If you want to find out more about paper packaging and the environment then set aside the morning of November 12 in Brampton, Ontario. There you will be treated to a frank State-of- the-Nation address by the executive director of the industry’s environmental council. This normally shy and diplomatic individual (who wrote this stuff?) will outline the challenges and opportunities facing the sector, and kindly demolish many of the common myths about paper in general and paper packaging in particular.
He will be followed by Dan (Of-all-Trades) Lantz. This gentleman knows the difference between paper and plastic (inside out), and never gets excited about which materials will or will not make it through a recycling plant. Wearing his Cascades Recovery hat, Dan will tell packagers what they need to know so that packaging can be successfully recovered for further recycling. And as COO of Green by Nature EPR, which has the processing contract for British Columbia’s new 100% industry-funded residential recycling program, he will update everyone on what’s really going on out there.
Finally, before lunch, Dennis Colley, President of the US-based Fibre Box Association, will present the findings from two recent life cycle analyses: one of the average US corrugated box, and the second, a comparative life cycle analysis of two competing systems for fresh produce (the traditional corrugated box and the reusable plastic crate). This should be fun!
