StopWaste.Org was awarded $499,000 in U.S. EPA grant funding to help businesses beyond the San Francisco Bay area replace limited-use transport packaging with reusable alternatives. Over the next three years, the Reusable Packaging Association will provide content and conduct a series of nationwide workshops as part of StopWaste.Org’s “Use Reusables” campaign.
“The RPA is committed to working with groups like StopWaste to promote the benefits of reusable packaging solutions throughout business supply chains,” said Drew Merrill, RPA Chairman of the Board and Vice President of Business Development & Strategic Planning, Container and Pooling Solutions, Inc. (CAPS). “Reusable packaging makes good economic and environmental sense. Taking the Use Reusables program nationwide can help the American manufacturing and distribution sectors remain competitive in this tough economic environment."
The grant comes under the EPA Climate Communities Showcase Program, set up to fund state, local and tribal government programs that mitigate climate change and can serve as models for other communities in the country. The RPA estimates the Use Reusables campaign has the potential to eliminate at least 1.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in greenhouse gas emissions each year, based on a five-year average life of reusable transport packaging. They equate this with taking 294,118 cars off the road for one year.
The grant-funded work will be carried out by the StopWaste Business Partnership, StopWaste.Org’s business assistance program. “Our Use Reusables campaign helps businesses increase their supply chains’ efficiency while reducing the environmental impact of their operations, in particular waste and greenhouse gas emissions. It’s a win-win,” said StopWaste.Org program manager Justin Lehrer. “The EPA grant will allow us to help agencies throughout the country replicate this successful model.”
