Packaging
Innovations in Packaging
Friday 17. December 2010 - The Three C's of Smart Packaging
Dell is implementing a plan to simplify and revolutionize computer packaging that will result in estimated savings of more than $8 million and the elimination of approximately 20 million pounds (10,000 tons) of packaging materials from 2008 through 2012.
Our Dell Packaging engineering team continuously develops and reviews improved packing methods that use the least amount of packaging material possible, while still protecting product shipments. We want to lead the industry in this area creating a metric where one doesn’t currently exist. We have a deliberate and innovative strategy to increase the sustainability of our packaging. We call it the Three C’s:
Cube How big is the box? Could it be smaller?
Content What is the packaging made of? Could it be made of something better?
Curb Is it easily recycled?
In December 2008, we committed to eliminating 20 million pounds of packaging by 2012. We will do this by:
Shrinking packaging volume by 10 percent (cube)
Increasing to 40 percent the amount of recycled content in packaging (content)
Increasing to 75 percent the amount of materials in packaging to be curbside recyclable (curb)
We have already made great progress toward our commitment. We’ve reduced packaging volume by over 13 percent, surpassing the original goal of a 10 percent reduction. Thus far, we have increased the amount of recycled content in packaging by approximately 33 percent (94 percent of the way there). We have increased the amount of materials in packaging to be curbside recyclable to 57 percent. These dedicated efforts have already resulted in eliminating over 8.7 million pounds of packaging.
Picking the Right Materials
Packaging consists of the box and the cushioning. We can help our customers by selecting the right packaging materials and using less of them:
Recyclable boxes Our business client product boxes are made from corrugated cardboard, which is 100 percent recyclable. We use a large amount of recycled cardboard in our new cardboard, but we can’t use 100 percent recycled content because it would lack the necessary structural integrity. So we focus our efforts on reducing the size of the box (cube). One of the most efficient methods for reducing box size is through the use of our multipacks when a customer orders several of the same products, upon request, we can bundle them together in a way that greatly reduces the amount of packaging material our customers have to deal with after the equipment is unpacked.
Recycled cushioning For many reasons, we’re experimenting with a variety of materials to create our cushioning. Regional cost differences and regional environmental concerns must be considered. For products such as the Dell Inspiron, we use thermal-form high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which contains 100 percent recycled content* from items such as milk jugs and detergent bottles that are 100 percent recyclable. We have introduced new packaging, such as air cushions in Europe, and other cushioning material, such as thermal-form HDPE cushion, in our effort to accomplish the goals of the Three C’s program.
Sustainable bamboo In November 2009, we began shipping Dell Inspiron Mini 10 and 10v netbooks in packaging made from bamboo, a highly renewable, certified compostable material that serves as a great alternative to molded paper pulp, foams and corrugated cardboard often used in packaging. Recently, we have extended the use of bamboo packaging to include a number of Dell Inspiron laptops. We encourage customers to add bamboo packaging to their compost piles for easy, environmentally responsible disposal. Learn more about our bamboo packaging >
* 100 percent recycled content for all Dell cushions, except those from India, where there are significant challenges in sourcing recycled polyethylene which passes Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive testing.
Reducing Waste With Multipack
For orders of multiple systems going to the same location, we offer Multipack a packaging option that enables multiple systems to be shipped in a single box. Multipack is offered on a limited basis but is available for most servers, OptiPlex desktops and Latitude laptops. For our PowerEdge M-Series blade servers, we have taken Multipack to new heights, and ship a fully configured chassis in a single box. This enables our customers to unpack and start up their new blade servers in about 15 minutes.
Multipack packaging types include:
Server Multipack Expanded to M1000E Multipack, which holds eight blade systems, saving an estimated 363 tons of packaging material annually
Asia OptiPlex MT packaging Saving an estimated 478 tons of packaging material annually
Europe OptiPlex MT packaging Saving an estimated 216.8 tons of packaging material annually
U.S. laptop box packaging Saving an estimated 317 tons of packaging material annually
Inbound piece-part packaging for a variety of components Saving an estimated 977 tons of packaging material annually
Future Packaging Projects
The packaging life cycle is complex, and it can be difficult to determine which materials offer the best environmental solutions. Our packaging engineers consider methodologies such as life-cycle assessments and carbon-footprint analyses to compare the environmental effects of different packaging. Using these methodologies to quantify packaging materials and related logistic models helps us profile and select the best solutions. Some of these future packaging product types are:
Air-filled cushion technology
Molded paper pulp cushions
Recycled HDPE thermal-formed cushions
Renewable resource packaging materials, such as starch-based foam