沃爾瑪帶頭可持續包裝

沃爾瑪帶頭可持續包裝
沃爾瑪的包裝記分卡可能已發出了顫抖下刺時，一些供應商去年推出。不過，馬特奇石，沃爾瑪的副總裁包和產品創新，一直驚訝於熱情的零售商的包裝合作夥伴。
日期：2007年9月21日
 打印鏈接文章電郵給我們
近幾年，越來越多地大聲呼籲更多的企業成為參與解決環境問題。在許多產業裡，有許多公司都在努力成為綠色，只是因為協會等的積極舉措將創造自己的品牌。這並不是說他們採取的步驟是沒有價值，但他們黯然失色相比，公司的影響嚴重，並承諾採取可持續性的方法。
世界一直需要的商業先鋒帶頭在迎接新的挑戰，無論是技術，社會或戰略。

開發環保業務策略就是這樣一個問題，是世界上最大的零售商沃爾瑪，是開拓進取的綜合辦法可持續發展，這可能拖累其他公司在其身後。
零售業的龍頭
沃爾瑪的做法可持續性有很多股，但它的電流驅動，以改善環保認證包裝可以作為一個重要的例子給其他零售商。
“作為兩個沃爾瑪的目標是創造零浪費和出售產品，維持我們的資源和環境，注重可持續包裝自然起著重要的作用，實現這些目標，說：”馬特奇石，vicepresident，包裝和產品創新為山姆會員店和沃爾瑪百貨有限公司“作為一個行業領導者，沃爾瑪希望在包裝推動創新。”
這家零售商的努力，大約超過了品牌定位在市場和採取的道德制高點。沃爾瑪，其實，針對切實的商業利益，熱衷於鼓勵其他零售商效仿。
“我們意識到我們正處在一個獨特的地位，推動積極的改變這一地區的可持續包裝通過與我們的供應商和製造商做出更好的決策，是良好的業務，我們的客戶和環境，”觀察奇石。 “這就是為什麼我們致力於探索創新和環保包裝，不僅是良好的環境，而且對我們的業務以及。
“我們希望我們的努力將有助於展示給其他公司，作為一個有利可圖的，高效的企業去手牽手和當一個好管家的環境。”
是歷史綠色
沃爾瑪目前的工作是建立在可持續發展十年環境問題的興趣。在此期間，它與外部組織密切合作，不僅要了解更廣泛的可持續發展原則，也是切實可行的方法來實現環保的營商策略。
“沃爾瑪的目標是成為一個零廢物，碳中性的公司。” 多年來，該公司已與喜歡環保協會，美國國家資源保護委員會，國際自然保護組織，洛磯山回收，布朗大學，有機交換和接口，以提高可持續發展的一個核心要素制定其經營戰略。
目前，沃爾瑪公司首席執行官李斯科特主機季度可持續價值網絡會議，對此聯營公司，供應商，非政府組織和學者應邀討論全球變暖和學習什麼不同群體在公司內部正在做解決這一問題。會議還提供一個論壇，探討如何保護環境。事實上，戈爾參加這些活動之一2006年7月，並檢查了他的電影，難以忽視的真相，好評如潮。
現在，公司擁有固定的目光緊緊的包裝上側的業務，創造了可持續包裝的價值網絡，它包括一組買家，供應商，政府機構，非政府組織和學者。他們一起將研究影響包裝和浪費沃爾瑪的供應鏈，庫存和客戶。主要目標是網絡的包裝，使沃爾瑪包裝，中性，到2025年，這意味著包裝的回收或再循環將相等數量的包裝使用。
再生含量
有，當然，里程碑的路上這個長遠目標。到2013年，例如，沃爾瑪的目標是達到 5％，減少整體包裝在其供應鏈。此外，它設定了一個目標，所有的運輸包裝將被重用或循環再造，到2011年，通過改善托盤和可重複使用的塑料容器（RPC）的。
它的可持續包裝的基本程序是一家致力於使用再生材料的最高含量不影響質量。這包括消費後回收（PCR）技術材料，而適當的。組件將被選擇的基礎上可循環使用後，同一個目標增加市循環率35％，到2011年。
“沃爾瑪目前的持續努力是建立在十多年的環境問題的興趣。” 此外，引進了包裝記分卡作為標準對供應商評估其表現對於包裝將是一個關鍵的工具，在建設綠色戰略。
基準可持續發展
記分卡是2006年9月推出，並正式啟動 2007年2月作為一種工具來幫助供應商評估其性能的包裝在九個具體參數。
我們的目標是提供一種環境，可持續發展成為一個明確的，可衡量的因素，沃爾瑪選擇供應商。
供應商可以在兩條戰線上展開競爭 - 成本和可持續性 - 但記分卡是不是唯一目的是提高競爭力。它也作為加強合作的基礎，在供應商，它希望將加快沃爾瑪的進展其定義的目標，為可持續包裝的使用。
“我們的包裝記分卡，使我們的供應商來衡量其產品的可持續發展，收到一個檔次根據他們的結果，並了解如何改善他們的包裝，說：”奇石。 “企業可以分享最佳做法和取長補短，以實現其減少廢物的目標。”
