Box manufacturers working with the Paper and Packaging Board’s (P+PB) industry-wide residential recycling initiative will take part in PACK EXPO’s “Pack to the Future” exhibit, October 23-26, at Chicago, Illinois, McCormick Place, where event goers can learn more about this program and experience a virtual reality (VR) journey in a futuristic, time-traveling corrugated car.
Developed by P+PB in collaboration with participating paper and corrugated manufacturing companies and industry partners, this residential recycling “Box to Nature” initiative pairs box manufacturers and e-commerce brands to print a reminder graphic on their boxes that encourages consumers to recycle.
The Box to Nature program differs from other packaging recycling initiatives because it specifically addresses paper packaging recycling behavior—the bulk of which is related to e-commerce shipping boxes.
The Box to Nature graphic provides specific instructions on how to easily recycle (empty, flatten, recycle) and a QR code that directs them to Box2Nature.org where they will find memorable, easy-to-remember messages to encourage recycling habits.
When the message was tested before launching the program, 75 percent of consumers indicated they would be more likely to recycle their e-commerce box after exposure to the graphic.
The goal is to increase the residential box recycling rate and recapture more fiber to make new paper-based products. Participating brands also get a positive lift in perception among consumers due to the association with their choice to use sustainable, recyclable paper-based packaging.
