Australian Packaging Covenant
Action Plan
Revised (Mar 2013)
2010 - 2015
Phoenix Manufacturing
Services
Phoenix APC Action Plan 2010 - 2015
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Executive Summary
In the past ten years, we have assessed our distribution packaging,
improved our on-site waste management practices; developed a
sustainability purchasing policy; provided training to our employees &
strived to encourage customers & end users to implement polystyrene
recycling programs.
While minor opportunities are possible within Goal 1 Design, we
believe most action available to us at this time, has been achieved. We
understand our responsibility to put our existing range through the
Sustainable Packaging Guidelines. We have set a timetable to
undertake this review which will be grouped by packaging type.
We also are aware our products have the propensity to being littered.
This is addressed in our Action Plan.
Within Goal 2, almost half of our on-site recovery waste material is
being diverted via recycling or reuse. This includes cardboard, paper,
beverage containers, mixed plastics (types 1,2,3,4,5,7) & all of our
waste production polystyrene that is “slugged” & sent for conversion
into things such as picture frames & rulers.
We aspire to further reduce our waste to landfill
volumes & so set an action to audit the mixed waste
component that is still being sent to landfill to identify
recovery options.
In 2009, we implemented our Sustainable Purchasing
Policy covering all aspects of our operations. It now
requires better incorporation to our daily activities.
We recognise we have made many great steps forward
& have some still to achieve. Goal 3, working our
supply
chain
is
perhaps
where
we
see
most
opportunity. This is twofold. We will review all our
supply contracts that impact on our packaging &
environmental performances & look to our distributors
& their customers to assist & encourage their
participation in the APC process.
Phoenix APC Action Plan 2010 - 2015
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary ………
Company Details ………...
About Phoenix ………
Our People ………
Products & Packaging ………...
Packaging Review ………....
Environmental ………
Covenant Actions ………..
APC Commitment ………...
Supply Chain ………
Our Market ………...
Action Plan
Goal 1: Design ………
Goal 2: Recycling ………..
Goal 3: Product Stewardship ………
Product Stewardship ……….
2
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
17
19
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Company Details
Company
:Phoenix Manufacturing (A Dart subsidiary)
118 Long St Smithfield NSW 2164
Business
:Packaging Manufacturer of expanded polystyrene
cups
Web
:www.factsonfoam.com.au
www.dart.biz:
Phone
02 97571488
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About Phoenix
Phoenix Manufacturing Services Pty Ltd is a packaging manufacturer &
distributor within Australia & Asia, of single use polystyrene food cups, bowls
& lids.
A subsidiary of American firm Dart Container Corporation, Phoenix have been
supporters of the Packaging Covenant since signing NPC Mk1 in March 2000
under the auspice of the Plastics & Chemical Industry Association (PACIA) &
then from 2006 as an individual packaging manufacturer signatory.
Our Australian operation consists of a small team & a small packaging range.
This makes it simpler to monitor our actions & communicate to our
Phoenix APC Action Plan 2010 - 2015
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Our People
Covenant Contact:
David Bell
Covenant Signatory
Adam Hope
Plant Manager
APC Team
•
Plant Manager
•
Account Manager
•
Sales Manager
•
Quality Supervisor
•
Shipping / Receiving Supervisor
•
Production Supervisor
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Products & Packaging
Products
Our standard range of product is a variety of
sized EPS foam cups for drinks such as juice,
coffee; cups for hot chips; food bowls for soup
& other meals & suitable lids.
Our products are available plain or printed.
Packaging
Our packaging is secondary & tertiary
tiers for the purpose of protecting our
products in storage & delivery.
It
includes:
•
HDPE cup sleeves
•
Cardboard shippers
•
Labels
•
Tape
•
Plastic strapping
•
Stretch & shrink wrap
We now also have a very small range of Fusion™
composite polystyrene / paper cups
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Packaging Review
Product Grouping Product Purpose Packaging Tier Reviewed
(Y/N)
Review Date
Plastics
Polystyrene
Cups / bowls / lids Primary Y Dec 2011HDPE
Plastic sleeves for holding stacked cups Secondary YDec 2011
LDPE
Stretch wrap Tertiary N Dec 2012Polyprop
Strapping Tertiary N Dec 2012Paper / Cardboard
Cardboard Shipper Tertiary N Dec 2013
Paper Picking slips Tertiary N Dec 2013
Other
Composite Polystyrene / paper cup
Labels Primary Tertiary N N Dec 2014 Dec 2014
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Environmental
Our parent company, Dart have produced a range of
publications about polystyrene & its place within the
environment.
