I recently came across a site for Zero Waste Week, which started on Monday and concludes this Sunday. All week long, people across the world have been making small changes in their lives to eliminate or reduce their amount of waste. By coming together and taking these small steps, we can reduce the amount of waste thrown into the landfills and become more environmentally-responsible.

Last year, they offered prizes and incentives for people who participated, but this year, they wanted to try something different. There are no incentives, because they want people to want to help the environment by reducing the amount of waste generated and sent to the landfills. This way, they hope for people to continue in their efforts long after Zero Waste Week is over, rather than just doing it now for a prize.

You can reduce waste by using durable, reusable packaging or by making sure that it is recyclable and made from recycled materials. We can all work on doing our part to reduce waste and help the environment. Have any ideas to reduce waste even more? Let us know!

Christmas is still months away, but Nestle is already thinking about their seasonal packaging and going green for the holidays. In the past, chocolate makers have often been known for wasteful and unnecessary packaging, especially for special seasonal promotions. This is the new target to work on, and Nestle is going at it.

According to Food Production Daily, Nestle will be making all of its Christmas selection custom boxes fully recyclable. One change they made was removing the plastic inserts that held the chocolate bars in place and replacing them with a card presentation tray. This way, the chocolate can still be nicely displayed in the custom box and be easily recycled when you are finished with it. This is one step for Nestle to be more environmentally-friendly in their packaging to reduce waste and address the concerns of their environmentally-conscious customers.

It’s been said that 30 percent of all garbage is packaging…but who says packaging has to be garbage?  many forms of packaging can be recycled, such as cardboard, paper, glass, and some plastics.  But there still are other options if the packaging is not recyclable.  It can be reused again or re-purposed to do something else.

Rodney had the idea to re-purpose one of the most un-eco materials around, Styrofoam, into stunning lamps.

It’s amazing where a little creativity can get you.

When we think of being “green” and environmentally-friendly, we think of the 3 R’s: reduce, reuse, and recycle.  TreeHugger showed some ways that companies are offering reusable packaging in a new way, in which the packaging is actually a part of the product itself.

With this product, lite2go by knoend, the clear packaging is actually the lampshade for the lamp:

This design, created by Tom Ballhatchet, utilizes the box that the TV is packaged in as a stand for the TV with shelves for your DVD cases or Blu-Ray cases:

With this laptop in a bag, HP won Wal-Mart’s Reduced Packaging Award for its Pavilion dv6929.  Instead of coming in a box with styrofoam inserts, this laptop comes in a reusable messenger bag (made from recycled fabric) with a few plastic bags inside to hold the parts.  With this design, HP was able to reduce the conventional packaging by 97 percent:

Steve Haslip designed the HangerPak, so that the packaging that holds the product can also be used for the product; the package transforms into a hanger for the t-shirt inside:

Although I’m not too keen on the idea of sitting on a cardboard chair, I do give props to David Graas for coming up with a line of flat packaging that can be put together into furniture:

These are all examples of how companies are encouraging customers to reduce waste by reusing the packaging of their products for other purposes.  By doing this and recycling when you are finished, you can be on your way to being more eco-friendly.

As we celebrate our nation’s holiday this year, let’s have fun and honor our country, without harming our environment.  The Environmental Blog provided 5 tips for a “green” 4th of July:

1.  Buy organic food. Support local farmers markets by buying their organic fruits and vegetables.  Buy local and cut down on transportation.  You could even shop with reusable shopping bags.

2.  Bust out the silverware. Avoid wasting paper plates, napkins, cups, and plastic utensils.  Save money by using your own plates and washing them.  If you must use disposable plates and cups, try to find biodegradable alternatives.

3.  Grill on the “green” side. Use a non-toxic cleaner on your grill. Cut back on grilling and carbon emissions by eating fresh veggies, or grill food that will cook quickly, such as thin meats, fish, marshmallows, or veggies.

4.  Buy “green” charcoal. Use 100% all-natural hardwood lump charcoal.  They don’t have any chemicals or fillers, they burn faster, and produce less ash.  This leftover ash from all-natural charcoal can be sprinkled around your plants to keep the bugs away.

5.  Substitute lighter fluid. Try using a chimney starter, instead of toxic lighter fluid.  They are inexpensive and you don’t have to worry about the toxic fluids cooking into your food.

Don’t forget to use these tips and add a little “green” to your red, white, and blue festivities this year.  Not only would you be more environmentally-friendly, but you could save money as well!

Advertising agency, Colenso BBDO, which is located in Auckland, New Zealand, created this anti-litter ad campaign, “The Heart of the City: Rubbish”:

Each day, the litter around the bus stop was collected and placed inside the bus stop.  This ad was intended to show how quickly litter can add up when people don’t put in the effort to recycle or throw their trash in the garbage can.  It may just seem like a big deal to litter one wrapper, but if everyone does it, it really adds up.  If we all come together and be more environmentally-friendly, we can really make a difference.  Who wants to look at trash all over the city anyway?  Let’s just hope people don’t start to think the bus stop is the new garbage can!

