leader in environmental sustainability” and
notes that “our business partners (suppliers) are critical to our success at maintaining our
environmental leadership position”.
• The Manual requires polybags to be made from a standard resin (LDPE) and to not exceed 1
mil thickness unless necessary to protect the product. The Manual also requires that polybags
conform to the size of the product and be labeled with a resin identification code to facilitate
recycling. It also expresses a preference for post-consumer content.
1
The waste prevention evaluations were conducted by Norm Thompson’s sustainability coordinator and a waste prevention
specialist from the Oregon DEQ.
•
•
Pallets can be secured with alternatives to stretch wrap, such as pallet straps and waterbased/non-toxic commercial pallet adhesives.
Void fill (inner pack) is only allowed with the pre-approval of the Norm Thompson buyer, and is
limited to paper and polyethylene void fills.
Norm Thompson encourages compliance by charging back fees for use of non-compliant boxes as well
as the use of void fill (“inner pack”) if not specified in the purchase order. The purpose of the charge
backs is not to make money off the vendors, but rather to encourage vendors to comply.
Sustainability Tool Kit: Project Packaging Guidelines.
Norm Thompson has develop a “Sustainability Tool Kit” that provides sustainability language for buyers
to use in their conversations with vendors. One page of the Tool Kit addresses packaging (see
attachment). The company hasn’t been able to document vendor changes occurring as a result of the
Tool Kit, but nevertheless considers it to be a valuable tool for awareness raising that contributes to
change over time.
Internal (Distribution Center) Practices
Stock Box Reuse.
As described above, stock boxes are used to store vendor products prior to the products being picked,
packed, and shipped to customers (if the vendors don’t ship in compliant box sizes). When a stock box
is emptied in the picking area, it is removed, palletized, and put into storage for eventual return for
reuse in product preparation/storage. Staff estimate that most stock boxes are reused at least 10 to 15
times each.
Reuse of Polystyrene Loosefill and Bubble Wrap.
Some fragile items arrive at the Distribution Center packed in boxes filled with expanded polystyrene
(EPS) loose fill (“peanuts”). Norm Thompson doesn’t use EPS in shipments to its customers, so if
necessary, re-wraps fragile items in bubble wrap. The Distribution Center reuses bubble wrap to the
greatest extent possible. EPS “peanuts” are accumulated in large plastic bags and set aside for a
nearby shipping/mailing store that comes by and picks them up every week for reuse. To make
consolidation of the peanuts easier, Norm Thompson uses a “peanut vacuum”, which consists of a
large flexible hose that sucks up loose peanuts and feeds them directly into the large storage bags.
The Retail Distribution Center in Portland also reuses packaging. The RDC is able to reuse about 20%
of vendor-supplied bubble wrap and polystyrene. Reusing the polystyrene loose fill alone saves about
$925/year in avoided purchasing costs. The remaining materials are offered to an Italian dishware
store located across the street. The RDC is able to divert all of the excess polystyrene in this way
(about eight 60-gallon bags/week) as well as about half of the excess bubble wrap.
The remaining bubble wrap (whatever the RDC and the neighboring store can’t use) is placed in a roll
cart along with other film plastics to be picked up for recycling. Reuse and recycling of these materials
has cut the RDC’s garbage bills by about 2/3, saving an additional $3,000/year (estimated).
Area retail stores, such as the outlet stores in Lake Oswego and Troutdale also separate their
polystyrene loosefill and donate it to neighboring mailing/shipping stores for reuse.
Durable Totes for Internal Use.
The Returns Department uses durable plastic totes to redistribute returned items back to other
departments throughout the 241,500-square-foot Distribution Center.
Durable totes are also used to deliver goods from the Retail Distribution Center to the Airport store.
Deliveries are made using a corporate van. Empty totes are nested at the Airport and returned to the
Regional Distribution Center when a new delivery is made. Tote reuse is easy because of this closed-
loop distribution system, and saves an estimated $3,100/year in box purchases. Norm Thompson
purchased its totes at least six years ago. Steve Wilcox, the RDC’s Supervisor says that the totes
“really have held up well”.
Reused Boxes for Inter-Store Transfers.
Most shipments from the Distribution Center to the RDC are made using a standard box size, called an
S-20. The RDC sets S-20s aside and then refills them when making shipments to the other retail
stores, saving another $1,200/year.
Use and Reuse of Durable Pallets and Gaylords.
Shipping bags used to ship soft goods to customers are sealed, labeled, are packed into large gaylords
to transport them to the nearby bulk parcel mailing facility. The gaylords are positioned on highdurability pallets. Both pallets and gaylords are cycled between the Distribution Center and the mailing
facility and are reused as many times as possible.
Pallet Exchange.
Packaging suppliers, invoice suppliers, and catalog suppliers all deliver product direct to Norm
Thompson’s Distribution Center on pallets. At Norm Thompson’s request, these suppliers all take back
as many “empty” pallets as they delivered.
Customer Packaging
Choosing the Right Sized Box.
Typical packing stations are supplied with 10 – 15 different box sizes to choose from. With three
different catalogs and many customers ordering multiple items, choosing the right sized box can be a
real challenge. Too small, and the products won’t fit or won’t be adequately protected. Too large, and
time and money is wasted on unnecessary packaging. A box that is “just right” reduces materials use
in the box as well as void fills, and can save money on labor and freight as well.
The Distribution Center has recently rolled out a warehouse management system called “MARC”.
When an order is created, MARC software calls on a database of product and box dimensions and
recommends the smallest possible box or bag for the unique combination of items being shipped. This
is expected to reduce packaging use, although its impact has not yet been evaluated.
“Ship All Together”.
When customers order multiple products, standard practice has been to ship those products that are in
stock and follow up with shipments of other products as they come into stock. Under a program called
“Ship all Together,” if the out-of-stock items are expected within one week, sales agents at the call
center will ask the customer if they want their order shipped all together, or in separate packages (some
now, some later). In April of 2001, sales agents were trained to add a new closing line to their script:
“And, shipping all together means less packaging so we can work together to help the environment.”
In the nine months prior to April 2001, 8.8% of “Ship All Together” opportunities were accepted by
customers. In fiscal year 02-03, this rose to 15.3% (following the addition of environmental benefits to
the call center script). Annual cost savings for “Ship All Together” are estimated at $400,000 $600,000 and 50,000 – 75,000 fewer shipping boxes or bags, plus filler, tape, labels, and inks, and
energy and pollution from shipping. Waste prevention (reduced use of materials) is estimated at 29 –
43 tons/year. The higher participation caused by adding the packaging/environmental reference to the
script increased savings by more than $170,000 per year!
Using Shipping Bags for Soft Goods.
Since the early 1990s, the main Distribution Center has used shipping bags to package non-breakable
customer orders such as clothing and linens for shipment to customers. Currently, Norm Thompson’s
shipping bags are made from linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), although the retail distribution
center has chosen to use an all-paper shipping bag in the future.
The advantages to Norm Thompson from using shipping bags are many, including:
• Lower material costs. Shipping bags cost considerably less than boxes and void fill. An
average box plus crinkled newsprint for void fill costs Norm Thompson around $0.62 per parcel,
compared to a per-bag cost of $0.14. Net reduction in packaging material use (waste
prevention) is estimated at 627 tons/year. Annual savings: $415,000.
• Less storage. Bags can be stored more compactly than boxes and void fill. Annual savings:
not quantified.
