Circular Economy

 For more than half a century, the term “Recycling” has become a part of everyday life in North America. Everything from coffee cups to newsprint, plastic water bottles, and even fabrics, the system and practice of finding new life in used up products has become common in the marketplace. But the concept of finding new purpose and use for waste materials is far from being a simplistic everyday process. The complexities involved with resurrecting waste material into new and viable products are many. Oftentimes, a certain level of expertise and experience is required to effectively and efficiently produce the highest quality product, while providing a high-value return to customers and clients.  So what does it all mean to businesses? In an era when the marketplace has shifted towards a need to further pursue the integration of recycling as a pivotal element of one’s operations, how can this marketplace practice provide a further value towards a business’ bottom line? The answer lies within the Circular Economy. 

 As the basic principle of recycling, the idea of the circular economy is that ‘nothing is waste’. The circular economy retains and recovers as much value as possible from resources by remanufacturing, repurposing, or recycling products and materials. We see this process in many forms, whether it be in the barter/trading world of Kijiji, online clothing resellers like Poshmark, or second-hand renovation outlets such as Habitat For Humanity’s ReStore. They find value for the products and materials they sell, by connecting them to consumers who are searching for the same products and materials, which would have otherwise been disposed of and would end up in a landfill. The idea of finding value in materials that otherwise would be discarded is at the core of the circular economy. And it is this principle of value that one can appreciate how the circular economy can further enhance a business’ operations when it comes to something like handling corrugated and paper waste material. 

For many businesses and companies, corrugated and paper waste accounts for a sizable portion of their operational costs. What’s more, the recycling of corrugated and paper waste by companies has not reached the optimal levels that governments and jurisdictions in North America have mandated. In Canada, the Federal government has set a target of ZERO waste amongst paper and plastic products by 2030, meaning that businesses need to take strong and decisive action within their operations to not only meet those targets but ensure that their actions keep themselves pro table as well. So how does a business approach this challenge? 

One must look at how the circular economy can benefit a business facing the challenge of effectively and efficiently managing their corrugated and paper waste. Firstly, a business must understand that there is value in all of their corrugated and paper waste. Having one’s corrugated and paper waste collected for remanufacturing provides them with placing value in materials that otherwise would not have any value as waste material. That very same waste material, once remanufactured, can be the same packaging material they use for their products, providing tremendous value for a business’s day-to-day operations. Finding a value-add to materials that otherwise would have been just a hard cost to the business to just dispose of, is a strong incentive for consideration, especially for those industries that rely heavily on corrugated and paper materials for packaging, shipping, and logistics. It’s like finding free money with their own waste material. 

 Secondly, by integrating a circular mindset to corrugated and paper waste, a business can enable themselves to further minimize their carbon footprint impact. From a financial perspective, a shift from new or “virgin” pulp, paper, and corrugated materials, to remanufactured products from waste materials means an overall reduction of the use of natural resources such as wood fibers and freshwater. These resources are heavily needed in the production of new pulp, paper, and corrugated materials, and are far less needed when it comes to remanufacturing that same material. The cost savings from the shift to more remanufactured corrugated and paper materials have a trickle-down effect that means more manageable costs to businesses that depend on these materials while reaching their carbon footprint reduction goals. 

 The third benefit of the circular economy has to do with finding value through good corporate governance. Now some may think that good corporate governance is just a set of buzzwords businesses use to provide themselves with positive PR, but this is far from the truth. There is a correlation between good corporate governance and value from remanufacturing corrugated and paper materials. With the movement for more sustainable materials becoming more and more accepted and acknowledged, consumers and key decision-makers are taking into consideration how businesses and organizations approach sustainability and making their purchase decisions based on this. From a practical perspective, the integration of remanufacturing corrugated and paper materials for reuse by businesses can provide an effective and immediate impact on how consumers and key decision-makers see a business’ stance on sustainability. What’s more, this approach to sustainability is not an overly difficult one for a business to enact. The very same corrugated and paper waste material that was going to be disposed of any way can instead provide a financial gain and social benefit. 

 The idea of the circular economy with remanufacturing corrugated and paper waste material all sounds well and good…and it does! The benefits it provides a business are far-reaching, from financial, environmental, and even on a long-term PR perspective. But how does a business or organization get its operations onboard? One needs to partner with a company that has decades of experience in not only remanufacturing corrugated and waste materials but finding new and innovative ways of taking the principles of the circular economy, and harnessing its full potential and value within a business’s day-to-day operations. As one of North America’s leaders in remanufacturing corrugated and paper waste material, Atlantic Packaging Ltd. can expertly guide you through optimizing the most from the circular economy, while exceeding all of your company’s highest expectations. Contact one of our expert Account Executives and let them show you have they can assist in finding value from your business’ waste.