Towards sustainable DVD packaging

I work in the high tech industry, and my job sometimes has me standing in a booth at a trade show trying to get the attention of the crowds. That puts me in contact with product marketing, and especially the materials used in marketing. The last show I attended gave me an epiphanette (small epiphany) about DVD packaging. I had helped produce a DVD containing the software I work on, and the DVD was packaged in the standard DVD case. It looks very nice and I'm proud of what we've put together, however it struck me how unsustainable and inconvenient it was. From a sustainability perspective the materials this DVD is made from will last nigh on forever, but the message will be good for a couple months.

I have here an attempt to analyze the problem and offer some solutions. There are alternatives. An Inconvenient Truth was packaged in a recycled/recyclable cardboard sleeve.

Problem statement:

• The plastic used to make standard DVD cases lasts nigh on forever, meaning it will end up in a landfill and nigh on never decompose.
• A standard plastic DVD case containing just a DVD is largely empty space.  As empty space, it makes for inefficient shipping and one can imagine a different shipping which packs more DVD's into the same volume.
• Plastic in general is very damaging to the environment over the long term .. such as the buildup of persistent chemicals in the environment. Breakdown of plastic produces persistent environmental pollutants are causing a worldwide problem.

The packaging for An Inconvenient Truth shows a nice alternative. While it was packaged in a cardboard sleeve, it looked very nice. That it was flatter than the standard plastic DVD case means you can pack more of them in the same space, or pack the same number in a smaller space. There's always a scramble around getting materials to a tradeshow, storing the materials while at the tradeshow, etc, and it would be more convenient if the materials are more compact. It would be more convenient to the attendees as well, because they end up carrying the items they pick up, and the more compact items are easier to lug around especially when it comes time to pack their bags for the return flight home.

The Wikipedia entry on CD and DVD packaging gives us an excellent overview of the methods being employed. We learn that the standard DVD case has a name, namely the keep case.

Most methods for packaging DVD's and CD's involve the use of plastic. And plastics have an unfortunate side effect of poisoning the environment with persistent chemicals. From a sustainability standpoint, some kind of cardboard packaging offers easy recyclability, and can be made from recycled materials, and at worst they can be burned with little toxic side effect. The DVD or CD itself is still made from plastics, but this is largely unavoidable.

My researches turned up some hopeful news.

Sustainable Packaging newsletter:  Is all about sustainable packaging, and in particular this issue discusses the packaging of An Inconvenient Truth.

Video Business: Has an overview of recent moves towards more sustainable DVD packaging.  They were inspired by Wal-mart and An Inconvenient Truth.  Warner Home Video has announced that beginning April 1, 2007 all paper content will be sourced from recycled chlorine-free paper.  Warner Music Group has a similar announcement.

Wal-mart instigating a move to sustainable materials, will wonders never cease.

Finally, for this to make a difference in DVD production by my company, there must be production houses offering these sorts of alternate packaging solutions. The DVD I helped produce was packaged by a duplicating service, and if you yahoogle for "CD duplication" or "DVD duplication" you will find hundreds of these duplication services around the world. These companies employee graphics artists to help with design, and they operate duplication and printing machines and handle the grunt work of producing and assembling CD's and DVD's.

The Wikipedia article above described one packaging option, the digipak, as an environmental friendly solution. It does have some plastic in the packaging, but it is mostly made of cardboard. The Discbox Slider packaging is described as one of the most environmentally friendly styles of packaging, as it is 100% recyclable. The Discbox Slider is available from Stora Enso Media Packaging.

discmakers.com: They have a FAQ describing various steps in the DVD production process, and the link here is to a discussion of packaging alternatives.

By yahoogling for "DVD packaging sustainable" I found several service companies that can use the sort of packaging I envisioned:

Crystal Clear Disc and Tape

Acutrack

discturnkey.com

Disc & Print Centre, Ireland

digipak, and cardboard sleeve formats.

Amstore.co.uk

AASIN: 

An Inconvenient Truth

The Green Home Center in San Francisco

URL: 

The Green Home Center in San Francisco

Description: 

The Green Home Center is San Francisco's premiere destination for home design options that provide the perfect balance between healthy home values and elegant design.

