HP Inc.aming to eliminate 75 percent of single-use plastic packaging by 2025. The new goal will contribute to a low-carbon, circular economy that can ultimately benefit the health of our people and communities.
COVID-19 demonstrates that people, communities and our planet are intertwined – the risks to the health and wellbeing of one impacts the health and wellbeing of all. Furthermore, sustainability is a business imperative, helping to drive more than US$1.6 billion in new sales in 2019, a 69 percent increase from 2018. Company released its 2019 Sustainable Impact Report.
Three hundred million tonnes of plastic are produced each year worldwide, half of which is for single use and 91 percent isn’t recycled at all. Packaging is also experiencing an increase in demand as a result of COVID-19. Packaging comprises a significant portion of total waste produced and can affect the health of our planet and people. HP’s goal focuses on hardware unit packaging and is predicated on a move to molded fiber packaging cushions.
HP’s environmental packaging strategy aims to eliminate unnecessary plastics and materials of concerns wherever possible. In 2019, company decided to eliminate power cord plastic ties and plastic document bags in hardware packaging. HP also has shifted to more recyclable, paper-based alternatives.
To accelerate this shift, the company is transitioning from plastic foam packaging cushions to those made with 100 percent recycled, molded pulp for HP’s notebooks, desktops and displays. The transition to molded fiber Personal Systems packaging cushions eliminated 933 tonnes of hard-to-recycle expanded plastic foam last year.
In Printing, HP reduced plastic foam by 40 percent and eliminated over 95 tonnes of the material in 2019 just by redesigning the packaging of a printer model. In 3D printing, HP recently announced the availability of a new material called polypropylene PP that helps reduce waste by enabling up to 100 percent reusability of surplus powder.
HP is also accelerating its use of recycled content plastics across its print and personal systems product portfolio. During 2019, HP used over 25,000 tonnes of postconsumer recycled content plastic in HP print and PS products, or equivalent to 9 percent plastics used. The company is working to increase this to 30 percent by 2025.
HP has also sourced 1.7 million pounds – more than 60 million bottles – of ocean-bound plastic, and launched the world’s first notebook and displaymade using ocean-bound plastics.
