2023 APCO Award Winner Spotlight – SC Johnson
SC Johnson is a leading manufacturer of household cleaning items, along with products designed for home storage, air care, pest control, shoe care, and professional use. This year, SC Johnson were the winners of APCO's 'Our Packaging Future Award' for Recycled content.
The Recycled Content Award was introduced this year to celebrate the organisations that have demonstrated innovative and unique approaches to incorporating recycled materials into packaging.
SC Johson took home the award for its development of Windex® Original and Windex® Ammonia-Free bottles made from 100% Recovered Coastal Plastic (recycled plastic collected on land within 50km of an ocean so that it does not reach oceans or landfills) achieved through its partnership with Plastic Bank. (This excludes the triggers which are not made from PCR).
Through collaboration, innovative technology, and rigorous quality checks, SC Johnson was able to achieve this milestone:
- Collaboration: At the heart of SC Johnson's initiative was partnering with key players in the plastic recycling ecosystem. Beginning with waste collection and sorting, the company joined forces with Plastic Bank, an organisation that tackles plastic waste while addressing poverty. Through this collaboration, SC Johnson leveraged blockchain technology to create a traceability system, ensuring transparency from collection points to the origin of plastic waste.
- Technological Innovation: Transforming collected plastic waste into bottles required upgrading processing capabilities. SC Johnson invested in pelletizer, pre-form, and bottle suppliers, enhancing its operations to convert plastic waste into high-quality resin.
- Ensuring Quality Consistency: To guarantee a steady supply of top-notch recycled plastic resin, SC Johnson implemented quality checks across the entire supply chain, addressing the challenge of maintaining consistent quality.
This initiative also demonstrates SC Johnson’s dedication to APCO’s Sustainable Packaging Guidelines (SPGs) through the use of recycled materials. Principle five of APCO’s SPGs encourages organisations to ‘optimise the amount of recycled content in packaging, considering technical feasibility, consumer acceptability, regulatory requirements (e.g. food contact/safety) etc. ‘
Click here to find out more about SC Johnson’s dedication to sustainability.
Click here to read APCO's Sustainable Packaging Guidelines (SPGs).