Have you entered a room where the lively debate of ‘form versus function’ is taking place, with the designers and architects on the left and the engineers sitting on the right? [Yes, I need to get a life, but stay with me here a moment … ] Some might say that what could be termed ‘mindless brilliance’ could lead us to a more square tomato, a straighter banana, and, believe it or not, more robust composting systems.
On a recent flight, the packaged chocolate mousse cake with mandarin sauce (CMCWMS) was staring at me. Consuming desserts is not one of my fine hobbies but what struck me was the large green dot (LGD) on the front film cover containing the text: ‘A first for airlines! This pot is made from sugarcane fibers and is fully compostable within three months’.
Having little sustained interest in tasting the dessert of the day, I turned up all sides of the container, searching for more detailed information. At the very least, this author was looking for a contact name for the manufacturer, or a website link so as to provide them some subtle guidance on: a) differences between pots and bowls, b) the long-term contested spelling of fibres versus fibers, and c) the punctuation mark called a period, or full stop, is the conventional approach to ending a sentence – even on a plastic film seal for CMCWMS.
Moreover, a curious person might question the marketing approach. That is, it is fair to say that, colour aside, a customary highlight might want to tempt me to eat the prize rather than think about composting systems: ‘A first for airlines! A superior mandarin sauce! Enjoy the best dessert you will ever savour in flight!’
Beyond the several-paragraph listing of ingredients, there was no indication, reference or even a scratch mark as to the source(s) of the claim within the LGD. My only recourse was to consume the CMCWMS in order to continue the investigation.
Our industry is gaining an opportunity to influence both form and function for many day-to-day products. Market demand appears steady for those consumer products where keen thought has gone into the potential for future re-use, or recycling, or another ‘environmentally friendly’ avenue prior to disposal. Such thinking has advanced on the packaging side where numerous examples are fully incorporated into manufacturing and supply chains, and then offered to the waste management systems for handling purposes. In the above example of the pot, food product containers may be able to successfully substitute plastics (e.g. PET, PP, polystyrene) or aluminium for fibre-based items that flow into the existing waste management facilities.
The next steps are intriguing. As those product designers better understand the waste industry’s hierarchy, product deconstruction and re-use become a well matched science for two industries that had little in common in the past. Where product designers continue to invent for this marketplace, our practitioners will continue to examine how best to improve collection and separation techniques. In some cases, steering the design may originate from the waste industry itself, as the integration of experience and ideas comes in many forms. We can look forward to advancements of several kinds, possibly through mechanical, digital, and human processes.
As it turns out, leaving uneaten even one bite of the cake would obscure the clue printed on the inside bottom of the pot. Through an internet search, one learns that the Vertupak deserves my thanks today for delivering the right environmental message, and a fine food product as well.
Greg Vogt is Managing Director of ISWA and ISWA Editor of Waste Management World
e-mail: gvogt@iswa.dk