在這樣一個協作環境沃爾瑪可以搞一個經常檢討其工作，提高可持續發展和不斷重新評估其計分卡的有效性。它得到第一手的反饋供應商和製造商，這有助於確定如何以及他們正在接受有關的信息的數量和回收的包裝供應鏈中的程度，以及成自己的商業行為這些消息進行過濾。
記分卡的矩陣參數經過精心制定的，讓更多的重視的問題，如體積的二氧化碳所產生的生產項目的包裝或比例的產品大小包裝，同時也考慮到金額再生材料和它的回收價值。
供應商反應
到目前為止，記分卡受到好評。
“記分卡允許供應商來衡量他們的表現在成本和可持續性。” “結果從包裝記分卡的第一個月的運行表明積極採用計分卡和濃厚的興趣，從產品供應商，使他們的包裝更可持續，說：”奇石。
“在計分卡是提供給所有供應商在2007年2月1日，已有超過 2270的供應商登錄到該網站，至少117產品被輸入到系統中的第一個月。
“沃爾瑪預計這些數字大幅增加，未來一年，供應商獲得更好的了解自己的記分卡和能力。”
供應商自己的評論認為，加強記分卡是一個適當的和流行的工具。 “我們已經使用了記分卡，以評估兩種類型的包裝，”解釋喬希漢內，從業務發展經理魯伊斯食品，供應沃爾瑪與 El墨西哥蒙特雷品牌的冷凍食品。 “記分卡是很容易使用，並給了我們一個數字的轉換成我們如何做，以及我們如何能做得更好。我們公司期待著以減少浪費，節省金錢。”
該供應商的積極回應社會更令人稱奇的是一些阻力可能已經預言，如果僅僅是對供應商的關注，對改善環境的費用憑證的包裝。
“現在我們看到了很多的支持，從我們的供應商走向更可持續的包裝，說：”奇石。 “今年3月，當我們看著第一對夫婦的月使用的包裝記分卡，反饋是令人鼓舞的。”
業務優勢
有超過成本的關注，現在看來，取而代之的是感覺有實實在在的利益，更多的是來自專注集中在包裝上的可持續性，甚至提高了利潤率。包裝記分卡，例如，幫助供應商看到第一手如何可持續發展的商業實踐可以提高他們的利潤。
“沃爾瑪與供應商和政府機構將可持續發展的一個中心部分業務。” “'我們意識到我們正處在一個獨特的地位，推動積極的改變這一地區可持續發展的工作與我們的供應商，”各國奇石。 “這對我們很重要，我們的廠商和供應商整合到他們的業務持續性計劃及產品。我們希望這種改變沃爾瑪及其供應商已在我們的供應鏈將展現給別人，可持續性是良好的商業與環境“。
這是奇石的堅定信念，一個轉向更可持續的包裝可以為他的公司是有利的，其供應商和客戶。
他希望的是，記分卡將使沃爾瑪做出更好的購買決策，並顯示該業務很感興趣，更多的供應商不僅僅是低價格的產品。
虛擬展會
為了表明它願意與供應商合作，尋找解決問題的包裝，沃爾瑪還提供了一個虛擬展會，使產品供應商，尋找更好的包裝解決方案，通過直接與包裝供應商。這使他們有機會探討可能的包裝改進和可持續的商業慣例。
展望未來的供應商團體，奇石也熱衷於強調，可持續發展直接相關的，他的公司的客戶：“我們認識到，許多客戶希望的產品是更好的環境，我們注重滿足這種需求，給他們的選擇，他們想要的。“
對於任何可能仍然懷疑誰該公司致力於可持續發展，沃爾瑪可以指向一個數字已經取得的成功。它已經與聯合利華，大大降低了包裝上的'所有'洗滌劑。
2006年2月，聯合利華推出'所有小型和強大一時的'，這是三次作為集中，包含足夠的洗滌劑相同的32負載為 100安士瓶。聯合利華發現它保存五點零零零億加侖水，26萬加侖的柴油，150萬磅的塑料樹脂，750萬平方英尺的紙板和減少外的庫存量減少了50％。
運輸及物流
2006年5月，沃爾瑪安裝輔助動力裝置（APU的） - 小型，高效的柴油發動機 - 在其整個拖拉機車隊。司機可關掉汽車引擎的輔助動力裝置，依靠溫暖或涼爽的座艙和通信系統運行的同時突破。
“有實實在在的利益，更多的是來自專注集中在包裝上的可持續性。” 該公司認為，在一年中這種變化應該減少約 10萬公噸的二氧化碳排放量，降低消耗的柴油燃料千點〇〇萬加侖和收益金融節省高達 $ 22.5。
此外，沃爾瑪推出了其全國性的塑料夾層捆包計劃，該計劃旨在保持噸的塑料垃圾填埋場和革新出塑料回收。
大型垃圾壓實機在其商店收集收縮包裝，塑料包裝袋，服裝袋及其它鬆散層塑料捆在用紙板，然後將其壓制成一個'三明治'9英寸到18英寸的可回收塑料在中間。這些包，然後再進入其他的產品，從木材到非常緻密超薄塑料購物袋。 “這些三明治包已經幫助我們轉移超過 44萬磅的塑料到達堆填區”的言論奇石。
這些成功的承諾多的包裝上目前的努力，並鼓勵其他零售商肯定遵循沃爾瑪的例子。

