Plastics News Daily Report - May 10, 2018 - 88

88 ‹ PLASTICS NEWS DAILY REPORT ‹ May 10, 2018

Dell wants 'open source' solution to ocean debris
By Jim Johnson
Plastics News Staff
Finding breakthroughs and solutions to combat the world's ocean
plastics problem is not something
anyone should consider proprietary, a leading business voice in
the issue maintains.
Dell Technologies Inc., the computer and electronics company,
has earned notice for its commitment to use recycled ocean-bound
plastics in its new products.
And Oliver Campbell is helping
lead that push as the company's
worldwide director of procurement
and packaging.
Dell already has used some
16,000 pounds of plastic collected
from the environment that was in
danger of entering the oceans. The
company wants to use 10 times
that much in the years ahead.
Dell's first major use of such material is packaging trays for its XPS
13 notebook computer. Campbell
hopes for a day when ocean plastics are used in many more of the
company's products.
The hot button issue of plastic
ocean pollution has captured the
attention of environmentalists,
businesses and communities alike.
Alarming statistics warning about
the amount of plastic that finds its
way into the ocean every day - 8
million tons per year by one respected estimate - gives people

Dell Technologies Inc.'s first major use of its collection of recycled
plastic is the XPS 13 notebook computer. Dell Technologies Inc. photo

Dell already has used some 16,000 pounds
of plastic collected from the environment
that was in danger of entering the oceans.
The company wants to use 10 times that
much in the years ahead.
a relatable yardstick by which to
conceptualize the issue.
It's with this backdrop that
Campbell and the folks at Dell believe that finding a solution should
include an "open source" approach
that includes input and information
sharing among partners.
It's kind of like those software development efforts that allow many

people to contribute and then
share in the benefits.
To that end, the company is part
of a consortium called NextWave
that's aimed at the issue. Campbell
said there is plenty of room for other companies to join and contribute. Other founding companies in
NextWave include General Motors,
furniture maker Herman Miller and

flooring maker Interface Inc.
Just as the open source approach has worked in the technology field, Campbell believes a similar approach is appropriate for the
ocean plastics issue.
"We really looked back," he said.
"Could we apply the same type of
structure to sustainability? And
that's why what we're doing for
ocean plastics is very open source.
"It goes back to the notion of we
want to be transparent around our
supply chain," he said.
Sharing information about the
company's use of ocean plastics,
along with information about the
supply chain, will help other companies consider adopting a similar
strategy, he said.
But there is an even more fundamental rationale at Dell that Campbell said needs to be explained.
"Why is a computer company
concerned about ocean plastics?
What does one have to do with the
other?" he said during the Re|focus
Sustainability and Recycling Summit taking place at NPE2018.
"Actually, quite a bit," he said.
With a world population of some
7.5 billion that's only growing, there
will be more and more people looking to aspire to the same dreams
and goals as everyone else.
"How do you use technology?
How do you have a lifestyle similar
to what we have?" he said. "And a
lot of it involves using computers

and technology. At Dell, we see it
very much in our business interests to help address these types
of problems. We believe it enables
the use of technology where it's
currently unavailable. Just imagine the tremendous type of human
potential that is then unleashed,"
Campbell said.
The problem is that 20 percent of
the world's population - and potential Dell customers - rely solely
on protein from oceans. And those
oceans are being polluted.
Viewing the situation through
that lens means Dell has a vested
interest in the people and the planet for its future business success.
Dell's original project to capture
ocean plastics involved collection
efforts in Haiti, but the company
plans to move future collection
to Indonesia as the economics of
collecting material there are much
more favorable.
That's important because Dell
wants to prove these kinds of efforts are economically feasible and
not just a feel-good effort that will
collapse under financial pressure.
Research by the company shows
that plastic collection in Indonesia
that leads to reuse in Dell products
can be cost-competitive to virgin
resin.
"The ability to have a cost benefit was huge for us," Campbell said.
"We're taking an important first
step to heathier oceans."

MARKETING SUMMIT
OCTOBER 22, 2018 * SWISSOTEL, CHICAGO, IL

http://www.plasticsnews.com/marketingsummit

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Plastics News Daily Report - May 10, 2018