Paint & Coatings Industry - December 2008 - (Page 20)

Closed-Loop Recycling — a Sustainable Packaging Solution for the Coatings Industry FIGURE 3 | Closed-loop recycling. Paint Container Molding Facility Scra p Manufacturer/ Fill Line s rn tu Re Resin Compounding Retailer Since Wal-Mart announced its commitment to reduce its packaging waste 5% by 2013, the Packaging Scorecard has become an immediate challenge and goal for consumer packaged goods (CPG) suppliers. Through the scorecard, vendors have learned that environmental savings create economic ones as well. While the majority of the coatings industry is not directly involved in Wal-Mart’s sustainable scorecard initiative, the impact is resonating with retailers across the globe. As the green trend becomes more prominent, all manufacturers of consumer goods will be responsible and accountable to their customers and their retailers for the affects of their packaging choices. Reprocessor Collection Center Post -Ind ustr ial At over 98%, today’s automotive batteries have the highest recycling rate of any commodity and the process remains a basic closed-loop system. The concept today is a common practice, with an extremely high success rate in spite of the idea being totally revolutionary less than 30 years ago. Closed-loop recycling is making its way into other sectors such as e-waste, particularly ink cartridges. Consumers are given a direct opportunity from the brand owner to send the cartridges back for recycling. The result is an increase in green visibility with both their consumers and retailers while a steady incoming source of quality material has allowed the manufacturer to use recycled content, thus reducing their carbon footprint, and reducing their material costs. Similar to the paint containers, ink cartridges and car batteries are not curbside-friendly recyclables. In spite of that, the manufacturers and brand owners proactively educated and partnered with their customers to reclaim, recycle and reuse their valuable packaging materials. As a result, the automotive battery and ink cartridge manufacturers have controlled their raw material quality and costs while offering their consumers a green alternative. How Packaging Scorecards Will Affect the Coatings Industry Retailers are now becoming more interested with the dynamics of packaging waste and looking at opportunities for savings. It is no secret that the millions of barrels of oil, trees, fuel and other natural resources all have an associated fiscal value. While the message is to reduce waste and footprints, the spreadsheets are proving the unquestionable reduction in packaging costs. 20 DECEMBER 2008 | W W W . P C I M A G . C O M ial ustr -Ind Post p Scra Consumer Closed-Loop Recycling Environmental Rewards and Opportunities The environmental benefits of recycling are widely attributed to the conservation of natural resources. However, the EPA attributes recycling to not only protecting but strengthening the environment through climate change, energy savings and GHG/CO2 reduction, air emissions and water impacts. When compared to production of virgin material, plastics’ recycling offers a net reduction in GHG emissions, which allows for tremendous credit in life cycle analysis and assessments of environmental footprint and stewardship. Economic Rewards and Opportunities The green savings that closed-loop recycling provides are not only environmental but also economic. The sum of reducing packaging costs and disposal costs, plus the residual value of recycled containers, amounts to a significant increase in profitability for the coatings industry. Companies all over the globe realize that implementing methods to reduce their environmental impact accounts for significant positive impact to their bottom line. In fact, Wall Street has validated that sustainable management systems are of great value and great investment to our economy. The Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) were launched in 1999 to track the financial performance of the leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide and provide asset managers with benchmarks to manage sustainability portfolios.6 The DJSI is comprised of more than 300 companies that represent the top 10 percent of the largest 2500 companies from the Dow Jones World Index with the greatest social and environmental commitments. The DJSI, reviewed annually, consistently outperforms the Dow Jones World Index as well as others. The result is that the investment community validates http://WWW.PCIMAG.COM

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Paint &�Coatings Industry - December 2008 Contents Viewpoint Industry News Company News Closed-Loop Recycling: A Sustainable Packaging Solution for the Coatings Industry Calculating VOCs: Not All Low VOCs are Created Equal Products Supplier Showcase Buyers’ Guide Index Product Listings Supplier Listings Distributor Listings Classifieds Advertiser Index

Paint & Coatings Industry - December 2008

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