Packaging: Office Depot reduces packaging with reusable containers

Office Depot, headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla., is a global supplier of office products and services. The company recently launched its Greener Office delivery service to its corporate customers, using reusable containers to reduce waste from shipping and packaging materials. Prior to the program, the company used corrugated boxes with plastic air pillows to ship office supplies— from paper clips to copy paper—to its corporate customers.

The service now ships office supplies, up to 20 pounds, in paper shopping bags made of 40% recycled material, instead of corrugated boxes. Protecting the contents of the paper shopping bags required a hand-held shipping container, or tote, that could be used throughout its delivery process, from picking products in the warehouse to delivering products, desk-side, to its corporate customers.

Office Depot selected an attached-lid, nestable tote made from 60% post-consumer recycled plastic. These totes are dimensionally consistent and offer repeatable performance on the company’s conveying system, in its trucks and on delivery carts.

The reusable totes are set on conveyors with the paper bag inside. After office supplies are picked into the bag, the bags are sealed and the tote is closed to protect the products for shipping. Once the totes reach their destination, the bags are removed, given to the customer and the totes are taken back to the truck to be returned to Office Depot and reused for another shipment.

The new program offers convenience to customers with no boxes to open, no air pillows or other packaging material to dispose of and no corrugated boxes to break down and discard. While businesses have the option of participating in the free Greener Office program, more than 96% of customers in the pilot of the program continue to use the service. The company expects to eliminate 3,000 tons of waste each year, improve its warehouse/distribution efficiency and help prevent product damage during delivery.

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