• Labor: Bags don’t have to be “set up” for use, require no time filling with crumpled paper, and
are easier to close (requiring no taping). An average packer can complete 34 boxes per hour
compared to 45 bags per hour. Annual savings: $75,000.
• Lower freight costs. The bags weigh less than boxes, so shipping charges are less. Annual
savings: $664,000.
The use of bags in lieu of boxes with void fill reduces materials use by an estimated 627 tons of
packaging per year. Although the bags are made from virgin plastics, their considerably lower weight
and more compact shipping volume (relative to boxes) lead to some environmental gains. DEQ’s life
cycle inventory report estimates that using shipping bags in a similar application reduces fossil fuel use,
solid waste generation, and a host of atmospheric and waterborne emissions by 70 – 95% compared to
the box/void fill option. Estimated environmental benefits from bag use specific to Norm Thompson
include:
• Energy savings (all sources) of 21 billion BTUs/year.
• Energy savings from non-renewable sources (fossil fuels and nuclear) of 14 billion BTUs/year,
equivalent to the energy value of roughly 110,000 gallons of gasoline.
• Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in excess of 1,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide
equivalent/year, roughly the same benefit as removing 210 passenger cars from the road.2
For many years, Norm Thompson had an internal standard that shipping bags could only be used when
the price of the total shipment was less than $75, and no one product could be priced higher than $50.
This standard was recently eliminated, leading to a significant increase in bag use. Bag use for
outbound deliveries went from 11.5% to 28.1% (the remainder of deliveries are shipped in corrugated
boxes). This change increased annual savings to Norm Thompson by approximately $680,000, for
total savings estimated at $1,154,000.
Improving “Cause of Return” Data.
For every catalog retailer, managing returns is an expensive proposition. There are many reasons why
products are returned, including damage in transit. However, if a product is returned to the Distribution
Center and arrives damaged, Norm Thompson doesn’t know if the product was damaged in shipment
to the customer (when Norm Thompson packaged it) or in the return trip (when the customer packaged
it).
Not knowing the causes of returns makes it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of packaging
practices. Relying exclusively on anecdotes and personal opinions can lead to defensive overpackaging of products.
Norm Thompson recently applied a software application to better manage and reduce returns, allowing
for proactive analysis of returns, including analysis of root causes. According to Meg Miller, Director of
Product Quality Management, “overall, the program has proved to be an invaluable tool in returns
2
Not including forestry-related emissions and emissions/credits involving decomposition/sequestration of materials in
landfills.
analysis company-wide, saving money, time and customer satisfaction.” Specific to packaging, the
software has helped the company pinpoint damage returns at a product level, thereby enabling direct
resolution to explicit, significant packaging issues. The exact impact on packaging and waste is difficult
to estimate, but this is assumed to be a positive change. If packaging is insufficient (leading to product
damage), it can be remedied (reducing product waste), and if packaging is sufficient, then there is no
reason to add to it further. Over time, this data will help Norm Thompson to optimize its packaging.
Paper Tape.
The Distribution Center uses a paper tape for sealing the tops and bottoms of boxes. This improves
the recyclability of the boxes.
Alternative formats (such as large type, Braille) of this document can be made available. Contact
DEQ’s Office of Communications & Outreach, Portland, at (503) 229-5317
Packaging Waste Reduction Case Study
Office Max
This case study highlights some of the steps OfficeMax’s (formerly Boise Office
Solutions) Portland distribution center has taken to reduce packaging-related waste.
The distribution center fills and ships on average 1,700-2,200 orders daily for
business-to-business contract, catalog and Internet customers located in Oregon
and Southwest Washington. A typical order consists of multiple items, such as file
folders, pens, labels, and copy paper.
The Portland distribution center is stocked with approximately 7,000 of the more
commonly ordered items. Products that are sold infrequently are not stocked in
Portland but rather are shipped from larger facilities located in Washington or
elsewhere.
Two different methods are used to ship orders to customers. For customers in the
Portland-Salem area, OfficeMax uses its own delivery vehicles and drivers.
Customers located farther away have their orders delivered by one of several
contracted shipping/delivery services, such as UPS.
Total financial savings from this case study are estimated at more than $46,000 per
year. Table 1 summarizes the savings in resources and money from different waste
prevention activities.
Table 1.
Summary of Savings from Packaging Waste Prevention
Activity
Use of shipping bags
Box reuse
Box optimization
Eliminating dunnage
Using “off spec” dunnage
Total
Annual Savings (estimated)
Pounds of Materials
Dollars
97,000
$26,500
11,300
$5,700
Not estimated
Not estimated
14,100
$5,800
14,600
$8,000
More than 68 tons
More than $46,000
Use of Delivery Bags.
Prior to 2002, all customer orders were delivered in corrugated boxes. In 2002, the
distribution center began shipping smaller, less fragile items in paper bags. The
bags are similar to paper bags used in grocery stores and are typically taped shut or
stapled at the top. The bags weigh between 50 and 90 percent less than corrugated
boxes and ship more compactly. Like boxes, they are made of unbleached kraft,
and are recyclable. But because the bags weigh so much less, their environmental
burdens, such as energy use and pollution associated with manufacturing, are
correspondingly smaller.
Bags are only used for local deliveries, but on average, now make up about 25-35%
of outbound broken case shipments. This reduces the use of packaging materials by
around 97,000 pounds and saves the distribution center approximately $26,500 per
year, just in procurement costs alone.
Land Quality Division
Solid Waste Policy
and Program
Development Section
811 SW 6th Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: (503) 229-5913
1 (800) 452-4011
Fax: (503) 229-6977
www.deq.state.or.us
Updated: 07/14/05
David Allaway
05-LQ-036
Box Reuse.
Items that aren’t shipped in bags are shipped in boxes.
Some items (such as a case of photocopy paper) are never
repacked but rather are shipped in their original cartons.
When items are repacked, the distribution center makes use
of reused boxes. Most reused boxes come from the
distribution center’s own operations. A smaller number are
obtained from its customers.
OfficeMax agreed to a pilot project with Oregon DEQ in 2004
in which participating floors at a DEQ office in Portland
flattened and set aside standard stock boxes for OfficeMax to
backhaul to their distribution center. This involves very little
additional work for DEQ and OfficeMax. It is environmentally
preferable to recycling because the boxes are reused,
displacing the need to produce new boxes. OfficeMax is also
able to save money on procurement.
Of all the boxes that the distribution center uses, around 5%
are reused. Reuse of boxes saves the distribution center
around $5,700 per year in purchasing costs and avoids the
purchase of approximately 11,300 pounds of new packaging
material. This number will grow as more customers start
sending their boxes back to the distribution center for reuse.
DEQ’s and OfficeMax’s Box Reuse
Program: How it Works
When orders arrive at DEQ’s
headquarters building in standard
stock boxes, DEQ staff empty the
boxes, flatten them, and set them
aside in a designated location on
each floor. No additional work is
involved, as the boxes would
normally be broken down for
recycling anyways.
The flattened boxes are stored in
locations separate from recycling
stations, otherwise they might be
taken away for recycling (repulping).
The next week, when OfficeMax
makes its next delivery, the empty
flattened boxes are picked up and
taken back to the distribution center.
Labels on old boxes are either
peeled off or covered over with new
labels. Of course, damaged boxes
are not reused but rather are sent off
for recycling.
Box Optimization.
To reduce waste of new boxes purchased for outbound
shipments, OfficeMax has implemented a containerization
module within its warehouse management system.
