Best Practices for Waste Management

Packaging accounts for 140M+ tons of waste each year. Here are actionable strategies my team has explored with clients to optimize packaging and save costs: First, we start with a Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) to identify the environmental hotspots and the most relevant actions to take. That analysis may lead us to many of the actions below. 1. Reduce Material Usage • Lightweight Materials: Use thinner and lighter materials that still provide adequate protection. • Minimal Packaging: Evaluate packaging design to eliminate unnecessary layers and excess space. 2. Use Sustainable Materials • Recycled Content: Opt for materials that are made from post-consumer or post-industrial recycled content. • Compostable/Biodegradable Options: Use materials like paper, cornstarch, or bioplastics that decompose naturally. • Renewable Resources: Incorporate plant-based materials like bamboo or hemp. 3. Design for Reuse and Recycling • Single-Material Packaging: Avoid mixing materials (e.g., plastic and metal) to make recycling easier. • Clear Labels: Mark packaging with recycling symbols and instructions to guide consumers. 4. Adopt Circular Economy Principles • Take-Back Programs: Offer incentives for customers to return used packaging for reuse or recycling. • Closed-Loop Systems: Work with suppliers to reclaim and reuse packaging. 5. Choose Responsible Suppliers • Source materials from suppliers that practice sustainable harvesting and manufacturing processes. • Ask suppliers to supply carbon and waste data associated with the packaging they provide. 6. Monitor and Adapt • Conduct Audits: Regularly analyze the environmental impact of your packaging. • Gather Feedback: Engage customers for suggestions on improving packaging. • Stay Updated: Keep abreast of advancements in sustainable packaging materials and technologies. https://lnkd.in/gTbkH_HM

Home Solutions Are Great, But What Can I Do About Food Waste at My Business? 🤔 At your business location, there are a number of ways to minimize waste going to landfills. And - they don’t need to be complicated! Here are some options you might consider, both on-site and off-site: 🌱On-Site Options 🌱 Composting: Implement a composting program to convert organic waste into valuable compost. This can be used to enrich the soil on your premises or be given away or sold to local gardeners and farmers. Anaerobic Digestion: Invest in an anaerobic digester to break down your organic materials. This process not only reduces waste but also produces biogas that can be used as a renewable energy source. Animal Feed: If your organic waste is suitable, you can process it to be used as animal feed. Collaborations with local farms or zoos can be beneficial. On-site Treatment Technologies: Explore smaller-scale technologies that can treat organic waste on-site, such as dehydration or composting machines designed for commercial facilities. 🌱Off-Site Options 🌱 Industrial Composting: Partner with a commercial composting facility that can handle large volumes of organic waste. This is particularly useful if you generate more waste than you can process on-site. Waste-to-Energy Programs: Engage with facilities that convert organic waste into energy. This helps reduce landfill use and can generate electricity or heat. Donation Programs: Establish connections with local food banks, shelters, or community centers where edible food can be donated. This reduces waste and supports your community. Recycling Programs: Participate in or develop programs aimed at recycling specific types of plant materials, such as wood or fiber recycling. 🌱What else to consider? 🌱 Assessment of Waste Streams: Regularly assess the types and quantities of waste your business produces to optimize the waste management strategy. Education and Training: Train your staff on proper sorting and reduction techniques to minimize contamination and ensure the success of recycling or composting efforts. This can be a fun game setup vs. boring rules! Collaboration and Partnerships: Work with other local businesses, government agencies, or environmental organizations to find synergistic waste management solutions. Implementing any of these practices can significantly impact reducing landfill waste and promote sustainability.  It is also a great way to engage with your employees and your community. There is even potential for additional revenue streams or cost savings for your business! #makecompostmainstream #sustainability #makeyourimpact

