Cradle to Cradle, Brought to You by Uncle Sam
The way that companies think about their products has steadily evolved since the dawn of market economies. At first, most companies were only concerned with cutting production costs and gave little thought to post-production stewardship.
As pollution became a growing concern, companies developed a cradle-to-grave mentality, which sought to keep toxins out of landfills and incinerators. While many companies still operate under this philosophy, others, including the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), have begun to think in terms of Cradle to Cradle (C2C).
USPS received C2C certification on many of their shipping products
C2C is the next big shift in manufacturing. The idea is to close as many production loops as possible by using recycled and recyclable materials, renewable energy and sustainable business practices. The company who developed C2C certification, MBDC (McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry), is dedicated to helping companies to achieve C2C status. In 2007, the USPS became the first U.S. shipping and mailing company to achieve the Silver level of certification for its products.
The Cost of Waste
MBDC’s certification is not easy to come by, and companies must refine every aspect of production in order to achieve it. For example, the USPS had to begin production with recycled and environmentally safe materials and be sure that these materials were still recyclable or compostable at the end of their usable lives. They also had to increase energy efficiency and be sure that their water use and pollution were minimized. This minimization of waste, and maximization of efficiency, benefits both the environment and their bottom line.
A New Leaf
- The USPS currently ships over a half a billion C2C packages every year.
- All Express Mail and Priority Mail envelopes and boxes are C2C certified and 100 percent recyclable and compostable.
- Another 200 million pieces of mail, such as labels, stamps and packing tape, are also C2C certified.
- USPS’ carbon emissions have decreased by over 15,000 metric tons per year.
Easy to Do the Right Thing
You can pickup Priority and Express boxes and envelopes at any Post Office or on the USPS site. If you order online, USPS will ship your materials directly to you, free of charge. You can even schedule a pickup, and save yourself a trip to the post office when sending out packages. By taking the work out of being environmentally responsible, these eco-friendly options make it easy for us all to send a green message.
- "Cradle to Cradle Certification" MBDC, 2007 http://www.c2ccertified.com/.
- Veto, Joanne. "U.S. Postal Service Announces "Cradle to Cradle" Certification" United States Postal Service, 2007 http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2007/pr07_051.htm?from=greenrecycle&page=cradle.
John Powers
posted on December 6th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Issue at hand, stop using machines to redeem deposits. Machines are so cumbersome that people prefer dumping recyclable items rather than humans. If a can is dented or worn, no chance of getting ones deposit
Adam
posted on December 8th, 2008 at 8:38 am
I work for the USPS at a mail sorting facility in Oregon. We have instituted a comprehensive recycling program at our facility that takes into account as many waste streams as possible. We recycle paper, cardboard, most types of plastic, and metal. When our new program went into effect a year and a half ago we cut our landfill waste output by over half and saved a large sum of money in garbage service disposal fees. Which in turn saves postal rate payers money. We are continuing to look for more ways to recycle and conserve as well. I’m not a spokesperson for the USPS but I can say that the recycling program at my facility is beyond the standard that most private organisations in our area have for recycling and is a demonstration of the Postal Service’s commitment to sustainability. Thanks to Earth911.com for providing a partnership for information exchange.