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Click on a category on the right to read a summary of the case studies in that area
Solid Waste: Reuse
The 'Three R' Heirarchy-Reduce, Reuse, Recycle In the 'Three R' hierarchy, reuse comes before recycle because reusing items saves energy and resources compared to disposing of or recycling them. StopWaste.org in Alameda County, Calif., has found that the top five wastes going from businesses to landfill are food, paper, uncoated cardboard, unpainted wood and plastic film. The last three can be greatly reduced with reusable packaging. Reusing items will not only prevent waste, for some retailers, it results in a financial savings as well. Breadth of Practice Materials can be reused in many areas of a retail operation, starting with the construction of the store. The Greening Retail database contains two case studies of retailers who have incorporated reused materials in building and in fitting out their stores. Like waste reduction, reusing materials and products can happen at all points in a supply chain. Of the 27 examples of materials reuse in the database, there is one that deals with reusing packaging for transporting goods to the store. Five of the cases are about reducing packaging at the store level, while 14 are in regards to packaging for customers. This large number is due to the movement to reduce the number of single-use bags used for purchases. A store may provide services that will extend the life of a product by implementing a product return policy. Five case studies in the database tell about retailers who do this. The following table summarizes the types of practices found in the Greening Retail best practice database that pertain to the reuse of items and includes the number of companies for which this practice is described in the database.
Construction of Store Grassroots owner, Rob Grand, began to source out materials from scrap yards and warehouses that could be reclaimed or recycled for use in constructing and fitting out his new store. While setting up their store, the owner of Opal'z found two counters, most of the shelving for displaying products, and 22 chairs for her teaching studio on "Freecycle," the web-based classified ads that matches people with free items. Packaging During Transportation to the Store Local Pallet Exchange Programs require collaboration between retailers. Three stores in New York City are located in close proximity of one another. A&H Sportswear collects pallets destined for disposal from its neighbours-Miron Lumber, and Serig-for reuse. A & H saves $500 or more a month on the cost of pallets, and the other companies each save an average of $210 a transaction on their disposal costs. Packaging at Store Level In 2000, Tesco pioneered the use of reusable plastic crates-their award-winning green trays-to replace cardboard boxes and other packaging to transport and display products. The global clothing company Hennes & Mauritz (originally from Sweden) saves 17.000 kilo's of foil a year since it started using durable clothing covers. And it has another advantage: the clothing is more protected from theft and damage during transport since the covers are firmly wrapped around the clothing. C&A reuses clothers hangers four times on average. The amount of cardboard that was reused or recycled varied greatly among GAP Inc.'s distribution facilities, with some reusing up to 77 percent of their boxes. GAP encourages all distribution centres to increase reuse of their boxes, which could cut their cardboard supply in half and save the company an estimated $3.5 million annually. Packaging for Customers Carrier bags are by far the most common type of reusable items that retailers provide or encourage the use of for their customers, with 11 of the Greening Retail best practices database pertaining to packaging for customers being reusable bags. Although they represent a small part of our impact on the environment, single-use plastic bags have become a symbol of a throw-away society and many consumers, retailers and governments around the world are looking at the alternatives. A number of Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) have been undertaken that compare the environmental impacts of different types of carrier bags. A study by Carrefour ascertained that, for all bags, the main environmental impacts come from the extraction and production of the materials (polyethene and paper). The manufacture of the bags is generally of less importance though not negligible. The overall conclusion from the Carrefour study was that reusable plastic are more sustainable than all types of lightweight carrier bags (plastic, paper, or degradable) if used four times or more. (as reported on a Government of Scotland Web Site) Costco's reusable bags for customers are made of durable woven polypropylene. Retailers employ various incentives and/or disincentives to encourage customers to use reusable bags. For example, Ito-Yokado gives stamp cards to customers who decline to use disposable shopping bags, in order to reduce the use of disposable bags. ShopRite has signs promoting the programme in each store and offer customers a 2 cent refund for returned bags. Product Return Isku is one of a few furniture retail chains in Finland that has its own furniture recycling program. Used furniture is recommissioned and reused. As well, Woolworths' new process means that all of the faulty items returned by customers annually can be sent to Return Logistics for central processing and re-use. This synopsis was compiled from case studies in the Greening Retail Best Practice Database. Sources for the information in the case studies are cited in the database. Resources Reusable Packaging Association This database contains links to case studies of environmental best practice from retailers around the world. You can search this database by the name of the company only, or you can find case studies that match one or several specific criteria, such as the type of retailer, the type of best practice, the company's country of origin, and/or project return on investment. Simply select your search criteria in the spaces provided and hit the "search" button to come up with a list of the kinds of case studies you're looking for. Please note that we cannot include all the practices of every retailer; therefore, the non-inclusion of a company, or of a certain area of practice for a company, does not mean that they do not presently have progressive environmental initiatives in these areas. If you would like to submit a case study to be added to the database,
please contact greeningretail@trca.on.ca.
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