The Closed Loop Partners Center for the Circular Economy has released groundbreaking findings on the recovery potential of small-format packaging, such as beauty containers, medication bottles, and food packaging. These materials often fall through the cracks of recycling systems, leading to unnecessary landfill waste and lost economic value. Backed by industry leaders like Maybelline New York, Kraft Heinz, L'Oréal, Procter & Gamble, and Target, this research tested real-world solutions to capture and recycle these materials more effectively. The findings reveal that tens of thousands of tons of valuable plastics and metals can be recovered annually with strategic equipment upgrades and operational adjustments at materials recovery facilities (MRFs) and glass recycling plants. Closed Loop Partners has launched the Consortium to Recover Small-Format Packaging, inviting manufacturers, brand owners, and other industry stakeholders to collaborate on scalable solutions for small-format material recovery. Key Insights for Corporate Sustainability Leaders: ♻️ Lost Value Can Be Recaptured – High-demand materials like polypropylene (PP), PET, PE, and metals are being discarded, despite strong interest from recyclers for clean, sorted inputs. ♻️ Technology Already Exists to Solve the Problem – Equipment upgrades at recycling facilities can significantly improve material recovery rates, with one upgrade reducing plastic contamination in the glass stream by 67%. ♻️ Strategic Investments Are Needed – Small-format recovery requires financial backing from brands, extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs, and regulatory incentives to scale nationwide solutions. ♻️ Policy and Compliance Pressures Are Increasing – States with EPR laws and recyclability mandates (e.g., California SB 54) are setting stricter waste reduction targets, meaning companies must act now to ensure compliance. ♻️ Collaboration is Key – The Consortium to Recover Small-Format Packaging provides a platform for brands and recyclers to co-develop industry-wide solutions, drive investment, and support policy advocacy for infrastructure improvements. What Can Sustainability Teams Do Now? 🤝 Join the Consortium 🔗 Evaluate supply chain impacts for small-format packaging advancements ♻️ Integrate small-format recyclability into packaging design and procurement 💰 Invest in recovery infrastructure through direct funding or partnerships with MRFs and glass plants. 🏛️ Stay ahead of regulatory changes to align with evolving EPR laws 👩🎓 Educate consumers and stakeholders on proper disposal and recycling Next Steps: If your company wants to be at the forefront of sustainable packaging innovation, now is the time to act. Contact the Consortium to Recover Small-Format Packaging and explore opportunities to align your brand’s sustainability commitments with cutting-edge recovery solutions. #CircularEconomy #CorporateResponsibility #SmallFormatPackaging #CPG

I had the chance to join our Whole Foods Market team during a Nourishing Our Neighborhoods donation collection, and it was a great afternoon! One meaningful action had two important outcomes: helping neighbors in need while reducing food waste. Last year, Amazon donated the equivalent of 81 million meals globally, and it just makes sense to give away food that would otherwise be composted or discarded. That’s just one of the many ways we’re thoughtfully minimizing waste across all of our diverse businesses. We take a step-by-step approach to innovate solutions: trying to prevent waste before it happens, working to reduce it, looking for options for reuse, and finding ways to recycle or compost. We analyze data from our various waste streams to identify where we need to target our attention for the biggest impact, work with over 350 service providers worldwide, and invest in new materials and ways to optimize sortation. Some of the results: 1) We realized the mixed material backing from adhesive labels used throughout our operations was difficult to recycle, so we found a specialized recycler who transforms them into things like building insulation and coffee cups. Small change, big impact—recycling of this material jumped 16% in just one year! 2) Amazon MGM Studios launched the Reusable Asset Hub to house production items that can be reused on our sets, and nearly 15 productions have already benefited. 3) We sourced reusable durable carts in fulfillment centers, replacing the use of 85 million wood pallets last year. 4) Our investment in Glacier is allowing us to explore the use of #AI robotic sortation technology, to reduce contamination in waste streams and optimize #recycling processes. We’re committed to driving waste down because, as the food collection showed, it’s good for our business, people and the planet. Learn more here about how we’re minimizing waste: ♻️ https://lnkd.in/gyn9kdww Justine Mahler Priscilla Osei Okyere, PE, CHMM Caitlin Leibert Spencer Taylor, JD Jason Buechel Rebecca Hu-Thrams #foodwaste #wastediversion #circularity #circulareconomy