February 2002 Doing What it Takes to be Waste Wise From reducing product packaging to buying manufacturing supplies in bulk, the beverage industry has a wealth of waste reduction opportunities. Below is a sampling of the commitments and achievements of WasteWise partners in this industry. These types of activities also can help your company reduce waste and cut costs. For more information or to enroll your company in WasteWise, call 800 EPAWISE (372-9473) or visit our home page at [www.epa.gov/wastewise]. Waste Prevention The cornerstone of WasteWise, waste prevention means using less material to do the same job, cutting waste before recycling. Regardless of industry sector, everyone can take advantage of general waste prevention goals, such as double-sided copying, packaging reduction, or switching to reusable supplies. Some WasteWise partners in the beverage industry have gone beyond the basics and implemented activities that target industry-specific waste materials. The following is a sampling of these goals: Lightweight plastic and glass bottles and aluminum cans. Eliminate base cups on one- and two-liter plastic bottles. Switch to a lighter weight bag-in-box system for fountain dispensing. Lightweight corrugated packaging and folding cartons. Switch from corrugated shippers to reusable plastic cases. Reduce material in clay-coated bottle carrier. Purchase hot melt sealer in bulk to eliminate corrugated boxes and plastic liners. Collect waste materials from production (concentrate beverage containers, outdated beverage drinks, and other waste plastic) and use as feedstock in plastic pallet production. Institute glove reuse program in manufacturing facilities. Use old cloth napkins from dining room for cleaning rags. Develop a waste tracking system for syrup production facilities that measures and tracks amount of waste generated on a per-unit basis. Refurbish, rather than replace, vending equipment. ------- WasteWise Partners in the Beverage Industry Recycling Collection WasteWise partners commit to initiating, expanding, or improving company programs to collect recyclables. In some cases, companies add new materials to an existing program, or they increase effectiveness through activities such as employee education or community outreach. WasteWise partners in the beverage industry have set these goals: ~ Implement six-pack ring recycling program. ~ Collect and bale corrugated shipping containers for recycling. ~ Establish a facility to buy back used beverage containers from the public. ~ Recycle LDPE stretch wrap. ~ Recycle HDPE drums, PET strapping. Buying or Manufacturing Recycled Products WasteWise partners commit to increase the overall recycled content in the products they purchase. WasteWise partners that are manufacturers can either increase the percentage of postconsumer content in the products they make or increase the recycled content in the products they purchase. Buy-recycled activities of WasteWise partners in 7UP/RC Bottling Anheuser-Busch Companies Aquarius Group Coors Brewing Company Fetzer Vineyards High Life Sales Company McKenzie Mist Mississippi Soft Drink Association National Soft Drink Association Pepsi-Cola Company Poland Spring Natural Spring Water Shenandoah Brewing Company The Coca-Cola Company The Glass Packaging Institute The Source - Bottled Water Delivery Store Trinity Springs Ltd. Veryfine Products Watermill Express As of February 1, 2002 the beverage industry I include: ~ Increase f recycled ^ content in glass I bottle manufacturing. ~ Increase recycled content in corrugated shipping cartons. ~ Manufacture PET bottles with postconsumer content. Sample Partner Achievements ~ Anheuser-Busch's Telecommunications Department put the company's employee phone direc- tory on the Intranet, preventing 10.3 tons of paper waste and saving approximately $140,000. ~ Fetzer Vineyards composted 7 tons of grape pomace (leftover pulp and grape skins) and 2 tons of yard trimmings. ~ The Coca-Cola Company increased the percentage of recycled plastic in its bottles. By the end of 2001, approximately three in four plastic Coca-Cola bottles contained 10 percent postconsumer plastic. The company plans to achieve 10 percent recycled content in all of its plastic bottles by 2005. Coca-Cola also eliminated 3,500 paper copies a week by distributing its newsletter electronically. ------- |