IFCO LCA Attempts to Discredit Corrugated Industry for Highest Packaging Recovery Rate

A new Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) published by IFCO, Tampa, Fla., USA, a provider of reusable plastic containers (RPCs), attempts to discredit the corrugated packaging industry for having the highest recovery rate of any packaging system in America, the Corrugated  Packaging Alliance (CPA), Itasca, Ill., reports.  

 

The LCA posits that since corrugated boxes for produce only have an average recycled content of 38.4%, excess recovered fiber collected for recycling displaces production of virgin fiber, which results in apparently higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for corrugated.

"This assumption and LCA methodology used by IFCO mischaracterizes the complexities of a balanced fiber production system," said Dennis Colley, executive director of the CPA. "The corrugated packaging industry uses both virgin and recovered fiber for optimal and maximum production—and a high level of recycling should never be discounted."

Recovery of old corrugated containers reached a record 92.9% in 2015. Around the country, 95% of Americans have access to community-based curbside and/or drop-off corrugated recycling programs.

Paper recovery for recycling helps extend the useful life of paper and paper-based packaging products, making it an integral part of the industry’s sustainability story. Nearly 52:% of the recovered fiber collected for recycling in the U.S. is used to make containerboard for more boxes. Additionally, 11.5% is used to make boxboard for primary packaging like cereal boxes, more than 32% is exported to other parts of the world where virgin fiber is scarce, and the remainder goes to other products such as tissue and printing and writing papers, the CPA explained.

By preventing paper from being sent to the landfill, paper recovery avoids GHG emissions. More than twice as much paper and paper-based packaging is recycled than is sent to landfills.

The IFCO LCA, Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Reusable Plastic Containers and Display—and Non-Display Ready Corrugated Containers Used for Fresh Produce Applications, was conducted by Franklin and Associates and evaluated three types of containers—RPCs, Display, and Non-Display Corrugated Containers across 10 large-volume produce commodities. 

More information about the sustainability of corrugated packaging is available online. 

The Corrugated Packaging Alliance is a corrugated industry initiative, jointly sponsored by the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), AICC (The Independent Packaging Association), the Fibre Box Association (FBA), and TAPPI.  Its mission is to foster growth and profitability of corrugated in applications where it can be demonstrated, based on credible and persuasive evidence, that corrugated should be the packaging material of choice; and to provide a coordinated industry focus that effectively acts on industry matters that cannot be accomplished by individual members. CPA members include North American corrugated manufacturers and converters.