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Samsung to Replace Plastic Packaging with Sustainable Materials

190 points by xbmcuser 8y ago

xbmcuser 8y ago
Most of us might dismiss it as marketing speak but I do think most consumer good manufacturers should do the same especially for 1 time use packaging for electronics
- dmos62 8y ago
  I agree, but the most wasteful packaging is for food. I throw out small amounts of electronics packaging a few times in a few years. I throw out heaps of food packaging every week.
  - pixl97 8y ago
    Catch 22 situation. Many plastic wrapped objects last longer than paper/non wrapped objects leading to less waste at the store.
    - toomuchtodo 8y ago
      Bioplastics would be a suitable replacement, and if properly incentivized, local municipalities could collect it in a separated waste stream for conversion to energy (which would contribute towards offsetting the collection cost).
      - cannonedhamster 8y ago
        With China no longer accepting dirty recyclables from the US which are terribly hard to process we're probably on our way back to multi-stream recycling. Sad fact is that apparently the recycling truck is one of the worst causes of contamination when it compacts otherwise good recyclables. It's a bit more effort and a significantly higher rate of trash versus recycling, but in the end I think it would be worth it. Your idea has merit as well, though last I knew bioplastics still had some problems to solve in order to replace standard plastics, still worth pursuing.
      - dmos62 8y ago
        Of course the somewhat simple alternative is to slightly change the consumer model, where you bring multi-purpose and longlasting packaging, they put the stuff in it. Dispensery type shops. That already exists in a few shops around Europe at least. You bring your container and fill it up with grain, liquids, whatever. I can't really make up my mind on whether that would work for all food types. Maybe there's some heavily processed food that is dependent on being sealed until eating. I know potato chips bathe in nitrogen while sealed.
    - rasz 8y ago
      organic waste vs garbage with hundreds of years staying power
- paulie_a 8y ago
  Absolutely agreed. While I was incredibly impressed by the design and quality of Nvidia shield tv packaging, it went into the trash and recycle bin pretty much immediately. It gave me a "oh wow" feeling of excitement, but really could have been sent in brown box and not made a difference that lasted more than 20 seconds.
  - baq 8y ago
    Years ago I unpacked a Kindle from a brown box and that gave me a wow feeling. Sustainable packaging doesn’t have to be a bad experience.
    - GuB-42 8y ago
      Incidentally, the Japanese are very good at it. For some reason, I found the packaging of everything better in Japan, even for the most simple items. Among the best are the ones made of paper and cardboard.
    - paulie_a 8y ago
      I didn't mean that sustainable packing would be a bad experience. Just that Nvidia went overboard, sure it was slick and impressive, then it was thrown out. The amount of money and time that went into it was a complete waste of money.
- arthurfm 8y ago
  I wish Apple would switch from using expanded polystyrene inserts [1] to cardboard for their non-Pro iMac packaging. So much of this polystyrene must end up in landfills rather than being recycled. The iMac Pro uses moulded cardboard inserts [2][3], so why can't the standard iMac? [1] https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/products/desktops/21.5-inch_iMac_PER_June2017.pdf https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/products/desktops/21.5... [2] https://www.amsys.co.uk/week-imac-pro/ https://www.amsys.co.uk/week-imac-pro/ [3] https://youtu.be/UxuhecF-3c0?t=153 https://youtu.be/UxuhecF-3c0?t=153
newprint 8y ago
And on top of that, remove most of the paper manuals that come with the phones. They can be put as .pdf files, right on the phones.
- madeofpalk 8y ago
  Phones come with paper manuals? Isn't the bulk of the paperwork that comes with electronic devices like that compliance/regulatory documents in like 13 different languages?
- Jonnax 8y ago
  I'm under the impression that sustainable paper isn't that bad on the environment.
  - magicalhippo 8y ago
    But the manuals adds weight and bulk, which contributes to CO2 when shipped. I agree tho. My mom just got her first smart phone, a Samsung S8+. She's 72 years old, she'll figure it out but not thanks to that tiny booklet that came with the phone. If she needed the manual, I'd have to print it out on A4 paper or something anyway.
