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For years, the life of an average cardboard box was short and sweet. From manufacturer, to consumer, to landfill, the purpose of packing boxes was to simply escort and protect the ‘real product’ en route to its final destination. But with a shift in environmental consciousness came the need for more practical solutions.
That’s where Rebox Corp comes in.
As a North American leader in reused corrugated cardboard, the Montreal-based company is cashing in as the business world begins to look for more environmentally friendly solutions. The business model is actually quite simple: buy storage boxes which have been previously used, remove the damaged ones from the pile for recycling, and repackage the rest to provide cheap packing boxes for other businesses.
Packing boxes are usually in pristine condition after their initial use, and with the vast majority being used for internal purposes, logos and markings are of little concern to most companies, although Rebox does also provide services which cover previous markings at the customer’s request.
With savings of up to forty percent compared to buying new boxes, it’s no wonder the demand for cheap packing boxes has skyrocketed in recent years. One factor is the significant drop in environmental impact from each box sold and the volume in which most shipping companies buy storage boxes and the recipe for success is perfect.
Strangely, the one constraint is actually the supply of used packing boxes. With demand growing by leaps and bounds, Rebox is constantly on the look-out for new suppliers of gently used cardboard boxes.
Long removed from being just a disposable packaging material, Rebox has found a way to turn what was once a waste product into an innovative cost-saving solution, while helping both the environment and the businesses alike.
As of January 2012, Québec’s Minister for Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs, launched a certification program for products with recycled content. RECYC ECO as the new identifying label will authenticate recycled content in an effort to establish confidence between eco-friendly industries and the public.
The Process
In a partnership program, RECYC-QUÉBEC will work with the Bureau de Normalisation du Québec (BNQ), who will conduct certification checks of manufacturers through an application process. The review will be guided by strict established standards and will serve to maintain quality levels. If their compliance is approved, their products with be registered and promoted by RECYC-QUÉBEC.
The certification will also expand to include furniture, office supplies and building
materials. Suppliers like Rebox will provide a statement listing the composition, level of recycled materials, and the source of the recycled materials, allowing manufacturers to receive the RECYC ECO stamp certification, ensuring that consumers are buying recycled content from a credible source.
The Benefits
This stamp of approval will not only promote a sustainable environment but will also support businesses such as Rebox, by providing a tool of recognition and credibility. The program also recognizes product and by-product manufacturers, such as boxes and packaging, which will now be able to qualify for certification. It will also support Rebox’s sustainable development efforts in metal recycling services and plastic recycling services.
By creating a link between environmentally friendly businesses and government
certification, consumers will now be able to identify the percentage of recycled materials they buy and which companies they should buy their products from. This will better equip a growing number of environmentally conscious consumers in making informed decisions that will ultimately strengthen brand loyalty and promote positive changes for the environment.
As a “green” advocate, Rebox stands to benefit from this certification as their
commitment to sustainability continues to grow and expand. As leaders of an ever- growing industry that continues to become a corporate concern, Rebox delivers all of your recycling needs. Exceeding the ranks of most plastic recycling companies and metal recycling companies, Rebox offers a full service that will help transition your organization to a more sustainable and environmentally aware company — one that consumers can trust and now verify with the RECYC ECO government certification stamp.
“The battle we have fought, and are still fighting, for the forests is part of the eternal conflict between right and wrong, and we cannot expect to see the end of it…So we must count on watching and striving for these trees, and should always be glad to find anything so surely good and noble to strive for.” - John Muir
It is a very calculating and unfeeling world where the “tree hugger” is a negative term. Of course, there has to be a middle ground where big industry and environmental activists can meet and come to reasonable solutions.
The consumption of goods and energy in North America is staggering and is constantly increasing. This is not a force that anyone is going to be able to stop. Our goal should be to make that growth and satisfying those needs sustainable. What goes around has to come around.
A tree is virgin material. It represents not only our natural environment, but also the starting point for many manufacturing processes. Those processes have to learn to feed themselves, forming a loop wherein the tree is replaced and reused, or recycling turns once used virgin materials into reprocessed goods that can be used repeatedly. Meanwhile, the fledgling tree has time to grow and contribute shade and oxygen to its surrounding area.
The process of turning a tree into a piece of paper, a cardboard box, or a piece of flooring requires energy, and lots of it. In North America most energy is generated from non-renewable sources such as oil, natural gas, and coal. Over 35% of harvested trees are used to create paper products. However, it is not necessary to use virgin materials in most production. In fact, using recycled materials not only saves landfill space, it also drops the manufacturing cost.
One tree can be used to produce approximately 40,000 sheets of paper. That can be turned into 280,000 sheets of paper through recycling, as paper can be effectively reprocessed up to seven times. Five trees can be saved by repeated recycling of one cardboard box.
