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PACK EXPO East: Reusable Transport Packaging

A significant percentage of annual solid waste comes from packaging. The Reusable Packaging Association talks about preventing waste and reducing costs.

It’s still rare to hear about successful container returns in healthcare, but the Reusable Packaging Association (RPA) is helping a number of industries—including healthcare—make strides. While most picture pallets or large crates when they think of transport packaging, the effort includes primary, secondary and tertiary packaging. “Transport packaging is no longer just B2B. With e-commerce, it’s going directly to the front door,” said Tim Debus, President of the RPA, in his talk today at the Innovation Stage at PACK EXPO East in Philadelphia.

“With a reusable system, the idea is to build a finite pool of containers you can continuously use for transport and maximize the uses of that container,” he explained. When items are damaged, they should be repaired or remanufactured to prevent them from ending up at the landfill or recycler. “Recycling is considered the last resort in a circular economy.”

Debus noted that the term “disposable society” is certainly accurate, and brought up the following stats:

  • 1.3 billion tons of solid waste are generated each year worldwide.

  • The U.S. generates approximately 20% of this waste, despite accounting for only 5% of the world’s population.

  • Approximately 30% of solid waste is attributed to consumer and transport packaging.​

So is this a concept of how to manage waste? “No, this effort is all about preventing waste in the first place,” he said.

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