At Green Home Center, we provide both an eye for great design and a passion for green living, offering the widest variety of upscale, healthy product and design options.

Coffee brewing choices

I'm new to drinking coffee, and not knowing any better I bought a French Press coffee maker at Ikea. Supposedly this is the best way to prepare coffee by steeping. Unfortunately it broke the other day, leaving me wondering what to do to replace this coffee brewer. And, I wanted to do this in a sustainable way.

In terms of sustainability, there are two considerations. One is the sustainability of the source of your coffee, the other is the sustainability of the preparation process you use. I'll mention that shade grown coffee distributed under fair trade terms is the most sustainable, and leave that argument for another day. For coffee preparation it's clear to me paper filters are a highly unsustainable method. Paper filters are a fine example of the use-it-once-and-throw-it-away model that's become popular in America. This is the very model of unsustainability, right? Further most paper filters are white, meaning they're bleached, and bleaching paper releases harmful chemicals into the environment. In any case, to be sustainable the preparation method I'm looking for will use some kind of reusable filter.

First step in my research, what is the range of alternatives to preparing Coffee? The Wikipedia coffee preparation page does an excellent job.

I tend to dislike the highly bitter coffees, so an espresso machine probably isn't for me, except that espresso is the basis of many different coffee-based drinks. An attraction to the espresso machine is it uses a metal mesh filter.

The wikipedia also mentions several forms of cowboy coffee. One basically boils ground coffee in a pot, then carefully pours it off hopefully leaving the grounds in the pot. Hurm, doesn't sound very attractive unless you're out on the trail somewhere.

The moka pot sounds interesting, except the page describes maintenance including replacing a rubber seal. Clearly something that gets replaced regularly isn't quite sustainable.

The drip brew machines are ubiquitous, right? However these generally use paper filters. I vaguely remember seeing reusable filters. The Gourmet Coffee Maker - 10 Cups includes a reusable filter in the kit. Yahoogling for "reusable coffee filter" turns up lots of choices.

But it looks to me that another french press style coffee maker will suit me best. I'll just have to look for one with a sturdier construction.

Fab@Home

URL: 

Fab@Home

Description: 

Fab@Home is a website dedicated to making and using fabbers - machines that can make almost anything, right on your desktop. This website provides an open source kit that lets you make your own simple fabber, and use it to print three dimensional objects. You can download and print various items, try out new materials, or upload and share your own projects. Advanced users can modify and improve the fabber itself.

Fabbers (a.k.a 3D Printers or rapid prototyping machines) are a relatively new form of manufacturing that builds 3D objects by carefuly depositing materials drop by drop, layer by layer. Slowly but surely, with the right set of materials and a geometric blueprint, you can fabricate complex objects that would normally take special resources, tools and skills if produced using conventional manufacturing techniques. A fabber can allow you explore new designs, email physical objects to other fabber owners, and most importantly - set your ideas free.

Green Options

URL: 

Green Options

Description: 

Green Options, is an online hub for all things Green. They focus on publishing knowledge and resources needed in greening up life. Their Blog features some of the best writers on the 'net covering a broad spectrum of green topics, the Discussion Forums allow a lively exchange of ideas and a sense of community, the Green Life Guide is an encyclopedia of everything eco, and the Green Report will keep you up to date on the day's most interesting news.

Green Tech special coverage

A long list of articles published by CNET News about green technology.

Article Reference: 

Green Tech special coverage

Investors look for greener pastures in Silicon Valley

There is a lot of new investment and research and product development in clean energy technology in Silicon Valley.

Cleantech Venture Network, an industry trade group, estimates that clean energy investment in Silicon Valley topped $500 million last year, including not just venture capital but also corporate and some debt financing.

...Forty-year-old Applied Materials, the biggest supplier of tools for making microchips, added solar cell manufacturing to its repertoire last year, and is equipping its Sunnyvale research center in Silicon Valley with one of the largest sun-powered energy systems in the United States.

Article Reference: 

Investors look for greener pastures in Silicon Valley