Programmed into a computer are the dimensions and weight
of every item OfficeMax stocks. The number and type of each shipping container (boxes and bags) as
well as their internal dimensions and maximum weight are also programmed. When a “pick sheet” is
prepared, telling staff which items to pull for an order, the computer recommends a shipping container
based on an ideal “fill percentage” of 80 – 86 percent. Although higher fill percentages would reduce
packaging use further, OfficeMax holds that they also increase the frequency of having to resize and
repack boxes.
This approach reduces the use of unnecessarily large boxes. However, it isn’t perfect. The distribution
center uses five different sizes of shipping boxes, but has millions of possible combinations of
differently-sized products, so not every box will be optimized. Increasing the number and variety of
shipping boxes would allow for greater customization, but would complicate inventory and stocking.
Bugs in they system lead to a few egregiously oversized boxes, but by inviting customer feedback, the
distribution center hopes to overcome this problem. “If packaging seems excessive, we want to know,”
says Mike Murray, the Distribution Manager. “Feedback from our customers helps us do a better job.”
Eliminating Dunnage.
Until recently, every repacked box shipped to a customer from the distribution center was packed with
some kind of dunnage or void fill, typically crinkled, unbleached kraft paper. The void fill was used to
protect the contents of the box during shipment.
However, OfficeMax found that this level of protection was only needed for shipping with third-party
carriers. For local (Portland-Salem) deliveries, OfficeMax uses its own fleet and drivers and has a high
level of confidence that goods won’t be damaged during transit. As a result, OfficeMax recently
eliminated the use of dunnage in boxes for local shipments. This reduces the use of packaging material
by roughly 14,000 pounds/year while saving around $5,800 in purchasing costs. It also saves on labor
costs, since it takes less time to pack boxes without dunnage.
Using “Off Spec” Dunnage.
For boxes shipped by a third-party carrier, the Portland distribution center continues to use dunnage to
protect contents during shipment. This need was previously met with purchased rolls of unprinted kraft
paper.
Working with Boxes 2 Business, a packaging supplier, the distribution center has come up with a clever
substitute: purchasing off-spec paper (such as paper used to make bulk napkin wrappers for
restaurants) that can’t be used for its original purpose because of printing errors or manufacturing
flaws. Normally these rejected rolls of paper would be sent directly to a paper recycler. Now they are
being used, displacing the manufacture and purchase of new paper. This saves OfficeMax around
$8,000 a year and reduces the purchase of new paper by around 14,600 pounds a year.
Alternative formats (such as large type, Braille) of this document can be made available. Contact
DEQ’s Office of Communications & Outreach, Portland, at (503) 229-5317
Packaging Waste Reduction Case Study
Panasonic Shikoku
Electronics Corporation of
America
Panasonic Shikoku Electronics Corporation of America (PSECA), a subsidiary of Japan based
Panasonic Shikoku Electronics Corporation, manufactures a variety of consumer electronics
products such as LCD multimedia displays (MMD) and combination TV/VCR/DVD television
units under the brand name Panasonic at its Vancouver, Washington manufacturing facility.
PSECA, which is ISO 14001 certified, understands the need to be environmentally
responsible, not only in their use of outgoing packaging material, but also for their incoming
and internally generated packaging waste. This policy follows in line with PSECA’s
environmental policy:
“Panasonic Shikoku Electronics Corporation of America, Inc. (PSECA), a manufacturer of
consumer electronics products, acknowledges that we have a responsibility to be good
citizens of the United States. We, therefore, pledge ourselves to the prudent, sustainable
use of the earth’s resources, the prevention of pollution and the protection of our natural
environment. In doing so, we are committed to comply with all applicable environmental
legislation and regulations, and other requirements relating to its environmental aspects to
which we subscribe, while continually improving the performance of our environmental
management system.
Environmental performance objectives and targets will be established and evaluated by
the Management Review Committee at least annually to accurately reflect our
commitments, and we will allocate the resources necessary to fulfill these objectives.
This policy will be made available and communicated to all persons working for, or on
behalf of the company. This policy will also be available to the public.”
In their continuing efforts to meet these environmental goals PSECA has instituted several
waste prevention and reuse programs with the purpose of minimizing overall environmental
burdens associated with packaging. PSECA is also in involved in a comprehensive recycling
program with a recycling rate of over 92% which reduces the amount of solid waste sent to
landfills, reduces raw materials use, and makes good business sense for both the revenue
generated and the avoided disposal costs.
This case study details three of PSECA’s many successful packaging and waste-related
initiatives. These three initiatives contribute more than $900,000 annually to PSECA’s bottom
line.
Closed-Loop Reuse of Vendor Packaging
The first example of a waste prevention and reuse program can be found in the manufacturing
and assembly of cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions. Each vacuum picture tube is preassembled at an overseas contracted manufacturer and then bulk shipped to PSECA’s
Vancouver facility on reusable plastic trays. Two identical trays (one for the base and one for
the cover) form a pallet that will hold 8 picture tubes.
The tray that holds the picture tubes in place also acts as a shipping pallet. This reduces
overall packaging material by eliminating the need for any kind of an external shipping pallet.
Since the two trays are identical, after each package is unloaded the top tray is flipped over
and nested with the base. This creates a compact stack of trays ready to be loaded into a
cargo container and returned for reuse at the overseas manufacturing facility.
Land Quality Division
Solid Waste Policy
and Program
Development Section
811 SW 6th Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: (503) 229-5913
1 (800) 452-4011
Fax: (503) 229-6977
www.deq.state.or.us
Updated: 07/14/05
David Allaway
05-LQ-037
The reusable plastic pallets were used to ship
58,229 CRT picture tubes shipped at 8 per pallet,
which translates into a total of 7,279 incoming
pallets per year. Because there are plastic trays on
both the top and bottom, an estimated 14,558 trays
are shipped per year (7,279 pallets x 2 trays per
pallet). Each plastic tray weighs 4 pounds, costs
$6, and is reused at least twice in a one year
period. Assuming (worst case) that each tray is
only used twice in a one year period, then a total of
7,279 plastic trays are in circulation. By reusing
instead of purchasing new trays, in each 6 month
period after the initial investment PSECA is saving
$43,674 (7,279 trays x $6 per tray).1 A total of 800
trays can be returned in one trailer at a cost of
$1,200 per container or $1.50 per tray. This brings
the total savings to $32,756 in each 6 month period
($43,674 – (7,279 trays x $1.50 per tray)). The
added environmental benefit is a savings of 29,116
pounds (7,279 trays x 4 pounds per tray) of plastic
material every 6 months.
Figure 1: Reusable CRT Plastic Tray
PSECA does not see a direct savings by utilizing the
reusable pallets as they are owned by the overseas
contract manufacturer. However if the reusable
pallets were not used PSECA would see higher per
unit costs as they would be paying for the increase
in packaging.
In-House Corrugated Box Reuse
A second example of packaging reuse is seen in
PSECA’s plastic molding operations. PSECA
manufactures the majority of their injection molded
plastic components (casings, etc.) at their
Vancouver location. A weekly average of 5,800
CRT units and 5,000 MMD units result in a large
inventory of injection molded components. To keep
the inventory manageable the plastic components
are staged in corrugated cartons and moved to
various manufacturing centers throughout the
facility. The corrugated cartons are reused inhouse.
Figure 2: Nested Trays in Cargo Container
An average of 2,000 empty cartons are required by
the in-house molding facility in an average week.
Some parts take several weeks to move through inventory. Because this is a rotating system (some cartons are
in use while others are broken down for storage) PSECA has approximately 10,000 of these heavy-duty cartons
in their inventory at any given time.
