Refill, Single use, recycle, trash
What is single use?
What is a single use package? It is a package that contains a product. You buy it, open up the item and use it. Then dispose of the package. You can either compost, recycle, or it's trash. The package is used one time. It's a big conversation.
A single use package is one that is rarely or hard or impossible to reuse.
Work with us to promote industry change.
Lower carbon emissions, reduce greenhouse gas
Environmental Impact
The industry and manufacturing terms, lower carbon emissions and reduce greenhouse gas, refer to how much energy is used in the manufacturing process.
The language used is how much is "saved", meaning how much is not used. This is a comparison between the old way of manufacturing the no longer used package and how much energy is used to manufacture the "new" package.
Old - new = reduce greenhouse gas.
There is always going to be some waste in the manufacturing process. It is almost impossible to have zero waste when producing anything on a mass scale.
The trick is to be able to read through the manufacturers lines, so you fully understand what you are participating in by using a product.
Gentler package, environmental and social impact
What are plastics?
In a nutshell, to manufacture a plastic milk jug, petroleum oil is drilled, moved around over long distances to refine it, and then by-products are used to make plastics.
A paperboard carton used to be coated in parafin, which is a petroleum wax. Now paperboard cartons are coated in polypropylene, which is a variation of parafin.
Water is used to drill for oil and in the plastics manufacturing process. This is only part of water conservation.
The most water is used in the product itself
Ship it Dry
If it's possible, ship a product dry. I am not a fan of non-fat dry milk powder. I much prefer whole milk. But it is very possible to get milk from a dairy nearby to where you live, even if you live in a city. The dairy is likely not far out of the city limits.
Liquid soap is a different story. The water does not need to be included in the soap, in the package. Liquid soap can be shipped dry, diluted into the final liquid soap product and the soap is in no way compromised. It is the same as if it is shipped already diluted.
If the soap is shipped dry, the package can be a cellulose lined paper bag that composts. The environmental impact is reduced a lot. The social impact is increased greatly, since the end user gets to participate in part of the process, by adding water in their location.
It's a win win!