•
Environmental Facts About Foam Cups
•
Green Care: Dart's Environmental Efforts
•
Green
Care:
Foodservice
Packaging
Life
Cycle
Inventory
•
Green Care: General Information on Biobased
Products
•
Facts on Foam Recycling Brochure
•
Green Care: Dart's Environmental Ethic
•
Green Care: Putting Stewardship into Practice
•
Consumers' Research: Is Paper Better Than Plastic?
We hope to use in Australia some of the environmental
advances Dart is making internationally.
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Covenant Actions
•
Testing use of the new Green Purchasing Guide by
buying second hand shipping containers
•
Recycle all unsaleable post-operative polystyrene
•
Recycle all plastics from production related
activities
•
Cups to be printed are not stored sealed until after
printing
•
Comingled beverage container recycling in lunch
room
•
Reuse imported Dart pallets for storage in
warehouse & production areas
•
Sell imported large cardboard pallecon boxes for
resale to other users
•
Reuse some cardboard for archive storage
•
Only use shippers once within production,
pre-printing, printing & distribution processes
•
Recycle excess used cardboard
•
Recycle all scrap metal including old line parts, tags
from raw material bags etc
•
Recycle any scrap timber
•
Phoenix still imports lids from Dart packaged in
recycled-content corrugated cartons.
•
Supporting polystyrene recycling at Greenslopes
Private Hospital (Brisbane).
•
Life
Cycle
Inventory
(LCI)
programs
(See
www.factsonfoam.com.au & www.dart.biz for current
& future reports.)
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APC Commitment
Phoenix believes the APC
format to be a positive
step forward in terms of
Phoenix APC Action Plan 2010 - 2015
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Supply Chain
We look to our distributors & their
customers for ways to assist them to & /
or encourage their participation in the
APC process.
Some of our medical customers have
incorporated
recycling
collection
of
polystyrene
cups
however
other
significant opportunity still exists with
retail, education & other outlets via our
distributors.
In doing this we are also reviewing &
assessing other recycling options for
suitability for Australia.
We provide our product to distributors &
wholesalers for on-selling to hospitals, hotels,
cafeterias,
take
away
food
outlets,
catering
companies, clubs, sporting outlets, pharmacies,
offices & brands such as Boost Juice & Subway.
Our distributors include MPM, Bunzl & the
Interfresh Group
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Our Market
We currently operate in an extremely competitive market.
Our competitors’ “paper cups” are really composite paper
/ plastic cups perceived as being environmentally
preferred as a single layer paper product. This remains a
contentious issue for us. We would ideally like these
products to be more clearly promoted as composite items
that create recyclability challenges.
While our product range is >99% EPS cups, we have
recently imported a small percentage (<1%) of cups that
are polystyrene /paper composite called Fusion to
compete against the so called “paper cup”.
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Action Plan Goal 1:
Design
KPI Actions Timeline Responsibility Target / Goal Baseline data
KPI 1:
Sustainable
Packaging
Guidelines
(SPG)
incorporated
into
processes
for the design
or procurement
of
all
new
packaging
Capacity Building
1. APC team to be formed
2. Product grouping determined
3. Existing packaging review timeline to be set
4. Conduct training on APC for employees
5. Build APC component into National Sales Meeting
6. Relevant SPG questions incorporated into existing packaging design process to ensure all new
packaging is assessed against APC requirements
7. Review/s existing packaging
8. Develop ongoing Actions for implementing any required changes resulting from packaging review
Apr 2011 Mar 2011 Mar 2011 Dec 2011 Apr 2011 Annually Dec 2011 Dec 2011, 2012, 2013 2014 Mar 2012 Plant Mgr / Account Mgr / APC Consult APC Consultant Sales Mgr / International Sales Mgr/ APC Consultant APC Team APC Team APC Team
a. Avoid or minimise the use of materials (quantity, layers or material content)
b. Avoid or minimise resource use (energy, water)
c. Ensure all our existing & new packaging is designed with due consideration for its overall use & fully optimises its recyclability potential
d. Ensure our packaging is designed to reduce any potential litter impacts
2010 Data 222 tonnes polystyrene product produced
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Action Plan Goal 2:
Recycling
KPI Actions Timeline Responsibility Target / Goal Baseline data
KPI 3:
Maintain
&
where
relevant
improve
our
on-site
recovery
systems
for
reuse
or
recycling
of
used
packaging
Workplace Recycling1. Conduct waste audit to determine general waste content
2. Review existing on-site recovery systems
Data Management
3. Ensure the data for diverting on-site materials is provided in our Annual Reports
Mar 2011 Dec 2011 31 Mar-12,13,14,15 APC Consultant Plant Mgr / APC Team APC Team
a. Maintain at least current performance levels of onsite recovery
b. Improve onsite recovery of packaging
c. Improve qualitative data on recyclables & items disposed
d. Clear systems &
communication processes are in place for maximising recovery or recycling of all possible items 2010 Data Items Landfilled 197 x 3m3 bins pa of general waste Items Recycled 17 tonnes of EPS 101 x 3m3 bins pa of cardboard 3.2 tonnes mixed plastic
Lunch room items taken to local drop-off – no data at this time
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Action Plan Goal 2:
Recycling
KPI Actions Timeline Responsibility Target / Goal Baseline data
KPI 4:
Establish a buy
recycled policy
& implement it
across all of our
business
Market Development & Procurement
1. Review Sustainable Purchasing Policy & implementation processes
October 2011
APC Team
Increase our support for recycled packaging materials being used in Australian product manufacture.