With growing environmental concerns, we are constantly hearing the phrase, “Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.” This is especially apparent with shopping bags and wasted wrapping. According to a study by the Clean Air Council, the United States generates an extra five million tons of waste in the winter holiday months, four of which come from gift wrapping, gift bags, and shopping bags. That is an enormous amount of waste that could be reduced by using reusable materials.

If you are looking to help the environment and reduce waste from gift wrapping, we found the BOBO Wrapping Scarf online, which can do both for you. Not only are these wrapping scarves classy and fashionable, but they are also good for the environment. They are reusable and typically made from already existing fabrics, rather than wasting and using raw materials. I thought this wrapping scarf was a great green alternative to gift wrapping. It is reusable, durable, and stylish.

When you think about packaging any of your products, think of a reusable package that will last. At Sunrise, we make durable packaging, which you will not have to replace nearly as often, so you can help reduce waste. Many of our products are also made from recyclable, biodegradable or recycled materials, and we recycle all of our excess materials. So get out there, do your part to reduce waste, and help our environment.

Greenhouse environmental management – the green house provides businesses with tailored waste management programs to minimize their waste output and costs.

It seems like now, more than ever, people are paying attention to the environment, and they are showing this by recycling and choosing more eco-friendly options.  Reduce, reuse, and recycle.  This is what some artists are doing by making a living selling art that they made out of waste.

Anouk Zijlma showed off some great pieces of recycled art she purchased while visiting Cape Town, South Africa.  There were a variety of different objects made from soda cans, plastic bottles, barbed wire, chip bags, bottle caps, metal scraps, etc.  These pieces of art make great souvenirs, and they all work, even the radio and the pen!

Radio with casing made from beer cans, bottle caps, and wire. © Michael Daecher

Flower pen made from soda cans. © Michael Daecher

Toy guitar made from soda cans and wire. © Michael Daecher

Angel made from soda cans, steel wool, and wire. © Michael Daecher

Car made from soda cans, plastic bottles, bottle tops, and wire. © Michael Daecher

Cow made from plastic can and bottle tops. © Michael Daecher

Toy motorbike made from soda cans, barbed wire, spray can tops (wheels), and plastic tubing. © Michael Daecher

Crocodile made from insect repellent can. © Michael Daecher

Placemat made from chip bags, sticks, and black thread. © Michael Daecher

Flower made from soda cans and barbed wire. © Michael Daecher

Not only do these pieces of art help reduce waste, but they make great souvenirs.  Since she bought these in South Africa, the waste used can remind her of her trip and the brands of food and drinks that were available there.  By reusing and recycling these materials, less waste is being generated, which is better for the environment.  Give one as a creative gift and show that you know what it means to recycle.

Meetings and events tend to generate a significant amount of waste.  There are invitations, papers, forms, display boards, name tags, signs, souvenirs, decorations, place settings, etc.  You do not have to give up all of these to go green and reduce waste.

The Green Meetings Industry Council is trying to build awareness towards the goal of reducing waste generated by meetings and events.  According to their study, the average meeting/event creates 20 pounds of waste per person per day.  With 700 million event attendees annually in the U.S. and Canada, that brings the total up to 10.5 tons of waste per year.  GMIC started the Million Tons of Trash Challenge to attempt to reduce that amount of waste by nearly 10 percent.

The GMIC is hoping that this challenge will educate the industry about being more environmentally-friendly and that we will be able to see more improvements in the future.  GMIC is encouraging the efforts with a new web site that includes case studies, a blog, and a Waste Challenge Trash Calculator to record the amount of waste generated and determine the amount of waste reduced.  This helps to see the effects of your green efforts.  To be a part of this challenge, planners must report to the GMIC the amount of waste that they generated at their events, as well as the amount reduced and recycled.  By taking these small steps to reduce waste, you can do your part to help the environment while still putting on a successful and memorable meeting/event.

MeetGreen, along with Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), is also trying to promote more environmentally-friendly meetings and events.  They created “Eco-Event Zones” as a part of their new program.  The purpose of this is for meeting/event planners from the same city to work together to find eco-friendly opportunities in the same area and share advice. If planners are working together on this, suppliers and building locations will be hearing their requests for more green options, which will create a greater impact.

Meetings and events can produce a lot of waste, but it doesn’t have to be that way!  These programs have been created to help educate meeting and event planners on how to reduce waste.  One great way is using eco-friendly name badges and bag tags that are 100% recyclable for your meeting or event.  We all can do our part to help the environment by making small changes.  Read more about being environmentally-friendly.

May is Green Packaging Month at Sunrise. In May, we focus on communicating ways to create packaging that is unique, helps you stand out from the crowd, and is also environmentally responsible… yes, you can have all three. Check out our Green Packaging Pages for more information.

To get us started, since Mother’s day is next weekend, we found a web site that will help you turn an unused CD case into a beautiful card for Mom!

Here’s a picture of the completed project. check out the craftylife blog for complete instructions.

Be sure to let us know how your card turned out. In fact, send us a picture and we’ll highlight it in a post! (We’ll wait until after Mother’s Day to keep the surprise)

The next time you need a binder, CD/DVD/USB case, box or sales kit, give your favorite Account Manager a call and we’ll help you create a work of art that will be environmentally friendly too.