Each carton has been found to have an average reusable life of 5 years and a replacement cost of $6. Here the
gross savings from reuse is $624,000 per year (2,000 cartons per week x 52 weeks per year x $6 per carton) and
the cost to purchase 10,000 new cartons is $60,000 (10,000 cartons x $6 per carton). Since each carton can be
reused for an average of 5 years the net savings after subtracting out the initial cost becomes $3,060,000
($624,000 x 5 years - $60,000), or $612,000 per year. Any added labor costs to break down and save these
1
This analysis assumes that if PSECA were not reusing the plastic trays they would be throwing them away and purchasing new trays. If PSECA was not
interested in reuse, then they or their vendor may have chosen a less expensive (and less durable) means of transporting the CRT picture tubes. With this in
mind the per-use cost savings may actually be somewhat less than the full $6 to purchase a new tray.
cartons for reuse are negligible because the cartons would
need to be broken down even if they were to be recycled. No
additional warehouse space is required to store the used
cartons. If the used cartons were not utilized new cartons
would need to be in their place. At an average carton weight
of 2 pounds, material savings are estimated at 208,000
pounds of corrugated fiber per year (2,000 cartons per week x
52 weeks x 2 pounds per carton). It becomes readily
apparent that it makes environmental as well as financial
sense for PSECA to save and reuse these cartons for their
internal molding operations.
Recycling
A final example showing the benefits from being
environmentally responsible is seen in PSECA’s
comprehensive recycling program. Each year PSECA
generates a large amount of waste from its manufacturing
operations and strives to recycle as much as possible. For
2004 total recyclable and non recyclable waste generated was
just over 3,000 tons.
Figure 3: Used Cartons Stored for Reuse
Figure 4: Cartons Being Setup for Reuse
Figure 5: Corrugated Baler
Figure 6: Scrap Plastics from Molding
Figure 7: Scrap Films
PSECA has set up a program with local recyclers who drop containers for each material on site and then pick up
the containers once they are full. If it were not for the recycling program most of this waste material would likely
end up in landfills and would cost PSECA a significant amount in removal and disposal fees. The following is a
break down of the generated waste and amounts that were recycled in 2004.
Total Waste Generated
Recycled Materials:
Corrugated
Paper
Film
Plastics
Wood
Ferrous Metal
Non-Ferrous Metal
Other
3002.9 Tons
(Tons)
998
14
22
608
352
28
10
787
Total Waste to Landfills
184
Total Recycled
2819
Income From Recycling
$332,427
Table 1: PSECA 2004 Recycling Breakdown
Of the total waste generated only a small portion (184 Tons or 6.12% of the total) was not recycled but was
landfilled instead. With the recycling program, PSECA has turned this potential waste material into a rather large
income generator while at the same time benefiting the environment by providing other manufacturers with
feedstocks that displace virgin resources.
Other Examples of Packaging Waste Reduction
•
•
•
In addition to reuse of corrugated boxes for injection molded parts, PSECA also utilizes custom heavyduty plastic pallets for internal use. This allows the pallets to be re-used many more times than
conventional wooden pallets.
Some injection molding is subcontracted to a manufacturer in Pennsylvania. That contractor ships parts
to PSECA using a durable corrugated box. Once emptied, the boxes are flattened and shipped back to
the contractor for its reuse, or are reused by PSECA to ship finished products to certain overseas
markets.
Certain electronics components and assemblies are shipped to PSECA from an overseas vendor using
large bulk boxes, as shown in Figure 8. This replaces the prior practice, which was for each assembly to
be packaged in its own
corrugated box. This
change significantly
reduces packaging use and
shipping costs.
Figure 8: Bulk Shipments of Assemblies
Packaging Waste Reduction Case Study
PolyVision
PolyVision, a Steelcase company, has a manufacturing center in Oregon that produces
traditional whiteboards and innovative visual and interactive communication solutions for the
education, corporate, government and military markets. PolyVision’s goal of continuous
product improvement and cost reduction has been extended to its packaging. By
implementing a packaging optimization program, PolyVision was able to assess its product
requirements with a focus on cost efficiency, inventory control, waste reduction,
and environmental impact.
One of the packaging optimization program’s successes has been with the
PolyVision TS (Touch Sensitive) Series Interactive Whiteboard. The TS Series
Whiteboard is a product that digitally captures and allows instant saving, publishing,
printing, and emailing of white board notes. When used in conjunction with an LCD
projector, the white board also has the capability of acting as an interactive
projection screen.
The TS 600 was the first configuration targeted for packaging optimization.
Approved changes would be phased in throughout the entire product line.
PolyVision’s goals for the redesign were to provide an equal or improved level of
shipping protection, while simultaneously increasing packing efficiency, and
reducing both packaging materials and overall costs.
Design #1 was the shipping package prior to the optimization redesign. It
consisted of a double wall full telescoping design style tray with combination
polyurethane and polyethylene foam interior.
Packaging Design #1
For the redesign process, PolyVision established a goal that any redesigned package would
need to meet or exceed the baseline level of protection provided by the original packaging. In
order to generate baseline testing data a series of drop tests were conducted. Testing was
completed in accordance with the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) Project 1J
(Integrity Test for Individual Packaged Products Considered Flat) standards. Results from the
drop tests were used by packaging engineers in an iterative redesign process. Design
changes made to the packaging configuration were then tested in order to verify that the
desired affect was achieved.
Land Quality Division
Solid Waste Policy
and Program
Development Section
811 SW 6th Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: (503) 229-5913
1 (800) 452-4011
Fax: (503) 229-6977
www.deq.state.or.us
Updated: 07/14/05
David Allaway
05-LQ-038
•
New “hinged” polyethylene foam was introduced into the design to reduce material usage, overall
packaging costs, and inventory space needed to stage material prior to loading. The living hinge
incorporated into this material allows it to ship flat and is set up just prior to use so it also saves in
shipping volume. First stages of testing showed that the “hinged” polyethylene foam could be reduced
from a 3 inch thickness to 2 ½ inches.
Information on “Hinged” polyethylene can be found at the following manufacturer links:
www.pactiv.com/Products_NA/ProtectivePackaging/EngineeredFoam/PolyPlankMDL.aspx
www.sealedair.com/products/protective/pe_foam/stratocell_plus.html
•
The polyethylene corner support pads in the redesigned package started out as a 1.2 pound density, but
further testing found that this could be reduced further to a 0.9 pound density.
•
The size of the polyurethane foam cushioning was reduced.
•
Random density polyurethane foam was incorporated into the redesign. This allowed the foam supplier
to utilize polyurethane fall off from other projects, which would otherwise have been recycled or thrown
out. In this way, the supplier was able to avoid purchasing new foam.
After several revisions and subsequent drop tests, Design #2 was developed as the redesigned shipping
package.
Packaging Design #2
Design #2 utilized the same outer corrugated shipping tray but reduced the amount of polyurethane and
polyethylene used for product cushioning. A summary of savings can be seen in the following table. The savings
shown for the polyurethane foam are based strictly on a size reduction of the foam cushion. Savings from using
random density (scrap) foam is not shown.
Corrugated
Polyethylene Foam
Polyurethane Foam
Design #1 (lbs)
14.34
2.2324
0.5730
Design #2 (lbs)
14.34
1.3431
0.3438
Material Savings Summary
% Material Savings
39.84 %
40.00 %
Design #2 has been approved and implemented as the current shipping package. PolyVision is looking to further
reduce packaging material used in its TS series product line. Current testing of Design #3 is under way. It would
reduce the depth of the corrugated carton and internal foam cushioning. This will further reduce the amount of
corrugated and foam used, thereby increasing pallet efficiencies from 7 to 8 units per pallet or 14.3 percent.