While a trial of the purchasing policy
has been
undertaken, full implementation is still to occur
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Action Plan Goal 3:
Product Stewardship
KPI Actions Timeline Responsibility Target / Goal Baseline dataKPI 6:
Incorporate
APC goals &
requirements
into our
existing
formal
processes for
working with
others to
improve
design &
recycling of
packaging
Collaboration1. Ensure our purchasing agreements contain review options incorporating the SPG to divert packaging from landfill either via design, reuse, take back or recycling with appropriate data that assists us to measure & report.
2. At annual sales meetings, develop a list of end users/user types from the service area of recyclers who we work with
3. In conjunction with recyclers develop an information sheet outlining steps & costs for recovering & recycling used cups.
4. Identify & contact recyclers in Sydney & Adelaide to recover & recycle used cups & other EPS packaging from users sites 5. Promote recovery & recycling service to/through distributors that are APC signatories and others that service large volume users & directly to those users using the materials developed in 4 above.
Collaborate with these distributors to identify potential user partners
6. Review & assess other recycling options for EPS cup for suitability in Australia
Dec-11 Feb/ Mar-13, 14, 15 May – Jul 13 May-13 Annual review Jan-14 Dec -13 Annual Review Review annually Jun-13
APC Team / Plant Mgr
Purchasing agreements are still to be reviewed. We have decided to include this in the packaging review process
List of end users / user types Annual Sales Priority Plan
0% of packaging reviewed
No suppliers involved in review processes to-date
3 hospitals recycling post consumer cups No universities
recycling post consumer cups
No retail outlets recycling post consumer cups
No other end users known to be recycling post consumer cups Nat Sales Mgr /
Sales Team
Information sheet /price guide
Recyclers details / or list of barriers
List of distributors / others
Minutes / outcomes of discussions with distributors & other users. Identification of details of major end users to enable recover & litter prevention programs
Project development is in progress
Account Mgr Corporate Counsel; Govt Affairs & Environment
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Action Plan Goal 3:
Product Stewardship
KPI Actions Timeline Responsibility Target / Goal Baseline dataKPI
7:
Demonstration
of
other
product
stewardship
outcomes.
1. Review existing waste management contracts that wherever possible ensure our on-site packaging is collected for reuse or recycling with qualitative data provided to enable us to measure & report.
Annually Plant Mgr a. Reduce packaging in the market & to landfill
b. Use stewardship to promote good will within the supply chain
KPI 8.
Reduction
in
the number of
packaging
items
in
the
litter stream.
1. Ensure our on-site operations produce no litter 2. Incorporate into the sustainable packaging review process questions that address the products’ propensity to being littered.
4. Work with KABC to modify the NLI to more clearly measure EPS cups
5. Work with organisations eg end users, government programs, AFGC, KABC etc to reduce littering of our products Daily assessment Dec-11 Jun-13 Dec-11 Review annually Plant Mgr APC Team APC Consultant Account Mgr / APC Consultant
Ensure all our actions do not negatively impact on the litter stream
Minimise litter from our products
Currently no litter program activity
KABC’s National Litter Index doesn’t separate EPS cups from other items so current data is not available
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Product Stewardship
Recognising litter prevention is a
partnership approach.
In this Action Plan, we look to the APC,
the AFGC, KABC, Government
programs, event managers & end users
for ways we can assist.