2010 Sustainability in Packaging study: A deeper shade of green

The 2010 Sustainability in Packaging study shows that the packaging sector has an increasing knowledge of environmental issues and is placing a greater emphasis on material choices and design for sustainability.

John Kalkowski, Editorial Director -- Packaging Digest, 10/27/2010 5:19:45 PM

Sustainability has taken root as a major driver of change and innovation in the packaging sector, according to results of the 2010 “Sustainability in Packaging” survey. Nearly two-thirds of respondents say sustainable design has become an important factor in packaging decisions.

The fourth annual study, which was conducted in October by Packaging Digest and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, drew 630 responses from the gamut of packagers, material and machinery suppliers, consumer packaged goods companies (CPGs) and retailers. The benchmarking surveys conducted over the course of four years show the evolution of sustainability in packaging from a point where packagers were asking, “What is sustainability?” to “How do we effectively measure our success?”

One of the primary changes has been in the growing awareness of the issues involved with sustainability in packaging. Today, 98 percent of the 2010 survey respondents say they are familiar with sustainability issues, versus 53 percent in the first survey performed in 2007. Those who said they were “not at all familiar” shrank from 10 percent of the audience to 2 percent during that same period.

Respondents identify sustainability leaders
This year, survey respondents once again gave Walmart the most votes for leadership in sustainability among retailers, while Procter & Gamble garnered the most tallies among CPGs (see table below). While an increasing number of packaging materials and equipment suppliers have begun offering more environmentally friendly products, their recognition factor is lower compared to the consumer-facing marketers of the retailing and CPG companies. Eighty-seven respondents wrote in that they felt no single supplier company demonstrated leadership in sustainability.

The study also reveals that nearly two-thirds of the respondents feel that their companies are placing increased importance on sustainability in their packaging, with 61 percent saying their customers also are placing more importance on sustainability improvements.

While recognizing the growing influence of sustainability in their companies’ packaging strategies, 81 percent of survey participants say too many companies are “greenwashing” their packaging by making false or unproven claims on its environmental benefits.

One respondent points out that “Greenwashing has become so saturated that the sincerity of companies’ actual efforts are lost; consumers are now suffering from ‘green exhaustion.’ It’s very unfortunate that our (sustainability) efforts get lost in the noise of others claiming to be environmentally-friendly.”

Another survey participant considers the potential marketing benefits: “We just have to keep in mind that there are many companies that are greenwashing, and that will just enforce our strengths as a sustainable company. Creating a plan to educate our employees and our consumers on the many sustainable efforts we make as a company will prove our success. It will also be a positive chain reaction that will get everyone thinking about people, planet and profit.”

