Electronic Parts/Guidelines - infoHouse

3.0 Toxic Material Reduction
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Dioxins
It is difficult for those in the packaging community to view packaging materials
as being life threatening. It is not too difficult, however, to see packaging cre-
ating a problem in landfills ... it fills them up. But that fact certainly doesn't
present a hazard. Besides. there is a lot of effort going on today to source
reduce, reuse and recycle. In addition and where permitted by law, there is
incineration which can transform a lot of solid waste into a little ash.
Packaging is very functional. It protects products. You can iabei it and print
information on it. Professional looking colors and graphics can convey a
message to the customer concerning the quality of the product inside. Pack-
aging during its useful life doesn't present much of an environmental hazard. In
fact, some packaging is designed to protect the environment from the contents of
the package.
Concern has been expressed over toxic threats presented to the environment by
packaging. These threats are most visible at a package's "front-end'' and its
"back-end." At the front-end, some of the chemicals used in the production and
processing of packaging materials are highly toxic, resulting in hazardous
wastes, toxic air emissions, and discharge of toxic effluents into waterways. At
the back-end, afler the useful life of a package is over, toxic elements can again
be introduced into the environment, even with "proper" disposal of the materials
in landfills or incinerators.
.
Much attention is centered today on environmental contamination by dioxins and
heavy metals. Dioxins do not occur naturally, they are created, and once
created, do not biodegrade readily. Heavy metals do exist naturally, they are
elements. Industrial processes convert them into particles which are much more
environmentally mobile than the natural form. Although packaging is not the
major contributor of these toxic agents to the solid waste stream, their removal
from packaging could make solid waste management safer and serve to alleviate
public concerns about solid waste management treatment facilities.
Packaging materials used by IBM do not represent any more and normally less
of an environmental hazard than do those of other industries. However, IBM has
in place a policy statement addressing its solid waste. It is in support of this
policy that this information on packaging related toxic wastes is presented.
3.2.1 Introduction
Since the early lQ8O's environmental dioxin has become an issue of increasing
concern to environmentalists, government agencies, and to various industries
within the United States. Dioxin, which is a carcinogen, a teratogen, and a
mutagen, is present in the environment at very low levels as a by-product of
combustion in municipal incinerators, forest fires, automobile exhausts, and
TOXIC Material Reducflon '11