Electronic Parts/Guidelines - infoHouse

More documents

Recommendations

Info

7.5.1 .I Resources: Corrugated containers are normally bought by an end user from a local sheet plant supplier. The sheet plant obtains its corrugated sheets from a corrugation plant, which gets its liners from a paper mill. There are approximately 21 major paper mills in the US. and approximately 2,000 sheet plants. Depending on the vendor used, the intermediary steps can be all one company (i.e. trees to paper liners to corrugated sheet to die cut containers) or they can all be dlfferent companies. The resource for US. corrugated fiber board (soft pines and firs) is considered a renewable resource, although there is some controversy over this issue. Many large mills harvest trees from private tree farms. Although clear cutting is a controversial subject, it is the preferred method by paper mills when harvesting tree farms, due to,the type of trees they replant, which need a large amount of light to grow fast. Old growth forests and hardwoods are not commonly harvested for use in the paper industry. No trees are imported from other countries for the paper industry therefore there is no impact to the depleting rain forests in South America. 7.5.1.2 Manufacturing: Corrugated fiber board is manufactured in several steps. Chemicals, glues and inks are used to produce the final container. There is a wide range in practices from company to company on environmental impacts. Energy Use: 13-26 million Btu’s are used to produce a ton of paper, and there is additional energy used in the conversion to corrugated and die cutting plus the transportation between plants, but this is difficult to quantify. Wetter Use: Approximately 84 liters of water are used per Kg of paper produced. ( It is common practice to return the water after treatment to the water source . , , the type of treatment and effective- ness varies from company to company.) Air Emiss!ons: The quantities of air emissions vary, with some companies claiming up to 100% capture before release (which is questionable) to the other end of the spectrum. Air releases include dust, CO, C02, SOX, NOx, Hydrogen Sulfide and Chloroform. Water Discharges: The quantities vary due to the same reasons as above and include Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD’S) or organic matter, suspended solids and trace amounts of dioxin. Hazardous Waste: The following chemicals are associated with the paper industry. Acetone Chlorine Chloroform Methanol Formaldehyde Catechol Ammonia Chromium Hydrochloric Acid Quantities vary greatly from company to company and actual data on waste sent to hazardous materials facilities is not available. As a generalization, however, natural kraft utilizes less chemicals than bleached corrugated 7.5.1.3 Packaging Material Usage lransportatlon: Although the local sheet plant may deliver the finished containers, the corrugated sheet stock may have been shipped from another state and the liner board may travel 1,000 miles or more by rail or truck. Reusability: Corrugated containers when designed for reuse can last for years, but the normal container is used one time. 58 Environmental Packaging <strong>Guidelines</strong>
Recyc/eb///ty: Corrugated fiber board is a highly desirable material for recycling. There are extensive systems set up throughout the country for collecting and recycling corrugate board. 9.098,oOO tons of corrugated was recycled in 1991, an increase of 4.2% from the previous year. The trend IS for greater increases in 1992. /nc/n.rstlon: Corrugated can be incinerated, prodUChg 7080 Btu/pound. but is not as efficient as fossil fuel energy generation. Refer to Table 11 on page 63 for energy content of other materials. Com~~~//ltylBlodegmd~b///~~: COrrUgated fiber board is generally biodegradable (except for chemically treated and/or waxed board). However, like other "degradable" materials in a landfill, Corrugated may take many years to break down due to lack of oxygen and light. When shredded, corrugated fiberboard is a very good compost material. 7.5.1.4 Recommendations: Companies purchasing Corrugated containers can request information on environmental stewardship practice from their suppliers. Many large milis have wildlife pro- tection practices, pollution control practices, high recycled content and policies on harvesting old growth forests. By requesting this information and using this as a basis for deciding a vendor, the electronics packaging professional can have a positive impact on improving policies for companies that do not have an environmental stewardship policy and rewarding companies that do. Recycled content is commonly available with minimal effect on strength and appearance. For many uses like pads, partitions and void fillers, virgin material is not necessary and lM)% recycled board would work weii. Even outer shipping containers can utilize the 100% recycled material with little degradation in performance. By specifying recycled content (a mixture of post-consumer and industrial scrap) the packaging professional can have a positive impact on the market for collecting corrugated fiber board and reducing the amount of trees needed for the industry. The printing inks for some containers have used heavy metals. Current legislation in the Northeast United States will require a combined maximum of 100 parts per miiiion (ppm) by weight of lead, cadmium, mercury, and hekavaient chromium for any packaging material. A good practice would be to requesting that the inks be FDA approved or contain no more than 100 ppm of heavy metals. 