Three quarters of those surveyed say industry needs a set of defined sustainability metrics that can be used globally, and 60 percent say vendor scorecards or ratings are needed to compare packaging suppliers’ sustainability practices.

Packagers slow to establish policies
Those respondents whose companies have sustainable packaging policies has risen slowly from 32 percent in 2007 to 45 percent this year. Companies increasingly are formalizing their sustainability policies, with a quarter of respondents saying the policies have been codified, and 35 percent say their companies are making those strategies public.

The most popular guidelines included in the sustainable packaging policies include: energy consumption (62 percent), recycled content specifications (54 percent), design guidelines (49 percent), and bans or limits on specific materials usage (43 percent).

Just over eight out of 10 respondents say it is the “customer” who is driving them to implement practices that produce packaging that is more environmentally friendly, and these customers are unwilling to pay more for sustainable packaging. Of course, who that customer is depends on the respondent’s place in the supply chain. Many survey participants claim it’s retailers and CPGs that are driving the trend toward sustainable practices—not the consumer. Over half say the percentage of customers who actually require more sustainable packaging is less than 25 percent of their customer base.

As one survey participant says: “I still think that the ‘greenness’ of packaging is about the fourth most-important thing on people’s list of packaging needs following cost, durability and appearance.”

Brands, reputation at risk
Nonetheless, exactly two-thirds of survey participants agree that a failure to improve their sustainability practices would represent a risk to a company’s reputation. As one respondent wrote: “Sustainability is like a quality program: You don’t absolutely need it to run a business, but you’d better if you plan to be around in a year or two.”

More than nine in 10 respondents say that being more efficent and cost savings are important to any sustainability effort.

Nearly two-thirds say that sustainability efforts have been difficult to advance during the current economic downturn. Several factors impact their efforts to produce more sustainable packging, with 42 percent citing pricing pressure and 37 percent pointing to competitive pressure. Respondents say the biggest challenges to making their packaging processes more sustainable include: raw materials costs (49 percent), lack of alternative materials (38 percent), ability to produce comparable-quality packaging (35 percent) and compatibility with existing systems (24 percent).

Due to the major role that materials play in sustainability, recycled content is the most-cited criterium used to evaluate sustainability.  Other recycling-related material factors include design for recycling or composting (36 percent), toxic or harmful chemicals (35 percent) and probability a material will be recycled (29 percent). The second most-cited criterium overall was energy consumption (42 percent). Measurement tools, such as life cycle analysis, carbon footprints and greenhouse gas emissions, also were frequently mentioned.

Football for the third world

  

  

 

From Unplug Design. “The meeting between human and design, with happiness.  To the children in The Third World; Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Congo and etc, who can’t enjoy football freely because of poverty, war and natural disaster, having a football means a lot and can be a dream and hope to escape from their poor life. However, the children are so poor that they can not buy a football. So, they play football with the ball made of plastic bag or a coconut palm leaves. Therefore, giving them thier own footballs which can give them hope, is our aim of this project. Via Let’s find some design

Wal-Mart Takes the Lead on Sustainable Packaging

Wal-Mart's packaging scorecard may have sent a shiver down the spines of some suppliers when it launched last year. However, Matt Kistler, Wal-Mart's VP for package and product innovations, has been amazed at the enthusiasm of the retailer's packaging partners.

Date: 21 Sep 2007

Email Article

 

Print

 

