Dell produces laptop packaging trays from recycled marine plastics

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Technology industry leader, Dell has announced that it has developed a new technology to produce packaging trays for laptops by making use of ocean plastic litter. The new development, first-of-its-kind in technology industry, is part of Dell’s 2020 goal of achieving 100% sustainable packaging for its products. The first shipment of laptop packaged in new tray is scheduled to take place April 30, 2017.

Dell had conducted a feasibility study in March last year, which had highlighted the potential applications of marine plastic litter towards boosting its sustainability efforts. The pilot program is expected to keep nearly 16,000 pounds of plastic from entering the ocean. The company aims to produce around 300,000 trays during this year. By 2018, it plans to utilize around 18,500 pounds of plastic for preparing trays. Incidentally, Dell has already achieved its 2020 sustainability goal, by using 23,000 tonnes of recycled materials in its products.

Dell will collect plastics from waterways, beaches, shorelines and areas near the costs. The collected plastics will be aggregated and sorted by various waste processors. Plastics will then be refined and mixed with recycled HDPE plastics, such as bottles and food storage containers. The resulting mixture will then be molded into packaging trays for Dell XPS notebooks. The 72-gram trays will be made using 25% ocean plastics and 75% other post-consumer plastics. Additionally, the trays will be stamped with the No.2 recycling symbol, designating it as HDPE. According to the company, the trays made out of ocean plastics will be part of circular economy and will be curbside recyclable.

According to Scott O’Connell, Dell’s director of environmental affairs, the new initiative is part of company’s efforts to create a circular approach, whereby waste-streams could be utilized towards manufacture of products and packaging. Recycled plastic saves the company millions of dollars, in addition to augmenting its efforts to reduce its environmental impacts, he noted. Dell has been the first and only technology company to use recovered plastics from electronic waste and recycled carbon fiber to produce computers and monitors, O’Connell added.

As per estimates by a study, there are more than 86 million metric tons of plastics in the oceans. Also, nearly 8 million tonnes of plastic enter the oceans every year. There are over five trillion pieces of plastics floating in our oceans, mainly due to breaking up of plastics into smaller pieces. A study report released by the UN had noted that marine debris is a key environmental issue at the global level and a major threat to marine and coastal biodiversity. Three-quarters of all marine debris is plastic, a persistent and potentially hazardous pollutant, which fragments into microplastics that can be taken up by a wide range of marine organisms. Dell’s initiative is aimed at stopping plastics from breaking down, thereby avoiding bigger problems in future. Further, it aims to create jobs for recyclers and generates affordable resources by preserving the environmental balance.

Last month, global consumer products company Procter & Gamble (P&G) had partnered with Terracycle and Paris-based Suez Environnement to produce half-a-billion hair care products containers every year from recycled plastic starting from 2018 onwards. The project which produces the world’s first recyclable shampoo bottle is expected to use approximately 2,600 tons of recycled plastics every year.