| Summary |
- Research conclusions: “From an environmental and economic perspective, evidence suggests that the greatest and most immediate opportunities lie in establishing a circular economy for plastic corner boards.”
- Research provider reports that discussions with industry identified that, compared to plastic corner boards, on average, cardboard corner boards are likely to increase the current cost of a 40lb case of bananas by 12 cents.
- Research notes a lowest CO2 emission scenario would be plastic corner boards made with 100% recycled content, and recycling rate of 90%. There are initiatives (see below) to collect and reprocess related banana plastics (sheaths, string) as feedstock for corner boards.
- Research notes growing demand for polyethylene that can be recycled into dark plastics, such as automobile components. The key challenge, experts expressed, is that Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) are not set up to handle unusually shaped items like corner boards. This could be addressed by sending corner boards directly to recycling facilities. The fact that corner boards often contain 25% polypropylene, say packaging material experts, does not inhibit their recycling.
- The majority of industry respondents, and both packaging material experts, voiced a number of concerns regarding a widespread transition from plastic to cardboard corner boards.
|
