Sustainable Solutions for SCM

packaging accelerated in 2009 when the world’s largest beverage company devoted time and resources to create and commercialise the PlantBottle. The Coca-Cola Co.’s first-generation PlantBottle replaced one of the two base components of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with renewable materials made from sugar cane by-products. PET is made of 30%mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) and 70% purified terephthalic acid (PTA). The PlantBottle replaces petroleum-based MEG with a plant-based alternative, which does not change the recyclability of the PET. To help fund continued commercialisation of the PlantBottle technology and make it more economically viable for all, Coke has collaborated with a number of suppliers – as well as consumer packaged goods (CPG) partners, including for example Heinz. While the Coca-Cola PlantBottle introduction was one of the most influential developments for the bioplastics industry in recent years, it was not the only one. The Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance is another partnership developed to boost bioplastics development, an area of sustainable packaging that is undergoing a quiet revolution. But bioplastics are only one alternate material being considered. Dell has been actively looking for and using sustainable alternatives for packaging materials, such as bamboo, wheat straw and mushroom-based packaging. In May 2014, the computer and accessories dynamo touted its new packaging made from air. [4] 5.2.7 Epic failure: the garbage patches While the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is a term often used by the media, it does not paint an accurate picture of the marine debris problem in the North Pacific Ocean (see Figure 5.4). Marine debris concentrates in various regions of the North Pacific, not just in one area. The exact size, content, and location of the “garbage patches” are difficult to accurately predict. The name “Pacific Garbage Patch” has led many to believe that this area is a large and continuous patch of easily visible marine debris items such as bottles and other litter—akin to a literal island of trash that should be visible with satellite or aerial photographs. This is not the case. While higher concentrations of litter items can be found in this area, much of the debris is actually small pieces of floating plastic that are not immediately evident to the naked eye. [6] Ocean debris is continuously mixed by wind and wave action and widely dispersed both over huge surface areas and throughout the top portion of the water column. It is possible to sail through “garbage patch” areas in the Pacific and see very little or no debris on the water’s surface. It is also difficult to estimate the size of these “patches” because the borders and content constantly change with ocean currents and winds. Regardless of the exact size, mass, and location of the “garbage patch,” manmade debris does not belong in our oceans and waterways and must be addressed. Debris found in any region of the ocean can easily be ingested by marine species causing choking, starvation, and other impairments.

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