PolyVision continues to benefit from the optimization program in the form of reduced packaging costs, a smaller
inventory of packaging materials, and a decrease in the amount of outgoing shipping waste.
Alternative formats (such as large type, Braille) of this document can be made available. Contact DEQ’s Office
of Communications & Outreach, Portland, at (503) 229-5317
Packaging Waste Reduction Case Study
Rejuvenation
Rejuvenation is America's largest manufacturer and a leading direct marketer of
period-authentic lighting and house parts. Shipping and receiving everything from
glass lamp shades to switch plates and highly-polished brass lamp fixtures,
Rejuvenation is also a major user of packaging, particularly corrugated boxes. Even
though corrugated is highly recyclable and can be made with high levels of recycled
content, its manufacture – like that of all packaging materials – still requires energy
and creates pollution. Rejuvenation has accomplished major reductions in
environmental impacts of its packaging through a successful box reuse effort.
Rejuvenation sorts out and redeploys for reuse around two-thirds of all of the “waste”
boxes that have the potential to be reused. (Other potentially reusable boxes, as well
as boxes that can’t be reused, are recycled.) This has cut Rejuvenation’s purchase of
new boxes by almost 25%, saving approximately $23,000 (net) and reducing waste
generation by approximately 30 - 40 tons per year.
Background
Rejuvenation is America's largest manufacturer and a leading direct marketer of
period-authentic lighting and house parts. Homeowners and design professionals
alike order its products via mail order, online or through the company's retail stores in
Portland and Seattle. A third store is planned for 2006.
Lighting and house parts are manufactured at a facility in Northwest Portland. This
same facility also serves as Rejuvenation’s warehouse and order fulfillment center,
both for products manufactured in-house as well as finished goods manufactured
elsewhere. Many different shipping and receiving functions are performed at this
facility, with associated packaging impacts:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Supplies and component parts used in manufacturing and distribution are received
from vendors.
Finished products from vendors are also received and inventoried.
Certain manufacturing steps, such as plating, occur off-site, so Rejuvenation ships
partially-finished product from the facility and subsequently receives back the
same product later in the production cycle.
Products are shipped from the facility to Rejuvenation’s retail stores for restocking
and will call.
All catalog and internet orders are filled at this facility.
This facility also handles returns.
Box Reuse: How it Works
Whenever possible, catalog products manufactured off-site by third-party suppliers
are shipped to customers in their original packaging. But Rejuvenation also receives
large quantities of boxes with the component parts and supplies that are used to
manufacture and assemble products on-site. These boxes, once emptied, are kept
near the packing stations in moveable bins. Packers will then determine if they can
reuse any of the boxes that are in these bins. At the end of the day the bins are
flattened and emptied into larger staged containers. The staged boxes are accessible
to all warehouse employees. Employees can also pick boxes directly from these
staged containers. When the staged containers fill up, they are emptied into the
compactor for recycling.
Land Quality Division
Solid Waste Policy
and Program
Development Section
811 SW 6th Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: (503) 229-5913
1 (800) 452-4011
Fax: (503) 229-6977
www.deq.state.or.us
Updated: 07/14/05
David Allaway
05-LQ-039
All warehouse employees participate in box reuse. Employees are reminded of the box reuse program
during smaller department meetings, when considering company wide initiatives, and during
conversations about environmental sustainability.
In order to be reused by Rejuvenation, a box needs to meet
the following criteria:
•
•
•
•
•
No staples -- safe and easy to flatten
Structurally sound
Appropriate size
Free of postage, address labels, tracking codes, bill-oflading packets, and other markings that could cause
confusion during mailing
Minimal other markings (tags, vendor names, writing, etc.)
Rejuvenation uses these reused boxes for three different
functions:
• Inter-company manufacturing transfers: as part of the
manufacturing cycle, Rejuvenation ships certain unfinished
products to off-site manufacturers for services such as
plating. Reused boxes are used exclusively for this
application.
• Shipping to retail stores: approximately 60% of all
shipments to retail stores are shipped in reused vendor
boxes.
• Catalog/Internet order fulfillment: reused boxes are used
where possible for direct shipments to customers.
Material Flows and Environmental Benefits
“Reuse” vs. “Recycling”:
What’s the Difference?
To the casual observer, “reuse” and
“recycling” may be one and the same. In
fact, many people use the word
“recycling” when talking about “reuse”.
But from both a financial and an
environmental standpoint, “reuse” and
“recycling” are very different.
In the case of boxes, reuse involves
using the box again, thus avoiding the
need to purchase a new box. In contrast,
recycling involves sending old boxes to a
paper mill, where they are repulped to
make new products. Both activities
reduce waste and can save money, but
reuse is typically preferable. Like
recycling, reuse saves on disposal fees.
But reuse also saves money as fewer
new boxes have to be purchased.
Making a box from recycled corrugated
requires less energy when compared to
producing boxes entirely from wood. But
reusing a box means one less box is
produced entirely, with greater resource
savings and pollution reduction. That’s
why both the EPA and the State of
Oregon say that while recycling is good,
reuse is often environmentally preferable.
To better understand Rejuvenation’s box reuse program, and
identify potential areas for improvement, an outside group of
waste reduction specialists (from the Oregon DEQ, Metro and
the City of Portland) worked with Rejuvenation to conduct a
“box reuse study”. The study involved characterizing the flow
of corrugated boxes through Rejuvenation’s facility. The
facility’s recycling baler was locked down for a week, allowing
boxes separated for recycling to accumulate. These boxes
were sorted and categorized based on their reuse potential. (For a summary of the results of this
study, click here.)
The study was conducted in May of 2003. Since that time, Rejuvenation has undergone significant
growth, so these numbers are no longer current. Regardless, results from May 2003 provide a valuable
“snapshot” of a highly-efficient box reuse program:
Boxes Reusable by Rejuvenation
Already separated for reuse
Potential reusable but placed in recycling
Totals
“Capture Rate”:
1
4,100 – 4,900/month1
300 – 500/month
4,400 – 5,400/month
89 – 94%
This includes approximately 320 boxes/month used in inter-company transfers (manufacturing), 760 boxes/month used for
shipping to Rejuvenation’s retail operations, and somewhere between 3,000 and 3,800 reused boxes/month utilized in
customer order fulfillment. These estimates were valid for mid-2003.
Of all of the boxes that are potential reusable by Rejuvenation, approximately 90% were being sorted
properly and kept out of the recycling piles at the time of this study (the “capture rate”). Clearly,
employees were doing an excellent job at keeping reusable boxes out of the recycling system.
This level of box reuse helped Rejuvenation avoid the purchase of approximately 40 tons of new
corrugated boxes per year. At 2003 levels of box reuse, energy savings were approximately one billion
BTUs2. Using EPA estimates, this box reuse program had a greenhouse gas benefit of approximately
90 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, or the same as taking about 16 cars off of the road.
Since the time of the box reuse study, Rejuvenation has undergone a period of substantial and rapid
growth, leading to short-term capacity constraints in both labor and floor space. As a result, as of the
time of this publication (mid-2005), levels of box reuse are estimated to be down approximately 25%.
Rejuvenation plans to re-evaluate its box reuse program with the goal of regaining, if not surpassing, its
earlier high levels of reuse. One of the lessons Rejuvenation has learned from this change is that the
reuse program does require a minimal level of attention, particularly during times of rapid business
expansion. Changes in the level of reuse reflect changes in the level of attention given to the program.