7.5.2 Environmental lmpad of Polystyrene Polystyrene is the oldest commercial thermoplastic polymer resin, having been commercially produced at the beginning of World War II. It is stable, lightweight. an excellent thermal insulator, water reslstant, and ideal for cushioning when expanded (foamed). Polystyrene has multiple uses. Expanded, it is used in the food service industry as container materials and in the electronics industry as cushioning for delicate instrumentation. It is also used in toys, housewares, and office supplies Polystyrene resins sales in the U.S. in 1990 were 5.1 billion pounds of which approximately 250 mlilion pounds was EPS from packaging. 7.5.2.1 Resources: Polystyrene Is a derivative of benzene and ethylene; both byproducts of the production of oil and gas, which are non-renewable resources. It is estimated that approximately 3% of oil and natural gas volume is used by the plastics industry. A specific percentage for polystyrene IS not available. Environmental impacts of oil and gas drilling for energy would be similar to those for the plastic industry, and include the extractive operations on sensitive habitats and general depletion of the fossil fuel base. 7.5.2.2 Manufacturing Energy Use: Because it involves high temperature processes, some of which exceed 600' C, the man- ufacture of styrene and polystyrene requires high energy inputs. This is somewhat offset by the recovery of steam and other process byproducts which are reconverted to energy for the processes. Life Cycle Assessment 59
Page 1:
Electronic Products, Parts and Supp
Page 5 and 6:
About this book This book has been
Page 7 and 8:
How to use this manual online ' Thi
Page 9 and 10:
. Contents About thls book ........
Page 11 and 12:
6.3.3 Evaluation Process for Reusab
Page 13 and 14:
1 .O Environmental Packaging Design
Page 15 and 16:
1.6 IBM Corporate Environmental Pol
Page 17 and 18:
Number 139 November 29, 1900 Page 2
Page 19 and 20: 1.7 IBM Corporate Environmental Pos
Page 21 and 22: 2.0 Ozone Depleting Substances 2.1
Page 23 and 24: 3.0 Toxic Material Reduction 3.1 In
Page 25 and 26: dh ure 1. The Pulp and Paper Proces
Page 27 and 28: 3.3 Heavy Metals in Inks 3. Specify
Page 29 and 30: for example, must be shown to be sa
Page 31 and 32: Table 4 (Pam 1 of 2). Toxins in Pla
Page 33 and 34: 3.4.4 Recommendations It is recomme
Page 35 and 36: ' 4.0 Recycling 4.1 Introduction 4.
Page 37 and 38: 4.3 Recycling and the Economy other
Page 39 and 40: 4.6 Wooden materials Muff/-Meterla/
Page 41 and 42: Mlxed Paper: Mixed papers are gener
Page 43 and 44: 4.7.8 Guidelines for Recycled Fiber
Page 45 and 46: If part-specific artwork has not be
Page 47 and 48: Secondary applications for C0n"ngle
Page 49 and 50: of imprinting is preferred as this
Page 51: 2. Seat cushions 3. Tractor seats U
Page 54 and 55: 4.10.5 Recommendations Degradable a
Page 56 and 57: Compostabla: Unqualified claims of
Page 58 and 59: Material light-Weightlng: Material
Page 60 and 61: PackinglUse: This is the labor invo
Page 62 and 63: simple, to facilitate easy and fast
Page 64 and 65: chemically treated fibers is NOT RE
Page 66 and 67: Cost Comparlson: Compare the estima
Page 68 and 69: 7.4 Life-Cycle Inventory 7.4.1 Over
Page 72 and 73: ... Again, industry figures are una
Page 74 and 75: Alr Emlsslons: The industry ranges
Page 76 and 77: 4 Environmental Packaging Guldellne
Page 78 and 79: The introduction of a non-standard
Page 80 and 81: 68 Environmental Packanino liiiidol
Page 82 and 83: In the meantime. until these quanti
Page 84 and 85: use of new or different types of lo
Page 86 and 87: 74 Envlronmantal Packaging Guidelin
Page 88 and 89: Packaging Packaging Digest 650 S. C
Page 90 and 91: Earthworm (recycling programs) 186
Page 92 and 93: Semicycle (IC tubes, etc. recycling
Page 94 and 95: BALER a machine used to compress re
Page 96 and 97: COLLECTOR PARTICULATE Types: BAG-FI
Page 98 and 99: DIOXIN I. General term applied to a
Page 100 and 101: were mixed with the combustible mat
Page 102 and 103: HEAVY-MEDIA SEPARATOR a unit proces
Page 104 and 105: with the holocellulose which makes
Page 106 and 107: ORGANOCHLORINES term for over 300 c
Page 108 and 109: PUTRESCIBLE organic matter capable
Page 110 and 111: .. REPALLETIZATION the transfer of
Page 112 and 113: ~ use of rubber tires as dock bumpe
Page 114 and 115: ~~ (7) SOURCE SEPARATED RECYCLABLES
Page 116 and 117: stock when it has been graded and b
show all

Electronic Parts/Guidelines - infoHouse

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?