Link To Us

Recent years have seen increasingly louder calls for business to become more involved in addressing environmental issues. In many industries there are companies that have made efforts to become greener simply because of the positive associations such moves will create for their brands. This is not to say the steps they have taken are not valuable, but they pale into insignificance compared to the impact of companies that take a serious and committed approach to sustainability. The world of business has always needed pioneers to take the lead in meeting new challenges, be they technological, social or strategic. The development of environmentally friendly business strategies is just such an issue, the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, is forging ahead with an integrated approach to sustainability, which may drag other companies in its wake. LEADING THE RETAIL SECTOR Wal-Mart's approach to sustainability has many strands, but its current drive to improve the environmental credentials in packaging could serve as an important example to other retailers. "As two of Wal-Mart's goals are to create zero waste and to sell products that sustain our resources and environment, a focus on sustainable packaging naturally plays a major role in achieving these goals," says Matt Kistler, vicepresident, package and product innovations for Sam's Club and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. "As an industry leader, Wal-Mart wants to drive innovation in packaging." The retailer's efforts are about more than positioning the brand in the marketplace and taking the moral high ground. Wal-Mart is, in fact, targeting tangible business benefits and is keen to encourage other retailers to follow suit. "We realise we're in a unique position to drive positive change in the area of sustainable packaging by working with our suppliers and manufacturers to make better decisions that are good for business, our customers and the environment," observes Kistler. "And that is why we're committed to exploring innovative and environmentally-friendly packaging that is not only good for the environment, but for our business as well. "We hope our efforts will help demonstrate to other companies that being a profitable and efficient business goes hand-in-hand with being a good steward to the environment." A HISTORY IN GREEN Wal-Mart's current sustainability efforts are built on a decade of interest in environmental issues. During that time it has worked closely with external organisations to understand not only the broader principles of sustainability, but also the practical approach to implementing greener business strategies. "Wal-Mart aims to be a zero-waste, carbon-neutral company." Over the years the company has worked with the likes of Environmental Defense, the National Resource Defense Council, Conservation International, Rocky Mountain Recycling, Brown University, Organic Exchange and Interface Raise with a view to making sustainability a core element of its business strategy. Currently, Wal-Mart's CEO Lee Scott hosts quarterly sustainable value network meetings, to which associates, suppliers, NGOs and academics are invited to discuss global warming and to learn what different groups within the company are doing to address it. The meetings also provide a forum in which to explore ways to protect the environment. In fact, Al Gore attended one of these events in July 2006, and screened his movie, An Inconvenient Truth, to rave reviews. Now, the company has fixed its sights firmly on the packaging side of its business, creating the sustainable packaging value network, which comprises a group of buyers, suppliers, government bodies, NGOs and academics. Together they will study the effects of packaging and waste on Wal-Mart's supply chain, stores and customers. The primary goal of the packaging network is to make Wal-Mart packaging-neutral by 2025, which means packaging recovered or recycled will be equal to the amount of packaging used. RECYCLED CONTENT There are, of course, milestones on the way to this long-term target. By 2013, for example, Wal-Mart aims to achieve a 5% reduction of overall packaging in its supply chain. Additionally, it has set a goal that all transport packaging will be reused or recycled by 2011, through improved pallets and reusable plastic containers (RPCs). Fundamental to its sustainable packaging programme is a commitment to using materials of the highest recycled content without compromising quality. This includes post-consumer recycled (PCR) material where appropriate. Components will be chosen based on recyclability post-use, with a goal of increasing the municipal recycling rate to 35% by 2011. "Wal-Mart's current sustainability efforts are built on a decade of interest in environmental issues." Furthermore, the introduction of a packaging scorecard as a yardstick for suppliers to assess their performance in regard to packaging will be a key tool in building a greener strategy. BENCHMARKING SUSTAINABILITY The scorecard was introduced in September 2006 and officially launched in February 2007 as a tool to help suppliers evaluate the performance of their packaging against nine specific parameters. The goal is to provide an environment where sustainability becomes a clear, measurable factor in Wal-Mart's choice of suppliers. Suppliers can now compete on two fronts – cost and sustainability – but the scorecard is not intended solely to increase competition. It also acts as the basis for greater collaboration among suppliers, which it is hoped will accelerate Wal-Mart's progress towards its defined targets for the use of sustainable packaging. "Our packaging scorecard will enable our suppliers to measure the sustainability of their products, receive a grade based on their results, and learn about ways to improve their packaging," says Kistler. "Companies can share best practices and learn from each other to achieve their waste-reduction goals." In such a collaborative environment Wal-Mart can engage in a constant review of its efforts to enhance sustainability and continuously re-evaluate the effectiveness of its scorecard. It gets first-hand feedback from suppliers and manufacturers, which