    - kkarakk 8y ago
      on the other hand,the pdf manuals i see are all bloated messes of technical jargon that i have to google search to understand-ofc the only time i need to look at the manual is when i can't figure out some behavior, like oneplus 6t's fingerprint scanner animation
    - thfuran 8y ago
      >But the manuals adds weight and bulk, which contributes to CO2 when shipped. I suspect that that is a rounding error next to the manufacture of the phone itself.
      - magicalhippo 8y ago
herogreen 8y ago
Marketing speak. The real thing they should do is committing for repairable phones (easy) and more importantly update-able phones (hard). So that users do not have to replace a perfectly working phone because they fear for their security.
- photoguy112 8y ago
  While I totally agree, any step that eliminates plastic waste is a good move forward. Now if we can get this going across industries, think of how much waste that eliminates. Then once we get comfortable with this idea, start doing more.
- NeedMoreTea 8y ago
  I would much rather they rolled back some of their innovation in appliances so that you can no longer replace some consumables. Like heating elements, but now have to change a hugely expensive combined and indivisible unit. The packaging is a step, I just sincerely hope it's not the only step for greenwashing purposes.
- IfOnlyYouKnew 8y ago
  Smoking and getting regular exercise is still better than just smoking.
  - exergy 8y ago
    Or, as Stephen Schneider said when asked about Cap and Trade (in lieu of Carbon Taxes): Don't let the perfect get in the way of the good.
- tonyedgecombe 8y ago
  I'm not sure, is it better to have a repairable phone or a more reliable one? What if making it repairable requires more inputs to manufacture it? Even if you manage that will many users repair their phone? What I suspect would make the biggest difference is to commit to software updates for six or seven years instead of one or two.
api 8y ago
Samsung should make a laptop. Make it with as open as possible hardware and target the pro market. Offer a choice of Windows or no OS, and for Windows make it that no ads enterprise LTS version. Price it accordingly. They have the experience and supply chain to absolutely nail it. Bonus for an oled screen but large oleds might still be a bit tough.
- noja 8y ago
  Samsung already make laptops.
- pmlnr 8y ago
  Samsung and open hardware? OS choice? Sure. Besides, the already do a lot of laptops. They even had a promising business line - https://notebooks.com/2011/03/18/samsung-introduces-series-2-4-and-6-business-notebooks-details-specs/ https://notebooks.com/2011/03/18/samsung-introduces-series-2... - , which vanished. Unfortunetely they never were, and probably never will be dev friendly.
pmlnr 8y ago
Can we force supermarkets to do the same somehow? I'm pretty certain individually wrapped vegetables are causing more trouble, than phone packaging.
- svendbt 8y ago
  The news response from supermarket chains where I live is that individually packaged fruit and vegetables helps reduce supply chain food waste. Makes sense (e.g. one squashed tomato during transport will only waste one package) - no idea if it is true though.
  - pmlnr 8y ago
    Then put them in paper cradles, like we do with eggs.
    - pixl97 8y ago
      Consumers wont buy it if plastic wrapped options are allowed. Clear plastic allows transparency into the object that is being purchased while at the same protecting from external contamination. For example a clear plastic egg carton allows you to see if any eggs are broken without risking getting egg goo on you.
      - pmlnr 8y ago
        So do paper, just open it. Works fine in Europe.
      - simongr3dal 8y ago
        You can look on the underside of the egg carton to see if any of them are wet from broken egg leaking into it, or open the carton and gently lift each egg to see if they stick. But I do agree that humans are pretty likely to take the easy choice here, which is why we need to take those choices away so we can more easily make the better choices.
      - rvnx 8y ago
black-tea 8y ago
We shouldn't be getting through so much electronics to make this a problem. This isn't getting to the root of the problem.
skookumchuck 8y ago
This is a great initiative. I've emailed Amazon about stopping using plastic bubblewrap mailers, and use cardboard ones instead. No reply :-(

