Dramatically Reducing the Environmental Impact of Packaging

Learn how we helped a customer to dramatically cut their use of plastic right across their packaging processes, whilst also improving safety.

The problem

The customer was concerned about the negative customer feedback, and the PR risk, resulting from an excessive use of plastic in a number of their packing processes.
They were keen to find sustainable solutions to a number of challenges, including:

• Old, inefficient pallet wrapping machines that were using excessive amounts of plastic film
• Standard stretch wrap being used in applications where pallets needed to be wrapped by hand – not only consuming large quantities of film but causing a safety risk to operatives who had to bend over and walk backwards to apply the film
• Over 1,035,000 meters of environmentally damaging plastic packing tape being used each year
• Boxes of paper being wrapped in heat shrunk plastic
• Extensive use of plastic bubble-lined envelopes and plastic documents wallets

Project outcomes

• A 12.4% plastic film reduction per machine-wrapped pallet, saving the customer 2000kg to date
• Improved pallet load stability
• A 30% plastic film reduction per hand wrapped pallet, cutting annual hand film use by 2490kg
• Improved health and safety for operatives wrapping pallets by hand
• Eliminated the use of 1,035,000 metres (that’s 4726g!) of plastic tape each year
• Replaced plastic shrink wrap with an all-paper solution, cutting plastic use by 10 tonnes each year
• Removed the environmental impact of 120,000 plastic wallets and 36,000 bubble lined every year. That’s an annual plastic reduction of 2278 kg per year