helps it determine how well they are receiving the messages about recycling and the volume of packaging in the supply chain, and how far down into their business practices these messages have filtered. The scorecard's matrix of parameters has been carefully formulated, giving more weight to issues such as the volume of CO2 generated in the production of an item of packaging or the ratio of product size to packaging, while also taking into account the amount of recycled material used and its recovery value. SUPPLIER REACTION So far, the scorecard has been well received. "The scorecard allows suppliers to measure their performance on cost and sustainability." "The results from the packaging scorecard's first month of operation show active use of the scorecard and strong interest from product suppliers in making their packaging more sustainable," says Kistler. "After the scorecard was made available to all suppliers on 1 February 2007, more than 2,270 suppliers logged on to the site and at least 117 products were entered into the system in the first month. "Wal-Mart expects these numbers to dramatically increase in the coming year as suppliers gain a better understanding of the scorecard and their own capabilities." Comments from suppliers themselves reinforce the belief that the scorecard is an appropriate and popular tool. "We have already used the scorecard to evaluate two types of packaging," explains Josh Hannay, business development manager from Ruiz Food Products, which supplies Wal-Mart with the El Monterey brand of frozen Mexican food products. "The scorecard was easy to use and gave us a single number that translates into how we're doing and how we can do better. Our company is looking forward to reducing waste while saving money." The positive response from the supplier community is all the more impressive given that some resistance might have been predicted, if only because of suppliers' concerns over the cost of improving the environmental credentials of their packaging. "Right now we are seeing a lot of support from our suppliers for moving toward more sustainable packaging," says Kistler. "In March when we looked at the first couple of months of use of the packaging scorecard, the feedback was encouraging." BUSINESS BENEFITS The concerns over cost have, it seems, been replaced by the sense that there are tangible benefits to be derived from focusing more intently on packaging sustainability, perhaps even improved profitability. The packaging scorecard, for instance, helps suppliers see first-hand how sustainable business practices can boost their profits. "Wal-Mart is working with suppliers and government bodies to make sustainability a central part of business." "'We realise we're in a unique position to drive positive change in the area of sustainability by working with our suppliers," states Kistler. "It is important to us that our vendors and suppliers integrate sustainability into their business plans and products. We hope that the changes Wal-Mart and its suppliers have made throughout our supply chains will demonstrate to others that sustainability is good for business and the environment." It is Kistler's firm belief that a shift to more sustainable packaging can be beneficial for his company, its suppliers and its customers. His hope is that the scorecard will enable Wal-Mart to make better buying decisions and show that the business is interested in more from its suppliers than merely low-cost products. VIRTUAL TRADE SHOW To show its willingness to work with suppliers in finding solutions to packaging issues, Wal-Mart has also provided a virtual trade show, which allows product suppliers to look for better packaging solutions by working directly with packaging providers. This gives them the opportunity to explore potential packaging improvements and sustainable business practices. Looking beyond the supplier community, Kistler is also keen to stress that sustainability has direct relevance to his company's customers: "We recognise that many customers desire products that are better for the environment and we are focused on meeting that demand by giving them the choices they want." For any who might still doubt the company's commitment to sustainability, Wal-Mart can point to a number of successes already scored. It has partnered with Unilever to dramatically reduce the packaging on its 'all' detergent. In February 2006, Unilever introduced 'all Small-and-Mighty', which is three-times as concentrated and contains enough detergent for the same 32 loads as a 100oz bottle. Unilever found that it saved 500 million gallons of water, 26 million gallons of diesel fuel, 150 million pounds of plastic resin, 750 million square feet of cardboard and reduced out-of-stocks by 50%. TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS In May 2006, Wal-Mart installed auxiliary power units (APUs) – small, efficient diesel engines – on its entire tractor fleet. Drivers can turn off their truck engines and rely on the APUs to warm or cool the cabin and run communication systems while on break. "There are tangible benefits to be derived from focusing more intently on packaging sustainability." The company believes that in a single year this change should eliminate approximately 100,000 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions, reduce consumption of diesel fuel by ten million gallons and yield financial savings of up to $22.5m. Additionally, Wal-Mart has rolled out its nationwide plastic sandwich bale programme, which is designed to keep tonnes of plastic out of landfills and revolutionise plastic recycling. Large trash compactors at its stores collect shrink wrap, plastic bags, apparel bags and other loose plastic in a bale layered with cardboard, which is then pressed into a 'sandwich' with 9in to 18in of recyclable plastic in the middle. These bales are then recycled into other products, from dense plastic lumber to very thin shopping bags. "These sandwich bales have already helped us divert more than 44 million pounds of plastic from reaching landfills," remarks Kistler. These successes promise much for the current efforts on packaging, and must surely encourage other retailers to follow Wal-Mart's example.