1. Consumers Glass understands that performance improvements such as enhanced recycling rates, increased recycled content, and lower emissions from production come from an efficient system. Consumers Glass has achieved certification to the quality standard ISO 9001. The next target is to achieve certification in 1999 to ISO 14001, the international standard for environmental management systems. Both these standards are internal business tools and are complementary in many ways. Consumers Glass also participates on the Canadian Raw Materials Database, an industry group with a mandate to look at opportunities for life cycle improvements.
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2. Consumers Glass has worked hard to improve their own internal packaging issues and worked on technical improvements to achieve light-weighting. However, the decision to use reusable, refillable bottles or to use recyclable, single trip bottles, is not one that Consumers Glass makes. That choice is made by the brand owner. The brand owner makes the decision as to which option is preferable based on criteria that includes product requirements, proximity to market, consumers preference and whether there is the option to recycle. There are certain conditions that favour refillables, such as the system that the beer industry has where the purchase and return functions as a closed loop. In other cases, such as with food containers, the system of distribution is so diffuse, that recycling, as part of a multi-material programme, is the preferred option for both the brand owner and the consumer.
3. Consumers Glass has a long history of sharing environmental information with interested parties. It does so through four different media.
One - Foremost is the learning process Consumers Glass has fostered to make sustainability an innovation in educational opportunities:
Two - Glass Works/Recy-Verre, this publication is distributed freely to any interested party. Over 7,000 readers receive the publication three times a year. Since the first issue of Glass Works in 1990, over 25 issues have been published.
Three - an Internet site was started back in 1996 that was originally an electronic publication site. It is evolving into an information site that shares data on other education and information sharing activities Consumers Glass has supported.
Four - Consumers Glass, in cooperation with other sponsors, created two training and education videos.
"Glass Containers...Recycling it Right" - a training video for recyclers
"Care...and be Careful" - an educational video for elementary schools, focused at grades 6 to 8.
Both are available from Consumers Glass, at no charge, upon request.
Consumers Glass supports specific events to advance ecological literacy as opportunities arise.
4. Consumers Glass supports the inclusion of imports into the NaPP protocol and the efforts of government and other industries to conform to NaPP.
5. Consumers Glass supports regulation where it establishes a level playing field. At this time Canadians have clearly demonstrated their preference for voluntary efforts which meet this criteria and are more cost effective.
6. Harmonization across all levels of government in all 13 political areas of Canada is an important goal. It is an area needing more effort to match the success of industry's results.
Consumers Glass has a history of success. Its future focus is on continuously improving to find sustainable solutions to the challenges that remain.
What exists is an end to a good beginning.
NaPP Policies
Given the success of NaPP, is the work over?No. There are three work items on the table, identified by the Task Force:
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