Kickstart: A redux on refill

A decade ago, SC Johnson launched a refillable bottle of its popular Windex cleaning spray, with consumers mixing concentrate to cut down on plastics use. It bombed with customers.

But with concern over single-use plastics and packaging so much higher today, the company is trying again, relaunching concentrates for Windex through Target and Amazon.

"We're at a real inflection point," CEO Fisk Johnson told Bloomberg. "The plastic waste crisis has become much more top of mind."

Refillable and reusable packaging are some of the more intriguing options out there for reducing packaging waste and seem to be getting some serious looks from big consumer product makers, even if their ultimate success in the market is unclear.

Proponents point to lower carbon footprints, at times, for reusables, while skeptics wonder if the public can really break the convenience packaging habit/addiction we've built.

The reusable packaging advocacy group Upstream had this podcast from January, looking at an active program in Canada for reusing glass beer bottles. Pardon the pun, but it's interesting food (or drink) for thought.

That was the conclusion that a writer for beauty industry magazine Allure came to, when she dove into the environmental impact of the aluminum packaging that cosmetic companies are increasingly using, as they try to market themselves as cutting back on plastic.

It's a good read. The reporter tried to weigh the much greater carbon impact of making new aluminum, against the problems of recycling plastic and the much better recycling performance of aluminum.

In the end, to assuage the guilt and "cold sweats" she felt from all the free samples and the packaging waste her job entailed, the conclusion was consume less.

"It's about progress, not perfection. Buy less and buy brands that are raising the bar on waste reduction and transparency," the article recommends. "When consumers absolutely nerd out over this subject and require better, the industry responds."

This month saw the industry catch up on some delayed recognition.

The Plastics Hall of Fame honored its newest pandemic-delayed class at a gala in Chicago May 2, and the Plastics Pioneers Association inducted seven people who've made contributions over careers stretching two-plus decades at its recent meeting.

One of the new Hall of Fame inductees, Joseph Prischak, the founder of Plastek Group, was unable to make the event and was represented by one of his sons. Prischak died May 21.

You can check out this Plastics News column by Erin Sloan linking to detailed coverage we prepared on the Hall of Fame class, and to Jeannie Reall's article on the newest member of the pioneers. PPA member candidates must have at least 20 years of experience and clear contributions to the industry's development.