Environment

Prioritizing Sustainability

Great American Packaging believes in doing our part to help save the planet. We are dedicated to creating a clean and healthy workplace for our employees, our customers and for the environment. 

OUR COMMITMENT

  • We recycle 100% of our plastic industrial waste
  • Exceed industry requirements for AQMD VOC removal
  • Maintain compliance with Storm Water Regulatory Programs
  • Continually challenge our teams to meet a goal of zero waste across our entire facility
  • Perform GFSI audits for food safety annually
  • We offer a complete portfolio of Sustainable Packaging Solutions, including No PFAS Added, Compostable, Recyclable and Plant-Based options.
LEARN MORE
OUR COMMITMENT

PLASTICS & THE ENVIRONMENT

Overall, plastic packaging has a more positive impact on the environment as compared to alternative packaging options like paper, glass and metal. The holistic lifecycle of plastic requires less energy to produce and contributes a lower carbon footprint than other packaging materials.

  • Recyclable and Reusable: Polyethylene is a thermoplastic material which means it can be recycled with very low amounts of energy or chemical residue. It can be melted and reused a number of times.
  • Greenhouse GasSavings: The American Chemistry Council (ACC) and The Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) performed a study comparing CO2 emissions for plastic packaging to alternative packaging options including steel, aluminum, glass, and paper. The result of the study showed that CO2 emissions in a landfill from plastic packaging are far less than that of the other packaging materials, both with and without decomposition. The savings in the US for a four-year period was 75.8 million metric tons of CO2 eq. This is the equivalent of taking 16 million passenger vehicles off the road for a year. *
  • Helps Reduce the Amount of Food Waste: Food waste is the second largest category of municipal solid waste (MSW) sent to landfills in the United States, accounting for approximately 18% of the waste stream.That is over 30 million tons of food waste that the U. S. sends to the landfills each year.**
    Plastics food packaging delivers more efficient protection, reduces food waste and extends shelf life, thereby saving energy and GHG emissions. Plastics packaging for meat, for instance, extend shelf life by three to six days and even longer for the most advanced ones. Considering that producing 2 pounds of beef leads to emissions equivalent to three hours of driving, this extended shelf life is a substantial improvement for our planet! ***

*https://www.plasticpackagingfacts.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Impact-of-Plastics-Packaging-on-Life-Cycle-Energy-Consumption-amp-Greenhouse-Gas-Emissions-in-the-United-States-and-Canada.pdf

** https://www3.epa.gov/region9/waste/features/foodtoenergy/food-waste.html

***http://www.plasticseurope.org/plastics-sustainability-14017/plastics-save-energy.aspx