Financial Analysis
Box reuse isn’t necessarily fast or convenient. Rejuvenation has found that reusing boxes successfully
takes effort, and effort requires expense. All discarded boxes are tossed into the same bins. Grabbing
boxes for reuse from these bins, as opposed to taking new boxes from the shelves, adds an estimated
10 hours of labor per week.
However, where reuse has its financial benefit is in procurement savings. The estimated 3,100 boxes
reused per month (as of mid-2005) reduce purchasing costs by around $2,500 per month (at an
average cost of $0.80 per new box).
Figure 1 compares these costs on a monthly basis. Procurement savings are significantly higher than
added labor costs. There is no impact on recycling revenue as Rejuvenation is neither paid for, nor
charged for, corrugated recycling.
Figure 1. Annual Financial Comparison of Box Reuse to Box Recycling, Rejuvenation
Procurement Savings, Box Reuse
$29,700/year
Labor Savings (Costs), Box Reuse
($6,800/year)
Net Savings (Cost), Box Reuse (compared to box recycling)
$22,900/year
Alternative formats (such as large type, Braille) of this document can be made available. Contact
DEQ’s Office of Communications & Outreach, Portland, at (503) 229-5317
2
BTU = British thermal Unit While corrugated linerboard and medium mills obtain much of their energy from process and
other wood wastes, this energy savings is equivalent to the combustion energy in approximately 8,400 gallons of gasoline.
Packaging Waste Reduction Case Study
Set-N-Me-Free
Set-N-Me-Free is an Oregon based business that produces and distributes a line of
aloe vera based skin care products. These products include lotions, body wraps,
heat creams, and hair care items. Outbound product shipments average 150-200
packages per week. Typical packaging materials include corrugated
shipping cartons, bubble wrap, wadded papers, and polystyrene
loose fill. Keeping environmental impacts to a minimum is a matter
of pride for the employees of Set-N-Me-Free who strive to provide
healthy products for their customers and a healthy world for future
generations. Set-N-Me-Free has implemented a number of
programs to keep overall waste generation to a minimum.
Packaging related activities include reuse of incoming packaging
materials for outbound shipments, and the use of shredded office
paper as a substitute for purchased void fill materials.
Set-N-Me-Free utilizes as much inbound packaging material as
possible for reuse in their outbound shipments. Corrugated boxes
are reused as outbound shipping cartons or cut into strips, saved in
their packaging area, and used as void fill when needed. Only a
small percentage of cartons are unclean and cannot be reused, so
are recycled instead. All incoming void fills (bubble wrap,
polystyrene loose fills, wadded papers) are separated and saved for
reuse in outbound shipments.
In order to reuse internally generated office paper, and reduce the
Staging Area for Reusable Packaging Materials
amount of new packaging waste generated, Set-N-Me-Free
purchased an “Intimus 280” paper shredder for a cost of $485.
Where appropriate the shredded office paper is used as void fill and
replaces new bubble wrap and polystyrene loose fill in outbound shipping packages.
Space and power requirements are negligible as the shredder utilizes unused office
space underneath an existing desk and runs on standard 110 volt power. Customer
feedback on using the shredded office paper in place of new cushioning or void fill
materials has only been positive. Of the 150-200 outbound packages shipped per
week anywhere from 20-50% utilize the shredded office paper. While this does not
completely eliminate the use of new packaging void fills it does significantly reduce
them. Labor for shredding office paper averages 2-3 hours per week or less than
$50 to Set-N-Me-Free, while the savings from a reduction of the use of new
packaging materials is estimated at $150 per week. Subtracting out the cost to
shred office paper the cost savings to Set-N-Me-Free is then $100 per week or
$5200 per year. At a saving of $100 per week the shredder paid for itself in only five
Land Quality Division
Solid Waste Policy
weeks.
Alternative formats (such as large type, Braille) of this document can be made
available. Contact DEQ’s Office of Communications & Outreach, Portland, at (503)
229-5317
and Program
Development Section
811 SW 6th Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: (503) 229-5913
1 (800) 452-4011
Fax: (503) 229-6977
www.deq.state.or.us
Updated: 06/06/05
David Allaway
05-LQ-040
Packaging Waste Reduction Case Study
Toyota Logistics Services
Returnable Packaging for Floor Mats
Toyota Logistics Services processes 187,000 vehicles annually at Terminal 4 in
North Portland. New Toyota cars and trucks are outfitted with extras (such as
security systems and audio installations) and cleaned if necessary. Then they are
loaded onto railcars and trucks for transport to as many as 23 states.
One of the “extras” added to some vehicles are custom floor mats. Custom floor
mats are shipped to the Portland Vehicle Distribution Center (VDC) from a supplier,
Viam.
Previously, floor mats were packaged in single-use corrugated boxes called
masterpack cartons. Each masterpack carton held 24 sets of floor mats and was
shipped on its own wooden pallet. The floor mats were shipped in large lots to the
Portland VDC as needed. Once emptied at the Portland VDC, waste cartons were
sent to a paper mill to be recycled. Pallets were collected by a recycler who resold
pallets of higher quality and salvaged lower quality pallets for parts or had them
ground up for use as wood chips.
In August of 2003, Viam and Toyota Logistics Services launched a returnable
packaging program for floor mats for Toyota’s West Coast VDCs in Portland and
Long Beach. Toyota purchased 80 large plastic returnable containers at a cost of
approximately $13,000.
Each returnable container holds sixty sets of floor mats. The containers are
shipped directly from Viam to the Portland VDC. Once emptied, the sides of the
crates are collapsed, and the crates are stacked and transferred to a Toyota parts
distribution center a few miles away, where they are consolidated with other
reusable containers. The containers are then backhauled to a larger Toyota
distribution center in Los Angeles. Finally, they are transferred back to Viam. In
most cases, the containers are backhauled in trucks that would otherwise be
returning empty.
Because Viam no longer purchases pallets or masterpack cartons for Toyota VDCs
in Portland and Long Beach, it was able to pass along cost savings to Toyota in the
form a reduced unit price for floor mats.
Before
(Expendable Packaging)
After
(Returnable Packaging)
Land Quality Division
Solid Waste Policy
and Program
Development Section
811 SW 6th Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: (503) 229-5913
1 (800) 452-4011
Fax: (503) 229-6977
www.deq.state.or.us
Updated: 07/14/05
David Allaway
05-LQ-041
Annual savings to Toyota (for Portland and Long Beach combined) are estimated as follows:
Annual procurement savings (gross)
Annual container costs (amortized over 4 years)
Net annual savings
$28,000
$3,500
$24,500
Environmental benefits include a reduction in corrugated use of 17,000 pounds per year and a reduction in
wood pallet use by 37,000 pounds per year. While a small amount of extra labor is required to manage the
empty crates during their return trip to Viam, this is offset by labor savings in waste corrugated and pallet
management.
Alternative formats (such as large type, Braille) of this document can be made available. Contact DEQ’s
Office of Communications & Outreach, Portland, at (503) 229-5317
Packaging Waste Reduction Case Study
Traex Food Service Supplies
Traex, of Dane, Wisconsin, manufactures food service supplies. Finished products
are stored on pallets in the warehouse until needed to fill orders. Previously, the
company stretch wrapped the pallet loads by hand for transfer to the warehouse. The
wrapping process was time consuming and required most of one employee's attention
over three shifts. The process also exposed workers to the risk of back injury from
stooping and straining.
