Tackling Recycling Challenges With Sustainable Mailers

Executive summary:

• While consumers are eager to recycle, information about exactly what can and cannot be recycled can often be confusing or conflicting.
• The recycling rate in the U.S. hovers around 32 percent, according to recent figures, suggesting more can be done to keep trash out of landfills.
• A straightforward way to reduce waste is by making packaging recyclable, especially curbside recyclable, as this will help consumers make recycling part of their everyday lives.
• The Pregis EverTec™ mailer is durable and curbside recyclable, allowing sustainability-minded companies the opportunity to make recycling easier for their customers.
• EverTec mailers are made with renewable paper and can also replace small boxes for some items, reducing the amount of material needed to ship certain products.

There’s no question that consumer recycling can improve in the U.S. Currently, only about 32 percent of waste gets recycled. With the imminent effects of climate change on everyone’s minds, corporations and consumers alike need to take bold, sustainable action.

However, the role consumers play in the bigger picture is not always easy to understand. That’s why when companies can make their products simply and definitively recyclable, consumers can more easily take action.

The First Hurdle

Recycling standards vary greatly, so consumers have to grapple with different state, city, and community regulations to properly recycle their waste. That’s why there’s a need for common definitions and recycling practices, so consumers are encouraged to recycle instead of becoming dissuaded by a myriad of rules that change and can be difficult to understand.

Sustainability experts have found consumers need a little nudge from brands to turn their recycling intentions into action. If a brand or business directly assists the customer with their recycling ambitions, they then take ownership of the task and define what it means to be a sustainable operation while growing a relationship between themselves and the consumer.  Ambiguity is confusing to consumers and will result in materials not getting recycled. The everyday consumer is likely unsure of what to do with items not clearly labeled as recyclable.

Creating an Everlasting Solution, Not Everlasting Waste

Pregis is taking initiative in the recycling space through its EverTec™ mailer. Made primarily from renewable paper material, the EverTec mailer is curbside recyclable. The sustainability message behind EverTec is clear: All consumers need to do is place the packaging in their nearest recycling bin — it’s that easy.

But that’s not the only environmentally friendly advantage to using Pregis’ sustainable mailer. EverTec mailers are lightweight and can be shipped flat, creating space for more shipments during transportation and increasing overall delivery efficiency, which means fewer carbon emissions.

With cushioning properties, strong side and bottom heat sealing, the EverTec mailer offers durability, high-impact resistance and cushioning. Add these qualities to the EverTec mailer’s puncture resistance and generous flexibility, and it becomes clear that sustainable packaging can become a lasting solution to protecting merchandise and reducing waste with the right design.

How Sustainable Protective Packaging Can Drive Consumer Recycling

Shipping a product in a mailer that actually requires more protection can lead to damages and reshipments. This will, in turn, lead to unnecessary waste from having to dispose of those damaged products and provide replacements. The environmental impact is even more severe when taking into account the emissions it will take to transport the replacement goods.

But products like the EverTec mailer can replace unnecessary boxes for products that are in need of a more efficient protective packaging solution. Doing so is more than just sustainable — mailers require half of the cost and effort normally needed for manual box applications including freight, which is obviously valuable for business seeking efficiency. EverTec mailers can also be packed four times faster than traditional boxes.

E-commerce companies that utilize sustainable products like the EverTec mailer are leading the way in sustainability, providing consumers with the products they need, both intact and on time.

For more information on the EverTec mailer, as well as Pregis’ efforts to create a more circular recycling stream, ask for it by name and contact us today.