Rebox, a company that helps industry and other commercial enterprises deal with their waste management problems, originally dealt exclusively with procurement and reselling of once used cardboard boxes in good condition. This plan resulted in considerable savings to customers, an added revenue stream for sellers, and reduced energy costs for manufacturing companies to zero.
The obvious next step in helping businesses with waste problems was to introduce recycling services. Today, Rebox can offer full waste management solutions to all companies who are concerned about the “greening” of North America’s commercial base.
Rebox will make an excellent partner for any company who sees that environmental protection is not an option, it is a responsibility.
As one Chinese proverb says: “Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a songbird will come.”
Most people know that it’s important to recycle plastic bottles and a good number of individuals and businesses participate in a recycling program. Single-use water bottles and plastic bags are causing extensive environmental damage, and yet the use of these items increases daily.
It’s vital that both individuals and industry acknowledge their role in making sure that these items do not end up in landfills, floating at the bottom of the ocean, or wrapped around the necks of wildlife or domesticated animals. The obvious answer to this problem is to reduce the number of single use plastic items that end as waste. Recycling and reusing the materials is an excellent alternative, especially if the new products are reusable themselves.
Rebox has added a recycling service for their present and future clients to augment their eco-friendly reusable cardboard box business. Rebox accepts most recyclable goods, and guarantees that none of it will end up in landfills. They will even help your business to set up a waste management plan that can be easily integrated into your manufacturing facilities.
And what becomes of recycled items? If you’ve seen, people carrying reusable shopping bags with the label “I used to be a plastic bottle”, you have one answer. Reusable bags are a good example of a disposal problem being transformed into new products. All plastic is coded, and is sorted according to that code after being delivered to the recycling plant. This is a very important part of the process as different grades of plastic can only reused for certain items. For example, #1-PETE (polyethylene terephtahalate) can be processed to use for threaded items such as reusable grocery or shopping bags.
Reusable bags are one of the most publicly visible products resulting from recycling plastic. More and more stores are asking if the customer has brought their own bags, and will charge them if a single use bag must be supplied. In fact, some stores no longer even stock plastic bags. In these places, if you don’t bring a reusable bag, you might have a hard time getting your merchandise home.
Bags that are made in a way that guarantees strength and durability, as well as being attractively printed, are less likely to be pushed to the back of the trunk of the car. An added value is that the store that sold the bag can use the printable areas to promote their company.
Many stores have also made the switch over to paper shopping bags. Paper is easily recyclable, and this process can be repeated up to seven times. It is just one other material that Rebox recycles.
Whatever your choice – reusable or paper shopping bags – Rebox encourages you to limit the amount of single use plastic items. And when you can’t avoid it, recycle it. Rebox will take care of the recycling at the manufacturing end, and individuals can take personal responsibility to either reuse, return or recycle.
Let us imagine that your company has already made serious inroads into the “greening” of your business. Perhaps you are already taking advantage of every service that Rebox offers for your reusing and recycling efforts. Good for you!
Now, sing it from the rooftops! Take care not to create more paper waste that needs to be recycled; let the world know that you are serious about reducing your ecological footprint. There’s a good chance that your initiatives will help you to gain green customers, or will increase your chance of winning a large contract that demands the inclusion of environmental protection policies.
As the public, governmental, and industry pressure grows for companies to increase their environmental participation, companies that have not gotten with the program may find themselves labelled as outcasts. Many consumer surveys have shown that those who are not heeding the call to action will suffer economically by loss of business.
Rebox itself has expanded its services to help companies “go green”. In addition to running a very successful program to reuse cardboard containers, they have instituted a recycling program. Your company can take advantage of either of the services, or both. Unlike some recycling companies, Rebox is committed to the environment and guarantees that none of your recycled waste will end up in land fills. As the Rebox motto says, “One companies waste is another’s gain”.
Recycling or reusing products and waste byproducts makes good business sense. Aside from creating a new revenue streams, it can also reduce the cost of materials you need for your own processes. And the old adage “what goes around comes around” is easily applied to recycling efforts. Reducing costs for another company can boost your own buying power, giving you “more bang for your buck.”
Of course, increasing your commitment to more responsible waste management practices should not be a decision made just on potential financial benefits. A good example involves Timberland shoes. About 10 years ago, the company decided to measure their contribution to pollution and environmental destruction, and to do something about reducing or changing their damaging practices. They made their findings public through a “Green Index” that all companies could use to evaluate their own performance. The company did not sell more shoes as a result, nor did they expect to an increase in sales. They did it, as the European Director Anabele Drese stated, simply because “it was right”
With both economic survival, and social responsibility biting at their heels, companies need to take the higher path and eliminate poor waste management plans. It’s time to make it right; make it green!
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