190 points by xbmcuser 8y ago

Most of us might dismiss it as marketing speak but I do think most consumer good manufacturers should do the same especially for 1 time use packaging for electronics

dmos62 8y ago
I agree, but the most wasteful packaging is for food. I throw out small amounts of electronics packaging a few times in a few years. I throw out heaps of food packaging every week.
- pixl97 8y ago
  Catch 22 situation. Many plastic wrapped objects last longer than paper/non wrapped objects leading to less waste at the store.
  - toomuchtodo 8y ago
    Bioplastics would be a suitable replacement, and if properly incentivized, local municipalities could collect it in a separated waste stream for conversion to energy (which would contribute towards offsetting the collection cost).
    - cannonedhamster 8y ago
      With China no longer accepting dirty recyclables from the US which are terribly hard to process we're probably on our way back to multi-stream recycling. Sad fact is that apparently the recycling truck is one of the worst causes of contamination when it compacts otherwise good recyclables. It's a bit more effort and a significantly higher rate of trash versus recycling, but in the end I think it would be worth it. Your idea has merit as well, though last I knew bioplastics still had some problems to solve in order to replace standard plastics, still worth pursuing.
    - dmos62 8y ago
      Of course the somewhat simple alternative is to slightly change the consumer model, where you bring multi-purpose and longlasting packaging, they put the stuff in it. Dispensery type shops. That already exists in a few shops around Europe at least. You bring your container and fill it up with grain, liquids, whatever. I can't really make up my mind on whether that would work for all food types. Maybe there's some heavily processed food that is dependent on being sealed until eating. I know potato chips bathe in nitrogen while sealed.
  - rasz 8y ago
    organic waste vs garbage with hundreds of years staying power
paulie_a 8y ago
Absolutely agreed. While I was incredibly impressed by the design and quality of Nvidia shield tv packaging, it went into the trash and recycle bin pretty much immediately. It gave me a "oh wow" feeling of excitement, but really could have been sent in brown box and not made a difference that lasted more than 20 seconds.
- baq 8y ago
  Years ago I unpacked a Kindle from a brown box and that gave me a wow feeling. Sustainable packaging doesn’t have to be a bad experience.
  - GuB-42 8y ago
    Incidentally, the Japanese are very good at it. For some reason, I found the packaging of everything better in Japan, even for the most simple items. Among the best are the ones made of paper and cardboard.
  - paulie_a 8y ago
    I didn't mean that sustainable packing would be a bad experience. Just that Nvidia went overboard, sure it was slick and impressive, then it was thrown out. The amount of money and time that went into it was a complete waste of money.
arthurfm 8y ago
I wish Apple would switch from using expanded polystyrene inserts [1] to cardboard for their non-Pro iMac packaging. So much of this polystyrene must end up in landfills rather than being recycled. The iMac Pro uses moulded cardboard inserts [2][3], so why can't the standard iMac? [1] https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/products/desktops/21.5-inch_iMac_PER_June2017.pdf https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/products/desktops/21.5... [2] https://www.amsys.co.uk/week-imac-pro/ https://www.amsys.co.uk/week-imac-pro/ [3] https://youtu.be/UxuhecF-3c0?t=153 https://youtu.be/UxuhecF-3c0?t=153

newprint 8y ago

And on top of that, remove most of the paper manuals that come with the phones. They can be put as .pdf files, right on the phones.

