THE HARD STUFF IS JUST THE NEXT
FRONTIER
Using innovation and collaboration to create value
Erica Ocampo, Sustainability Manager
Packaging and Specialty Plastics
The Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company
Which Attributes Make Packaging Sustainable?
Recyclable / % Content
Biobased
Compostable
Biodegradable
Uses less material
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The Truth is: It Depends. Utilize Life Cycle Thinking
Emissions
Land
Water
Energy
Waste
Landfill
Biodiversity
3
Consider the Entire LIFECYCLE
LCA
Resin
Manufacturer
Package
Manufacturer
Product
Manufacturer
Distribution &
Retail
Consumer
Use
End of Life
Linear system
Cradle to Grave
Life Cycle Analysis
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Integrated Systems Approach: Engaging The Value Chain
for Collaborative Development
Resin
Manufacturer
End of Life
Package
Manufacturer
Consumer
Use
Product
Manufacturer
Collaboration
Cradle to Cradle
Integrated
system
Distribution &
Retail
Value Chain
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Integrated Systems Approach: Solutions in Context
Think Global Act Local
Package
Manufacturer
Resin
Manufacturer
Product
Manufacturer
Context
Distribution &
Retail
End of Life
Consumer Use
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A Breakthrough Collaboration: The Economics of
Ecosystems
GOAL: to apply methods to evaluate the benefits nature
provides – such as fresh water, clean air, and flood protection – and
develop a roadmap for how companies can assess, incorporate and invest
in nature and these benefits
TEXAS PILOT: The modeling results demonstrated that reforestation could be a costeffective emissions abatement strategy when compared to the end-of-pipe control
technology currently deployed. This approach also provides broader benefits to Dow
and local communities
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Polyethylene Stand Up Pouch PE SUP
performance
mono-material
vs.
multi-material
reduce waste
preserve resources
easy
lighter
Pouch illustrations are for representative purposes only; Dow does not manufacture the actual pouch,
nor produce these types of retail products.
How2Recycle label is hitting the stores!
Project with strong member support, a SCIENCE-BASED approach, and
supply chain COLLABORATION. Building packaging systems that generate
economic prosperity and sustainable material flows. Help us make sense of
recycling!
Sustainable Packaging Coalition® is a trademark of GreenBlue
Fee Sponsorships Available.
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CONSUMER OUTREACH Initiative
• National public awareness
campaign to INCREASE
PE film recovery •
• Flexible Film Recycling
Group (FFRG) provides
signs, bins and other
materials to PROMOTE
effective PE film
recycling•
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New plastic FILM recycling website!
A tool created to EDUCATE the general public, municipalities, and
businesses about how to recycle postconsumer and postcommercial
polyethylene film that is found in nearly every business and household.
This website is sponsored by the plastics industries of the American Chemistry Council where Dow
is an active member.
®™Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow
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Throwing Away Packaging
Throwing Away Food & Products
U.S. EPA’s
Integrated
SOLID ‘WASTE’
Management
Hierarchy
• All options are needed to minimize disposal in
landfills. RESOURCE CONSERVATION is key •
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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Solid Waste History - Themes
Innovation in
Collection
Urbanization
Public Health
Concerns
New Products
Create “Crisis”
Throw-away
Society
MSWM
institutionalized as
government service
Refuse trucks
transformed to
mechanized vehicles
1900s
Municipal
Refuse Builds
Up
Citizens Demand
Action
1985Today
1940s
1910s
1930s
“Great
Patriotism Era
of Recycling”
WWII
Material Collected for
War Effort
Crossroads
1960s-90s
TODAY
Recycling Reemerges
From 16.7% in 1985
to today’s recycling
rate at 34.7%
Source: http://www.productpolicy.org/content/history-waste as presented by
Richard Abramowitz at Dow 4/4-5/13
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It is CHANGE, CONTINUING change, INEVITABLE
change, that is the dominant factor in society today.
No sensible decision can be made any longer WITHOUT taking
into account not only the world as it is, but THE WORLD
AS IT WILL BE....
This, in turn, means that our statesmen, our businessmen,
our everyman must take on a science fictional way of
thinking.
ISAAC ASIMOV
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• Imagine a world where hard to recycle
plastics are a valuable resource •
Convert Non-Recycled plastic (NRP) packaging
from waste to energy/fuels
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How does it work?
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What for?
•Show that plastics are too valuable to waste and
that NRP can be transformed into energy when
mechanical recycling is not an option
•Close data gaps (pilot report, including
characterization qudits)
•Increase awareness of alternative waste landfill
diversion methods (new technologies)
•Promote behavioral change (better recycling)
•Share pilot learning with everybody
•Educating consumers
•Harvest the power of collaboration
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solutions
collaboration
sustainability
We CANNOT defend the status quo
and at the same time build a
sustainable future
innovation
PATRICIA REITER
Director, Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives (ASU)
social responsibility
voice
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Speaker Contact Information
Phone: +1.281.966.4332
Cell Phone:+1.979.824.5151
Email: eocampo@dow.com
Twitter: @ericaoca
Mailing address:
1254 Enclave Parkway
Houston, TX 77077, USA
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NOTICE: No freedom from any patent owned by Dow or others is to be inferred. Because use conditions
and applicable laws may differ from one location to another and may change with time, Customer is
responsible for determining whether products and the information contained in this document are
appropriate for Customer’s use and for ensuring that Customer’s workplace and disposal practices are in
compliance with applicable laws and other governmental enactments. Dow assumes no obligation or
liability for the information in this document. NO WARRANTIES ARE GIVEN; ALL IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
EXPRESSLY EXCLUDED.
If products are described as “experimental” or “developmental”: (1) product specifications may not be
fully determined; (2) analysis of hazards and caution in handling and use are required; (3) there is
greater potential for Dow to change specifications and/or discontinue production; and (4) although Dow
may from time to time provide samples of “experimental” or “developmental” products, Dow is not
obligated to supply or otherwise commercialize such products for any use or applications whatsoever.
Any photography of end-use applications in this document is for illustrative purposes only and represents
potential applications and may not necessarily represent current commercial applications by Dow; the
photography does not represent an endorsement of any actual end-use application or commercial
product or the companies that manufacturer such products.
All environmental marketing should be in compliance with FTC’s “Guides for the Use of Environmental
Marketing Claims”.
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®Trademark of
The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) or an affiliated company of Dow