Letter to Amy's Kitchen

Here's my final letter about cardboard packaging.

My family recently resolved to buy boxed food products only if the boxes are made of post-consumer recycled paperboard. This resolution led to dismay when one of us pulled an Amy's meal out of the freezer and discovered that although the box has "CARTON IS RECYCLABLE" printed on it, there's no mention of it being made of recycled materials. Also, the cardboard tray the food sits in is not marked as being made of recycled materials. I realize it can take time between when changes are made to a product and when new packaging is designed to reflect those changes, and am hoping that the boxes used today are, in fact, made of post-consumer recycled material. Could you please tell me whether this is the case? My family is very much hoping the answer is "yes" so we don't have to stop eating Amy's meals when the current supply runs out.

I expect I'll hear from blog readers that I should be cooking whole foods at home, not buying TV dinners. Please keep in mind that my family isn't yet willing to give up some of the products I've given up myself. Personally, I consider Amy's meals to be an unnecessary extravagance, but I cringe at the thought of them not being in the freezer any more because they're better for human health than many of the meals that would otherwise be consumed by family members. If Amy's packaging isn't made of recycled materials, I need to find a more eco-friendly brand of TV dinners ASAP!

Letter to Weetabix

Here's another letter about cardboard packaging.

I was pleased to see that Weetabix comes in boxes made of recycled cardboard, and was especially pleased to see that 50% of the cardboard was recycled post-consumer. I've been trying to change my diet so that I buy boxed foods only if the boxes are made of recycled materials, and it's proving to be quite a challenge. Seeing that Weetabix's boxes were made of recycled cardboard was a factor in me deciding to switch to Weetabix from my previous breakfast cereal.

I have a couple of questions for you about the paper sleeves Weetabix are packaged in within the cardboard boxes:
1. Are the paper sleeves made of recycled paper?
2. What does the shiny inner coating consist of?

I look forward to reading your reply.

I really hope I get a reply about the shiny inner coating of the paper sleeves, because the answer will determine whether the sleeves are compostable. I'm not actually composting at the moment, but hope to start soon.

Letter to Turtle Island, makers of Tofurky

In keeping with my resolution to write more letters telling manufacturers why I've switched to or away from their products, I sent e-mail to Turtle Island earlier about the packaging Tofurky slices come in.

I was pleased to see that Tofurky slices come in boxes marked "100% Recycled Paperboard". I've been trying to change my diet so that I buy boxed foods only if the boxes are made of recycled materials, and it's proving to be quite a challenge. Ideally, I'd like to buy products packaged in materials that were recycled post-consumer, so could you please tell me what percentage of the paperboard in your boxes is post-consumer recycled?

I'd also appreciate information on the plastic used for the inner packaging. What type of plastic is it?

I look forward to reading your reply.

Letter to the Coca-Cola Company

Several months ago, I stopped habitually consuming soda, and now drink it only on special occasions. My family, on the other hand, guzzles at least one case of soda each week, usually more. Although I gently encourage moderation or outright quitting, I don't anticipate my family becoming soda-free any time soon. What family members are willing to do right now is switch brands, if a different brand is more eco-friendly and tastes just as good.

One of our concerns is whether the cardboard cases that cans of soda are sold in are made of recycled fiber. All the varieties of soda currently consumed by family members are made by the Coca-Cola company, so I just sent the following inquiry to the Coca-Cola company.

My family currently consumes a lot of beverages made by the Coca-Cola company, but we're tree huggers and have become concerned about the environmental impact of the cardboard cases our cans of soda are packaged in. We've resolved to buy soda only if it comes in cases made of post-consumer recycled fiber. I've looked on cases of the Coke products we drink but don't see any information on recycled content. Could you please let me know whether the cardboard cases you use are made of post-consumer recycled fiber?

If I receive a response, I'll post it here.

By the way, Grist magazine has a good article on the environmental impact of soda, but it doesn't mention the cardboard cases that soda comes in.

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Update: I received a response from Coca-Cola. The news isn't good. Here's what a Coca-Cola representative had to say:

Date: Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 2:02 PM
From: Coca-Cola Support
Reply-To: Coca-Cola Support
To: cousinyellowstone@googlemail.com

Thank you for your recent email message, Mr. Yellowstone. We appreciate this opportunity to respond.

We're pleased to let you know that our cartons do contain at least 15 percent recycled material. Furthermore, these cartons are recyclable.

We hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

Sheila
Industry and Consumer Affairs
The Coca-Cola Company

I sent this in reply:

Sheila,

Thank you for the information on recycled content in Coca-Cola's cartons. My family was very disappointed to learn that the cartons aren't made of 100% recycled material. The idea of trees being cut down to make cartons for our cans of soda is disturbing to us. As much as we love soda, we've decided to stop buying it until the cartons are made of 100% post-consumer recycled paperboard.

I hope you won't mind if I check back with you from time to time to see if the percentage of recycled material has increased. Everyone in my family is a fan of either Coke or Diet Coke, so we would welcome news of our favorite beverages being packaged in cartons that are less harmful to the planet.

Yours truly,
Cousin Yellowstone

Now, of course, we have to follow through and ration our remaining soda, because I'm not going out and buying more. This is going to be hard, really hard, for at least one family member.

Items collected Thursday, November 6, 2008

Recyclables:

• 5 plastic water bottles (1 Nestle Pure Life, 1 Sam*s Choice, 1 Deer Park Eco-Shape, 1 Deer Park regular, 1 Deer Park with fluoride and child-safe cap)

Reusable:

• 1 plastic carrier bag

As noted above, one of the bottles found today has a child-proof cap. The label says, "Non-removable cap reduces risk of choking". I'm all for saving children from choking, but as a recycler I'm unsure what to do with the bottle. I just sent the following letter to Deer Park about it:

I'm not sure how to recycle Deer Park water bottles that come with child-proof caps. Where I live, bottles are recyclable only if their caps are first removed, and there's a strict policy that plastic items can go in the recycling bin only if they are made exclusively of resin type 1 or 2. I know that Deer Park bottles are made of resin type 1, but what about the caps? I would appreciate information on the resin type(s) of the caps, which appear to be made of two kinds of plastic. Also, I would like to know if there is a simple way for adults to remove the caps. I look forward to receiving your reply.

I received this reply. (The misspelling of "Park" is in the original e-mail.)

Dear Deer Par Consumer,

Thank you for contacting us about Deer Park® Brand Natural Spring Water regarding recyclability.

You can recycle these bottles as you normally would recycle another water bottle with the recycling symbol "1" on the bottom. The 8 oz. fluoride cap is a combination of HDPE (spout) and polypropylene (base). The bottle is PET (code #1). Some recycling facilities will accept the mixed materials, however most may not.

We suggest contacting your local certified recycling center in order to determine whether or not the bottle may be recycled in your area.

We hope this information is helpful.

After attacking the cap with a sharp knife, I was eventually able to bend the cap enough to remove it. It took a while, and I can't imagine many people taking the time to remove caps in preparation for their bottles being recycled, especially if they had a lot of bottles. I wish Deer Park would redesign its child-safe bottles to be more recyclable.

Letter to SanDisk about excessive packaging

As anyone who reads this blog will know by now, I'm an avid recycler. This blog is, after all, about the recyclables I find lying on the ground and take home for recycling.

I also recycle the bottles, cans and paper I use at home. However, my priority is to produce less waste to begin with. One of the ways I avoid waste is to buy only those products that are minimally packaged or entirely free of packaging. Usually, this is pretty easy. For example, a lot of foods are sold in bulk bins at a supermarket near where I work, so I bring my own containers and completely avoid disposable packaging.

Avoiding excessive packaging isn't as easy when it comes to buying memory sticks at the small electronics store near here. I recently looked at some SanDisk memory sticks that would have been great if not for their excessive, unenvironmental packaging. I e-mailed SanDisk a letter about the packaging:

Dear SanDisk representative,

I care about the environment, and for that reason I avoid purchasing products with excessive packaging.

I recently considered buying a SanDisk memory stick, but was disturbed by how much cardboard and plastic packaging surrounded it. I can understand using a little packaging to protect memory sticks from damage or theft, but cannot understand why a memory stick smaller than my thumb was encased in packaging larger than my entire hand. It seems very wasteful.

Additionally, I was disturbed to note that the plastic was PVC, which is associated with damage to the environment during its production and disposal, and which is not recyclable where I live. Although my main concern is the sheer quantity of packaging, I would also like to see a more environmentally friendly material than PVC used in packaging the memory sticks.

SanDisk's web site says that the first objective of its Environmental Management System is the "Prevention of pollution by limiting waste and promoting recycling." I am writing to urge SanDisk to consider this objective when packaging the company's memory sticks, using the least possible amount of packaging and ensuring that only environmentally friendly materials are used.

Yours truly,
Cousin Yellowstone

There's a larger store in a nearby city that sells memory sticks without any packaging, so I may buy a stick there the next time I'm out that way.