Beginning in April, 1995, Traex began testing rubber pallet bands to secure loads.
Pallets with dimensions of 40" x 48" require unstretched bands sized at 3/4" wide by
92" in circumference. Typically, two bands are used per skid: one looping around the
top layer of boxes and the other at mid-load. Bands are applied by hand, an operation
that takes one worker about ten seconds per band. (By comparison, stretch wrapping
requires about one minute per skid to apply.) When skids are brought from the
warehouse to fill orders, the bands are quickly removed and tossed in a container for
reuse. From pallet loading at the production line, to warehouse, to pallet unloading,
bands make the roundtrip in about six weeks.
With training, this change in operations was easily adopted. Employees liked the
rubber bands better than stretch wrap. After ten months under test, only four bands
broke. No injuries resulted from snapping bands. Reduced demand for stretch wrap
has freed some storage space, and avoiding baling of stretch wrap has saved
additional labor. Occasional use of temporary workers for unwrapping stretch wrap
has ended, as have occasional injuries to workers from using a knife to cut away
stretch wrap.
Benefits
Traex recovered the cost of its initial supply of rubber bands in just four three-shift
production days. In the first year, the company realized $49,706 in annual savings
after spending $1,001 on 550 large rubber bands ($1.82 each). On-going annual
savings include:
•
Reduced labor = $50,112
•
Reduced disposal expense = $400
•
Reduced purchase of stretch-wrap = $195
For more information on reusable pallet bands and straps, click here.
Credits: Alameda County (CA) Waste Management Authority & Alameda County
Source Reduction and Recycling Board
Alternative formats (such as large type, Braille) of this document can be made
available. Contact DEQ’s Office of Communications & Outreach, Portland, at (503)
229-5317
Land Quality Division
Solid Waste Policy
and Program
Development Section
811 SW 6th Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: (503) 229-5913
1 (800) 452-4011
Fax: (503) 229-6977
www.deq.state.or.us
Updated: 06/06/05
David Allaway
05-LQ-042
Packaging Waste Reduction Case Study
Williams-Sonoma
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is a major retailer of housewares with several retail formats,
the most prominent being Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn. The company has
more than 500 retail stores and also conducts a major catalog and Internet sales
operation. This case study highlights selected packaging waste prevention and reuse
measures undertaken at its Portland (Oregon) retail store, as well as company-wide
changes made in retail operations and order fulfillment.
Retail Operations
Box scoring. While all catalog and Internet orders are processed by a central order
fulfillment center, if a customer visits a store and purchases a gift for a friend or
relative out of town, the gift may be shipped from the store.
Box scoring is a method of reducing the amount of empty space and associated void
fill materials. Scoring involves cutting down the seams of the carton and folding the
sides over the top. In addition to reducing void fill use, box scoring also reduces the
overall “cube” of the outbound carton, which has environmental benefits during
transport as more boxes can fit in a truck.
Williams-Sonoma encourages retail stores to score boxes by providing master cartons
that are pre-scored. Seven of the nine cartons made available to stores are prescored at multiple heights. For example, the 20x15x15 carton is pre-scored to 13, 11,
or 9 inches in height. Employees can score boxes to other heights as well.
The Portland store routinely scores outbound boxes. During one day when the impact
of scoring was evaluated, box scoring was found to reduce the quantity of void fill
used by 40%. The estimated financial benefit in reduced void fill use alone was
$1,700. If the Portland store is typical of other Williams-Sonoma stores, companywide savings from box scoring are approximately $400,000 per year.
For more information on box scoring, click here.
Void Fill Reuse. The standard void fill currently used at Williams-Sonoma stores is a
perforated paper product called Geämi. However, expanded polystyrene is used for
returning products to vendors as well as occasional shipments of highly fragile items.
The Portland store purchases no expanded polystyrene whatsoever. Instead, it relies
entirely on loosefill provided by vendors in inbound shipments.
Smaller Boxes. An evaluation of outbound shipments at the Portland store several
years ago revealed that carton sizes were not necessarily optimized. The corporate
office subsequently expanded the number of different box sizes from six to nine,
changing the sizes of some boxes and adding a smaller box. Previously, the smallest
box was 12x12x8 inches. It was replaced with a 10x8x8 inch box (with pre-scoring at
6 and 4 inches). Similarly, the 14x14x14 box was replaced with a 14x14x6 box.
Smaller boxes tend to cost less, require less void fill, and also may result in lower
outbound freight costs. However, savings from this change are very difficult to
estimate. According to one estimate, the introduction of the smaller box alone is
expected to reduce procurement and shipping costs (across all Williams-Sonoma
stores) by $31,000-$78,000 annually.
Land Quality Division
Solid Waste Policy
and Program
Development Section
811 SW 6th Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: (503) 229-5913
1 (800) 452-4011
Fax: (503) 229-6977
www.deq.state.or.us
Updated: 07/14/05
David Allaway
05-LQ-043
Reduction in Double-Bagging. Retail stores have several different sizes of shopping bags. Most are
paper, although a large plastic bag is also available. One of the most commonly used bags is called
the “Downtown Shopper”. It is the largest of the paper bags and is typically used for larger – and
heavier – items, such as kitchen electronics and dish sets.
Discussions with retail staff at the Portland store revealed that the Downtown Shopper was also the
most likely to be double-bagged. Bags were doubled-up at customer request, or when particularly
heavy items or items with sharp or protruding edges were placed in them. During the rainy months,
which include the busy holiday season, practically every Downtowner was double-bagged, according to
store associates.
The corporate office’s solution was to make available to the stores a bag insert, sometimes called the
“bag bottom.” The bag bottom is a rectangular piece of chipboard that fits snugly into the bottom of the
Downtown Shopper. It reinforces the bottom of the bag and helps to redistribute weight more evenly.
A bag bottom costs 84% less than a bag, so each time a bag bottom eliminates the need for doublebagging, money is saved. The same is true from a waste and materials perspective: the bottom weighs
66% less, and is mostly unbleached (with a thin bleached layer), whereas the bag itself is made from
bleached kraft.
Originally, the bag bottoms were made available as an “extra” that stores could choose to purchase.
The corporate office considered promoting the bag bottoms to the stores as a method of reducing
double-bagging but eventually settled on a different solution: including bag bottoms with every shipment
of Downtowner bags. The idea is that if the stores don’t have to remember to order the bag bottoms,
and have them in inventory automatically, they’ll be more likely to use the bottoms and thus less likely
to double-bag.
The benefits of this strategy have not been formally evaluated, in part because of the difficulty of
tracking the frequency of double-bagging. Anecdotally, interviews with store associates in Portland
suggest that the bag bottoms are very useful and that the frequency of double-bagging has fallen from
75% to 25%. This results in a reduction in packaging production of roughly 5 pounds – and financial
savings to the store of about $8 – for every 100 times a customer leaves the store with a Downtown
Shopper bag (even when the weight and cost of the extra, unused bag bottoms is factored in).
Extrapolated to all Williams-Sonoma retail stores, potential savings are more than $230,000/year and
reductions of 50 tons of packaging material/year.
Catalog/e-commerce order fulfillment
Promote Expanded Polystyrene Reuse. Many mailing companies will accept expanded polystyrene
loosefill “peanuts” for reuse. The Plastic Loosefill Council’s “Peanut Hotline” (800-828-2214 and
http://www.loosefillpackaging.com/search/default.asp) identifies more than 1,500 locations in the U.S.
that accept loosefill from the public for reuse.
