Not only are broken pallets expensive to business owners, they're a burden on waste operations as well.

By Jodi Taitt

The wheelbarrow slogan - and title of this article - for a Twin Cities, MN, campaign encourages local companies to make the switch to reusable transport packaging. The first of its kind in the country, the campaign called "There's a Better Way" was created by the Twin Cities Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board (SWMCB) in partnership with the Reusable Pallet & Container Coalition (RPCC) headquartered in Washington, DC.

Consistent with national trends reported by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the amount of garbage generated in Minnesota by the 2.6 million residents in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) and surrounding suburbs is growing steadily. The SWMCB, representing six counties in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, is responsible for developing policies and programs for managing this waste. The SWMCB managed 3.3 million tons of garbage in 2001, and it is projected that it will manage more than 5 million tons by 2017 says Victoria Reinhardt, Ramsey County commissioner; chair of the SWMCB's Reduction and Recycling Committee for the six-county area. "The garbage crisis in the Twin Cities is often overshadowed by other important public policy issues," Reinhardt says.

To stay ahead of the curve and focus on a solution, the SWMCB studied the composition of the garbage produced by businesses and residents in its region. Four years ago the SWMCB discovered that 15% of the garbage generated by businesses and residents in its region was composed of cardboard boxes and wood pallets. Based on these findings and similar findings of earlier composition studies, the SWMCB set a goal to reduce 75,000 tpy of commercial transport packaging waste.

The big question was how to achieve this goal. In 2000, the SWMCB conducted market research to identify industry leaders that made the switch to reusable wood, metal, or plastic pallets and containers that can be used multiple times. Reusable pallets and containers are designed and built to last for many years of use and replace one-time or limited-use pallets and boxes. According to the research, companies that made the switch experienced lower labor costs, better product protection, less product damage, more productive flow of goods through distribution channels, better ergonomics, improved worker safety, and longer useful life of packaging. "We also found that companies reduced their waste management costs and positively impacted the environment by generating less waste and reducing the need to build expensive disposal facilities or more landfills," says Reinhardt.

The SWMCB knew that, when it made sense, Twin Cities businesses would make the switch to reusable transport packaging with or without their involvement. "But we wanted to help businesses make the switch faster," Reinhardt says. In 2001, the SWMCB developed a marketing plan to encourage Twin Cities businesses to reduce the use of one-time and limited-use pallets and boxes. The marketing plan focused on education as a roadmap to spread the word about the benefits of reusable transport packaging. "With the marketing plan as a tool, the SWMCB created the ‘There's a Better Way' awareness and education campaign," says Reinhardt. The goal of the campaign is to provide Twin Cities businesses the information they need to make the switch to reusable transport packaging.

But the SWMCB knew it couldn't get the job done alone. To add visibility to the campaign and ensure that expert information is available to Twin Cities businesses, the SWMCB partnered with the Reusable Pallet & Container Coalition (RPCC), an association representing pooled and reusable pallet and container companies in North America. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the RPCC advocates the use of reusable pallets and containers as a way to reduce the wastestream volume and improve the systemwide productivity of industries employing these products and services. The RPCC believes that the use of nonreusable materials is a national concern that leads to millions of dollars in waste each year, says Ken Smith, president of the RPCC. "Reusable pallets and containers are the most economic, safe, and environmentally sound packaging systems available to nearly all industries," he adds.

In fall 2001, the campaign began when the RPCC helped the SWMCB develop a series of three direct-mail postcards. The postcards were sent to more than 100 targeted companies in the Twin Cities. These businesses also received a box containing a bucket of shredded money and were told that they might be shredding buckets of money if they weren't using reusable transport packaging. To stop the shredding, the businesses were invited to request a copy of "Reusables 101," an educational piece developed by the SWMCB and RPCC that answers the what, why, who, when, where, and how of reusable transport packaging.

In 2002, the SWMCB began to develop relationships with Twin Cities trade and industry associations. The Minnesota Grocers, Soft Drink, High Tech, and Bakers Associations, as well as the local chapters of the National Association of Purchasing Managers and the Council of Logistics Management, began to assist the SWMCB in providing information about the benefits of reusable transport packaging to their members. "Reusable transport packaging is nothing new," says Frank Rekow, executive director of the National Association of Purchasing Managers, Twin Cities Chapter. "It has been around for many, many years. What has changed is that the cost of packaging today continues to increase. It is not cost-effective to purchase it and then to dispose of it."

Twin Cities companies that have made the switch to reusable pallets and containers told about their benefits at a recent "There's a Better Way" reusable transport packaging workshop hosted by the SWMCB and RPCC in Minneapolis. Greg Murphy, corporate category manager for produce/floral at SuperValu Inc., presented the cost-saving benefits of reusable containers. Traditional packaging at SuperValu, a major food retailer headquartered in Minneapolis, has been wax-coated cardboard boxes - which are not recyclable - and wooden, wire-bound crates. SuperValu began using reusable containers in its produce department about three years ago. "With reusable containers, we have less product damage, use less labor for stocking and display, achieve display consistency, and have reduced our disposal costs," says Murphy.

The first of its kind in the country, the workshop provided business leaders and state and local government officials the latest information about the technology and cost-saving benefits of reusable transport packaging. Peter Kelsey, owner of the New French Bakery in Minneapolis, chose reusable containers over cardboard boxes to deliver his European-style breads. From humble beginnings, Kelsey opened the New French Bakery in 1995, and it has grown into a $7 million operation with two retail outlets and a wholesale production facility. Because European-style breads would "lose their crust" when packed in plastic bags, he investigated the use of cardboard boxes and reusable plastic containers. "We would have spent $480 per day using 500 cardboard boxes to deliver our bread. By using reusable containers, we spend $145 per day, and our annual cost savings is $125,000," says Kelsey.

To help businesses take advantage of the cost-saving benefits of reusable transport packaging, the SWMCB worked with the RPCC to develop the "There's a Better Way" Web site at www.better-way.info. The Web site provides businesses information about the benefits of reusable transport packaging, responses to frequently asked questions, information on industry events, and an extensive list of resources to find manufacturers, consultants, and service providers. Businesses are periodically featured as case studies showing the many applications of reusable transport packaging. In exchange for this educational information, businesses receive visibility and a free marketing opportunity. "The Web site has become the focus of the campaign, and we will continue to improve and expand upon it in 2003," says Reinhardt.

The SWMCB knows the garbage crisis in the Twin Cities is part of a national crisis that is unfolding in every city throughout the nation. "It won't be easy to solve, and it won't be solved overnight," Reinhardt says. It is a major social change that calls for business and government to change their behavior - to look at how they consume materials and to take action to consume less. When consumption leads to waste, it hits a company's bottom line.

"The RPCC is aggressively promoting the benefits of reusables, and we are taking our message directly to the end users through events like the workshop in Minneapolis and plans to schedule similar workshops in other major cities in 2003," says Smith. The efforts underway in the Twin Cities are a model for other cities to follow. Together business and government can turn a nationwide environmental problem into an opportunity to save money.

Jodi Taitt, principal of JL Taitt & Associates in Minneapolis, MN, has been instrumental in developing SWMCB's Better Way Campaign (www.swmcb.org).

MSW - September/October 2003