New Speakers Added for SPC Spring Meeting
The registration list is growing for the eighth annual SPC Spring Meeting, to be held April 23-25, 2012 at the Fairmont Royal York in downtown Toronto. We've recently added new speakers, including Mike Biddle, Founder and President of MBA Polymers, John Coyne, Chairman of Stewardship Ontario, and Scott Poynton, Founder and Executive Director of The Forest Trust. The meeting will feature two days of plenary and breakout sessions, a welcome reception, small group dinners on key topics of interest for the packaging industry, and tours in the Toronto area. Please visit the event website
for additional event details and registration information, and stay tuned as we announce the complete agenda in the coming months. If you are a SPC member interested in hosting the meeting, please contact GreenBlue Director of External Relations Erin Malec for further details on hosting benefits.
Closing the Loop: Road Map for Effective Material Value Recovery
GreenBlue recently released Closing the Loop: Road Map for Effective Material Value Recovery, a new report that examines alternatives to material recovery in the United States. The report provides a detailed analysis of international packaging recovery systems, including successful collection, sorting, and reprocessing technologies and infrastructures, as well as waste management policies that support or limit recycling. Focusing on material recovery in several EU nations, as well as Australia, Ontario, Canada, and rural recycling systems, the report identifies a number of emerging best practices that could be adopted within the United States. This report is the culmination of GreenBlue’s three-year Closing the Loop
research project led by Project Manager Liz Shoch and funded by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, with additional support from the SPC. The Road Map for Effective Material Value Recovery is now available for free download.
Packaging Recovery Label System Now in Stores
The Packaging Recovery Label System, a voluntary label developed by the SPC that communicates to consumers how to recycle a package after use, is now officially in the marketplace. Seventh Generation’s limited edition 180 oz. detergent bottle and new 22 oz. pre-wash spray both now carry the label and are available at Target stores. Coming soon will be the label on REI’s Multi-Towels and Novara Bike Tubes, and an announcement of additional label pilot participants. Please visit how2recycle.info for more information on the labeling pilot.
Enter the SPC Video Challenge
SPC members have just over two months left to be part of the SPC Video Challenge. Member companies are invited to submit short videos highlighting their company's progress, innovation, and commitment to sustainable packaging. SPC staff will choose the top videos to premiere at the SPC Spring Meeting and following the meeting, we will display all the videos on the SPC website. The theme of the challenge is: How is your company making the SPC definition come to life? Members can refer to the Video Challenge page on our website, where you'll find information on video guidelines and submission information. Submit your video by March 15!
COMPASS User Survey
An annual COMPASS user survey will be released to all registered license holders during the week of January 16th. User feedback has shaped COMPASS development thus far and we appreciate your time and input. All active users are encouraged to a take a few minutes to fill in the survey to help us evolve the application.
Essentials of Sustainable Packaging: Hong Kong
The first Essentials of Sustainable Packaging course in Asia will take place in Hong Kong February 22-23 in collaboration with the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC). Registration for this course is via HKPC
. While in Hong Kong, Senior Manager Minal Mistry and Project Manager Adam Gendell will work with our local partner Sustainable Packaging Limited to conduct a train-the-trainer event to prepare local candidate trainers to teach the Essentials of Sustainable Packaging in Asia. Minal and Adam will also teach the course as a private session at the headquarters of a local big box retailer. In addition, in 2012, the Essentials of Sustainable Packaging will be presented in five main cities in China: Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Xiaoman, Shanghai, and Beijing. The schedule is yet to be determined.
Sustainability for Store Brands Packaging Seminar
In collaboration with Store Brands Decisions, the SPC will be hosting a three-hour educational seminar distilled from the SPC's Essentials of Sustainable Packaging course on February 29 immediately preceding the Store Brands Decisions Innovation & Marketing Summit (March 1-2) in Chicago, IL. The seminar will provide store brands retailers and suppliers with insights and best practices for the adoption of sustainable packaging. Registration information is available here.
In the Loop
Down the Rabbit Hole: An International Tour of Packaging Recycling Systems
The following is an excerpt from a blog post by Project Manager Liz Shoch on GreenBlue's blog, In the Loop. Read all recent posts.
Lately I have been feeling like a character in one of the children’s novels I have loved and reread numerous times over the years...After almost four years of research and writing about what happens to packaging when we consumers are done using it, I have traveled the world and encountered packaging recovery systems of all shapes, sizes, flavors, and textures. The result of all this travel is my report, Closing the Loop: Road Map for Effective Material Value Recovery, a detailed analysis of international packaging recovery systems with lessons of what we can learn for the anemic US system. Read More
Select In the Loop posts will now be featured in GreenBiz, so please be sure to follow us there as well.
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