Secondary Packaging – The Silent Killer of the Environment

As a small manufacturer that ships a physical product, I’m always concerned about my ecology footprint when it comes to shipping. That’s also true for products that are being shipped in. For instance, if I have the choice of two vendors, and one has shipped products using polystyrene pellets, and the other has used post consumer/recycle friendly fill, and an appropriately sized box, my future purchases will tend toward the vendor that used the best secondary packaging.

Dennis Salazar argues that most secondary packaging is inefficient and detrimental to the environment.

Treehugger answers the question: What Can We Do With Our Used Styrofoam?

Jackie DeLise, Vice President of Zunda Group LLC, describes the current state of affairs, gives some terminology, consumer perceptions, and some paths forward.