Williams-Sonoma’s direct-to-customer order fulfillment center encourages catalog and internet
customers to reuse polystyrene loosefill by printing the following message on the inside of its cartons.
Alternative formats (such as large type, Braille) of this document can be made available. Contact
DEQ’s Office of Communications & Outreach, Portland, at (503) 229-5317
Packaging Waste Reduction Case Study
Wrigley
Product: Chewing gum
Overview: After more than 100 years of selling chewing gum, Wrigley changed the traditional
design of its stick chewing gum sales packs to eliminate a layer of packaging.
The change affected 5- and 7-stick packs (sold singly and in multi-packs).
Before: Wrigley’s stick gums were packed in 3 layers of sales packaging:
The pack holding 5 or 7 sticks was constituted by the counterband (see
item A in graphic, right), made of a composite of paper, polyethylene, and
aluminum (some variants of this composite also contain wax). Each stick
was wrapped in an inner wrapper, made of aluminum, paper, and wax (item
B) and a sleeve-like single-stick label made of printed paper (item C).
For the 5-stick packs, the ratio of sales packaging to product was 0.463
g/stick gum1.
A
B
C
Original package
After: Wrigley eliminated the single-stick label (C). The new package
consists of the counterband and the foil stick wrapper. The material
compositions of these two components were not changed during the
redesign.
The ratio of sales packaging to product for the modified 5-stick pack is
0.291 g/stick gum.
Environmental Attributes: This case study highlights the value of small
changes on high-volume products. Though each single stick label weighs only
0.1725 grams, eliminating it reduced the total weight of the sales package for
a basic 5-stick pack by approximately 37%. This translates to 34.5 metric tons
of paper use avoided for every 100,000 cases that Wrigley sells2.
Redesigned package
In addition, during the planning stages for the design change, Wrigley anticipated that it would
be able to reduce the size and weight of the counterband as a result of the elimination of the
single stick wrapper. The reductions in sales packaging were also expected to allow
reductions to the secondary packaging (e.g. shelf trays) and transport packaging (e.g.
shippers) to be reduced. No figures on further reductions were available.
Fee Impacts: By eliminating the single-stick label, Wrigley was able to reduce the packaging
fees on its stick gums accordingly. Calculations by Environmental Packaging International, a
consultant to Wrigley, indicate that the modification lowered the fees incurred by the sales
packaging in 2004 for the 5-stick pack in Belgium and France by 37.22% (from 0.110 cents to
0.069 cents in Belgium and from 0.080 cents to 0.054 cents in France) and in Germany by
8.26%, from 0.268 cents to 0.246 cents3. The relatively small fee reduction achieved in
Germany is due to the high fee differential between paper (such as the single stick wrapper)
and composites (e.g. the counterband and inner wrapper), the fees for which are an order of
magnitude higher than those for paper. It should be noted that the 2004 fees in France and
Germany were a function of both weight-based material fees and per-piece packaging fees;
however the label was subject only to the weight-based fee (and not to the per-piece fee)
under the German rules. As of 2005, Germany has simplified its fee structure to eliminate the
1
Precise data on packaging affected by this change in the US market were not available. All “before” figures in this
case study are based on actual packaging composition and weight data from the Biesheim factory from 2000; “after”
figures result from eliminating the single stick label from those data.
2
This calculation, for illustrative purposes, is based on the packaging configuration for 5-stick packs sold individually,
which are shipped in cases of 20 shelf trays, each containing 20 5-stick packs. Wrigley also sells 5-stick packs in
multi-packs and in other case configurations.
3
These comparisons are based on calculations using 2004 fee rates and exchange rates as of January 1, 2004.
Land Quality Division
Solid Waste Policy
and Program
Development Section
811 SW 6th Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: (503) 229-5913
1 (800) 452-4011
Fax: (503) 229-6977
www.deq.state.or.us
Updated: 07/14/05
David Allaway
05-LQ-044
per-piece component of the fee formula and has reduced the differential between paper and composite fees.
Under the current structure of weight-based material fees, the same design change would reduce the fees in
Germany by 5.92%.
For more information on international packaging fees, click here.
Cost savings data related to material costs were not available.
Credits: Catherine Goodall, Environmental Packaging International. Thanks to Andy Holynskyj, ESH&S Director,
The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company.
Alternative formats (such as large type, Braille) of this document can be made available. Contact DEQ’s Office
of Communications & Outreach, Portland, at (503) 229-5317
Packaging Waste Reduction Case Study
Xerox
By converting from a system that used many different sizes of one-way shipping
containers to a system that relies on nine standardized sizes of reusable corrugated
cartons, Xerox factories and suppliers worldwide can reuse the same boxes. This
increases the reuse of corrugated boxes, diverts a large volume of corrugated
packaging and wooden pallets from disposal, and cuts storage and shipping costs.
How it Works
In the past, Xerox’s Webster, New York facility received component parts from more
than 400 suppliers, each part packaged in its own, unique box. This resulted in the
use of thousands of different types of boxes and as many as 24 different pallet sizes.
To gain better control over its packaging waste, Xerox developed a box reuse
program (called the 88p311 Supplier Packaging Program). The company brought
together packaging engineers from Xerox and its international suppliers to achieve a
consensus on box style. Other participants in the planning process were quality
control engineers, buyers, line engineers, assembly line workers, suppliers, and box
makers. The program received final approval from senior manufacturing
management.
The key features of the system are as follows:
•
•
Nine standard corrugated cardboard box sizes and two standard wooden
pallet sizes have been adopted; suppliers are required to use them. A
"Supplier Packaging Agreement Form" specifies how parts are to be delivered
to Xerox facilities and describes under what circumstances exemptions are
allowed.
A third-party handler manages the collection, sorting, and reselling of empty
containers, eliminating the need to return containers to their point of origin.
This is an "open loop" system.
Boxes and pallets can be used at any Xerox facility. They are designed to fit directly
into designated positions on the assembly line, compatible with just-in-time delivery.
As incoming shipments of parts are received and used, boxes are collapsed and
stacked. The company then either reuses them itself to ship parts to other Xerox
facilities or repair centers, or it sends boxes to the third-party handlers (one on each
coast and one in the Midwest) who sort and resell the boxes to Xerox suppliers.
Savings
Before adopting the new system, Xerox spent over $500,000 a year at Webster to
send more than 4 million boxes to landfills. Now, standard boxes can be used for 60%
to 80% of all incoming parts, and boxes average eight uses. Box usage has been
reduced by 2.4 to 3.2 million units a year; $1.5 million has been saved in pallet
disposal costs. Payback was almost immediate.
The change results in some other benefits as well:
1. Reduced freight cost because standard boxes and pallets "cube out" more
efficiently.
2. Reduced damage because boxes designed for reuse are sturdier. Higher unit
cost of sturdier boxes negated by large-volume purchases and reuse.
3. Reduced storage costs owing to just-in-time delivery.
Land Quality Division
Solid Waste Policy
and Program
Development Section
811 SW 6th Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: (503) 229-5913
1 (800) 452-4011
Fax: (503) 229-6977
www.deq.state.or.us
Updated: 06/06/05
David Allaway
05-LQ-045
All things considered, Xerox estimates that the new packaging program saves its manufacturing
facilities between $2 million and $5 million a year.
Credits: Indiana Institute on Recycling, Waste Reduction Case Studies
(http://web.indstate.edu/recycle/caselist.html)
Alternative formats (such as large type, Braille) of this document can be made available. Contact
DEQ’s Office of Communications & Outreach, Portland, at (503) 229-5317