New-Tech Packaging

by Mike Mathias, Vice-President

Some companies only want to appear environmentally conscientious because appearing to be environmentally insensitive might be bad for business. The obvious hypocrisy is bad enough, but worse still, for people in the packaging business, being environmentally unsound usually means that packaging economics are also unsound. Put simply, being a value-driven, cost-conscious packaging professional will produce environmentally favorable results as well — at least 90% of the time.

My first major environmental success was with one of the big-three US brewing companies. The thickness of the shrink film was decreased 37% from 2.0 mil to 1.25 mil without slowing product throughput. The cost savings AND environmental impact were each huge: millions of dollars and hundreds of tons of plastic removed from the waste stream. In packaging, being environmentally conscious is almost always good business, and good business is almost always environmentally sound.


Our main approach at New-Tech is to drive significant cost-reductions for our customers. In the packaging business, this almost inevitably leads to an outstanding environmental scorecard for us and for our customers. As we assist the customer by decreasing the packaging cube size, for instance, we decrease the cost of materials and freight. At the same time, we reduce the amount of material going into the waste stream. The packaging industry, unlike others, has a unique opportunity to significantly impact the environment while serving the customer.

Additionally New-Tech follows these green policies:

• Measure packaging designs using the latest environmental scorecard software from ECRM, the same software used for the Wal-Mart packaging scorecard. This ensures that we are truly making environmental progress.
• Proactively gain knowledge and train employees on more environmental packaging practices.
• Convert PVC plastics to recycled PET whenever possible (one of the instances where being environmentally conscious is slightly more expensive).
• Offer recycled options in new packaging specifications and designs, like 100% recycled corrugated.
• Recycle hundreds of tons of corrugated fiber and foam from within the manufacturing facility.
• Advocate and design reusable and returnable packaging wherever possible.
• Consistently reduce package cube size in designs, saving materials, fuel, and space.
• Implement refurbishing programs to repair damaged packaging and extend its useful life.