A Zero Waste Building to Inspire Your Upcycling Mind
January 10, 2017
The 3 Rs – Recycle, Reduce, Reuse – have driven just about every sustainable solution created in the last 25 years. The goal is to keep items out of landfills and instead find new life for the items we use every day after they have served their purpose. While each R has its own purpose, one bar has taken the third R, reuse, to amazing new levels.
This incredible bar in Kamikatsu, Japan, is made entirely of reclaimed, repurposed and reused materials.
Everything from the newspaper wallpaper, to the massive facade made from windows of abandoned houses, is reused materials. The award-winning building has quickly become a newsworthy centerpiece of the town’s larger plans to produce zero waste and be carbon neutral by 2020.
“What does this have to do with packaging?” you may be asking. Well, our teams at Ernest are not only knowledgeable but passionate about innovative sustainable solutions. And we create durable and reusable closed-loop packaging systems that eliminate literally tons of waste every year.
Mike Martinez, Ernest Packaging’s Director of Design Solutions, is passionate about reducing the amount of packaging thrown away every year. “I don’t think you have to choose between being good for the planet and being good for your bottom line,” says Martinez. “In fact, we often find putting good sustainable solutions in place ends up providing cost savings through source and weight reduction.”
For example, global beauty and hair-care product manufacturer Regis Corporation came to Ernest with the goal of a completely sustainable packaging alternative. We were able to provide better product protection and 30% savings on material costs with a paper-based inner instead of the polyurethane-based one they were using. Oh, and that paper is completely recyclable too. Read more in our sustainability brochure.
That is just one example of the types of sustainability challenges we take on every day at Ernest Packaging Solutions. Call us today to learn more about our passion for greening the packaging industry and innovative solutions!