madeofpalk 8y ago
Phones come with paper manuals? Isn't the bulk of the paperwork that comes with electronic devices like that compliance/regulatory documents in like 13 different languages?
Jonnax 8y ago
I'm under the impression that sustainable paper isn't that bad on the environment.
- magicalhippo 8y ago
  But the manuals adds weight and bulk, which contributes to CO2 when shipped. I agree tho. My mom just got her first smart phone, a Samsung S8+. She's 72 years old, she'll figure it out but not thanks to that tiny booklet that came with the phone. If she needed the manual, I'd have to print it out on A4 paper or something anyway.
  - kkarakk 8y ago
    on the other hand,the pdf manuals i see are all bloated messes of technical jargon that i have to google search to understand-ofc the only time i need to look at the manual is when i can't figure out some behavior, like oneplus 6t's fingerprint scanner animation
  - thfuran 8y ago
    >But the manuals adds weight and bulk, which contributes to CO2 when shipped. I suspect that that is a rounding error next to the manufacture of the phone itself.
    - magicalhippo 8y ago

herogreen 8y ago

Marketing speak. The real thing they should do is committing for repairable phones (easy) and more importantly update-able phones (hard). So that users do not have to replace a perfectly working phone because they fear for their security.

photoguy112 8y ago
While I totally agree, any step that eliminates plastic waste is a good move forward. Now if we can get this going across industries, think of how much waste that eliminates. Then once we get comfortable with this idea, start doing more.
NeedMoreTea 8y ago
I would much rather they rolled back some of their innovation in appliances so that you can no longer replace some consumables. Like heating elements, but now have to change a hugely expensive combined and indivisible unit. The packaging is a step, I just sincerely hope it's not the only step for greenwashing purposes.
IfOnlyYouKnew 8y ago
Smoking and getting regular exercise is still better than just smoking.
- exergy 8y ago
  Or, as Stephen Schneider said when asked about Cap and Trade (in lieu of Carbon Taxes): Don't let the perfect get in the way of the good.
tonyedgecombe 8y ago
I'm not sure, is it better to have a repairable phone or a more reliable one? What if making it repairable requires more inputs to manufacture it? Even if you manage that will many users repair their phone? What I suspect would make the biggest difference is to commit to software updates for six or seven years instead of one or two.

api 8y ago

Samsung should make a laptop. Make it with as open as possible hardware and target the pro market. Offer a choice of Windows or no OS, and for Windows make it that no ads enterprise LTS version. Price it accordingly. They have the experience and supply chain to absolutely nail it. Bonus for an oled screen but large oleds might still be a bit tough.

noja 8y ago
Samsung already make laptops.
pmlnr 8y ago
Samsung and open hardware? OS choice? Sure. Besides, the already do a lot of laptops. They even had a promising business line - https://notebooks.com/2011/03/18/samsung-introduces-series-2-4-and-6-business-notebooks-details-specs/ https://notebooks.com/2011/03/18/samsung-introduces-series-2... - , which vanished. Unfortunetely they never were, and probably never will be dev friendly.

pmlnr 8y ago

Can we force supermarkets to do the same somehow? I'm pretty certain individually wrapped vegetables are causing more trouble, than phone packaging.

svendbt 8y ago
The news response from supermarket chains where I live is that individually packaged fruit and vegetables helps reduce supply chain food waste. Makes sense (e.g. one squashed tomato during transport will only waste one package) - no idea if it is true though.
- pmlnr 8y ago
  Then put them in paper cradles, like we do with eggs.
  - pixl97 8y ago
    Consumers wont buy it if plastic wrapped options are allowed. Clear plastic allows transparency into the object that is being purchased while at the same protecting from external contamination. For example a clear plastic egg carton allows you to see if any eggs are broken without risking getting egg goo on you.
    - pmlnr 8y ago
      So do paper, just open it. Works fine in Europe.
    - simongr3dal 8y ago
      You can look on the underside of the egg carton to see if any of them are wet from broken egg leaking into it, or open the carton and gently lift each egg to see if they stick. But I do agree that humans are pretty likely to take the easy choice here, which is why we need to take those choices away so we can more easily make the better choices.
    - rvnx 8y ago

black-tea 8y ago

We shouldn't be getting through so much electronics to make this a problem. This isn't getting to the root of the problem.

skookumchuck 8y ago

This is a great initiative. I've emailed Amazon about stopping using plastic bubblewrap mailers, and use cardboard ones instead. No reply :-(