Green Product Management
Packaging
Easy Recycle and Disassemble Designs
The function of packaging is to protect products during transport and delivery, and prevent damage due to impact. Striving to reduce the use of packaging and its environmental impact, Acer set up a special taskforce in 2003. The taskforce reviewed the packaging of four notebook models, and worked towards reducing the use of materials and establishing labeling standards for packaging material.
Currently Acer's packaging materials adhere to the following principles:
• Minimize packaging
• Use recyclable and reusable packaging materials, such as paper and PE
• Avoid excessive usage of polystyrene as shock-absorbing materials
• Use other shock-absorbing materials instead of polystyrene
• Limit use of packaging materials containing hazardous substances
• Include material labels such as plastics or paper to facilitate separation and recycling
Response to the European Union Packaging Directive
The European Packaging and Packaging Waste (94/62/EC) Directive took affect on December 20, 1994. This Directive covers all packaging placed on the market in the Community and all packaging waste regardless of material, whether it is used or released at industrial, commercial, office, shop, service, household or any other places. This Directive requires the Member States to set up return, collection and recovery systems to harmonize national measures concerning the management of packaging and packaging waste in order to minimize any impact on the environment. Only packaging in conformity with the requirements of this directive can be put on the EU market.The Directive was amended on February 2, 2004（2004/12/EC）. The main amendment was to increase energy recovery and recycling to a higher target with a set of recovery/recycling rates for all kinds of packaging (e.g. glass, paper and cardboard, metals, plastics and wood). The amendment also encourages Member States to reduce further and, if appropriate, ultimately phase out heavy metals and other hazardous substances in packaging by 2010.
Concentration levels of heavy metals present in packaging
The sum of concentration levels of lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium present in packaging or packaging components shall not exceed 100 ppm. The concentration levels referred to in paragraph 1 shall not apply to packaging entirely made of lead crystal glass as defined in Directive 69/493/EEC.
Through minimization of packaging volume and weight, the new Directive aims to reduce the use of hazardous material, encourage reuse and recycling to lower resource consumption as well as to lesson the impact on environment from the disposal and incineration of the packaging materials. Acer’s product design principles are energy saving, resource saving and easy-to-recycle; they also apply to packaging design. Furthermore, if the products become dematerialized, the packaging materials are saved correspondingly. Simultaneously, restricting the use of lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium as well as marking for recycling are implemented to comply with the Directive.