4/21/08|Finding inspiration in recycling…and more
I’m feeling inspired after spending last week in Fiji. Fiji, of course, is so beautiful that it’s always inspiring. On top of this, the team at the bottling facility is doing some fantastic work to reduce our carbon footprint and improve recycling rates in our local community. They encouraged me tremendously, so I’d like to share some of their stories with you over the next few postings.
Let’s start with recycling at the bottling facility. Paul, our Director of Production Operations & Engineering, has been hard at work over the past year and a half figuring out how to recycle manufacturing waste materials. Thanks to his efforts and those of our recycling partners in Australia, we’ve reduced by 70% the amount of manufacturing waste taken to landfills. Paul’s ultimate goal is for the FIJI Water plant to become a “zero waste” facility, meaning we will reduce, reuse, or recycle all waste.
At first Paul started with plastic and cardboard, for which there are many eager buyers already. Not content with that, however, Paul and the team persisted and found buyers for lab coats, shoe covers, hair nets, pallet strapping, bulk bags and drums, empty spools, and more. (Who knew you could recycle this kind of stuff too?)
When looking for buyers to take the recyclables, Paul simply asks that they pay enough to cover the cost of transportation. With popular materials like PET, however, he can usually get more. So he’s taken the money earned and reinvested it into the recycling infrastructure at the plant. This helps us recycle more materials and do so more efficiently. The bottling facility is now capable of recycling not only its own waste, but also recyclable materials brought in by local residents from their villages and towns. This is important because there is no other recycling infrastructure available to the local community.
In case you are wondering whether the greenhouse gas emissions from transporting recyclable materials to buyers are worth the effort to recycle, here are the numbers from our base year.
- Emissions created by transporting recyclables: 13 tonnes CO2eq
- Emissions avoided by recycling materials instead of producing new ones: 619 tonnes CO2eq
The net impact is an emissions reduction of 606 tonnes CO2eq, having the same effect as taking 111 passenger vehicles off the road for a year or planting over 15,000 trees.
This works on an individual level too. Every time you recycle the packaging for anything you use - food and beverage, for example - you reduce its carbon footprint. Play our recycling game to learn how this works!
Michael Thong says:
April 22nd, 2008 at 5:44 am
to clarify, is FIJI water’s footprint carbon negative as a whole company(all sizes of bottles) as of Jan. ‘08?
FIJI Green Gal says:
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:05 am
Michael, the answer is yes and no…Yes, we are carbon negative as of Jan 1 2008. No, we are not a carbon negative company – FIJI Water is a carbon negative product. The distinction is that being a carbon negative company means we only account for the emissions from sources we own or control, while being a carbon negative product means we account for every step required to get the product into our consumers’ hands. See http://www.fijigreen.com/WhatItMeans.html for details. And yes, we account for all bottle sizes.
Melodie Milhoan says:
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:50 am
Will Fiji Water ever be bottled in 5 gallon bottles? I live in the California, but visit Fiji regularly and must travel several hours from Savusavu to where I stay on my property. It would be so wonderful if your water was in larger bottles not only for me but for all the Fijians that live in remote villages who don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. I’m sure this would also have a positive impact on the local environment due to the fact that many small plastic bottles would not be used and discarded. You could have a return policy on the bottles so that they could be returned to the company, like water companies do in the US.
I await your reply,
Thank you,
Melodie, Kubulau Estate, Fiji
FIJI Green Gal says:
April 22nd, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Melodie, we agree that everyone in Fiji should have access to clean, safe drinking water. Quoting from our FAQ at http://www.fijigreen.com: “Reliable access to clean, safe drinking water is common throughout much of Fiji, but there are still remote villages where infrastructure is lacking. FIJI Water has taken direct responsibility for providing water access to the villages that surround our source in the Yaqara Valley. We have completed projects that serve the towns of Drauniivi and Togovere, and by the end of 2008 we will complete similar projects in Naseyani, Nananu and Rabulu. In addition, FIJI Water has partnered with the Rotary Club to fund the Pacific Water for Life Trust, which will provide the infrastructure, expertise and skills necessary to deliver safe, clean and sustainable water to over 100 additional communities, schools, health centers and nursing stations throughout Fiji over the next two years.”
We also agree about providing more recycling resources. We currently support recycling activities in our local villages and help to fund the largest recycling program in Fiji in partnership with Coca-Cola Amatil. We are also seeking opportunities to help other rural/outlying areas get access to recycling programs too. It’s interesting to note, however, that Fiji’s recycling rate is over 40%, one of the best in the world and higher than that of the U.S. and other industrialized nations. Learn more at http://www.fijigreen.com/HowWeAreHelping.html.
Mason says:
April 25th, 2008 at 1:33 am
If you truly cared about the environment you would stop producing your product tomorrow.
Nick says:
April 25th, 2008 at 11:47 am
It’s wonderful that the corporation is spending so much energy and ad space advertising its green initiative. Though as much as it may be hard for Fiji employees to consider, sometimes the best answer to a problem is to not invent the problem in the first place. When it comes down to it, the corporation is creating a non-essential commodity out of an essential resource and then using the profits to offset the environmental liabilities it creates.
Sustainability takes bigger thinking than manufacturing disposable bottles and then recycling them. Sustainability takes bigger thinking than generating greenhouse gases, then buying carbon offsets. Sustainability takes thinking about shifting markets away from products (read: problems) that are in search of a solution — it takes shifting markets toward products that actually improve our environment, our health and our habits at large.
I’m sorry Fiji, bottled water will never be such a “commodity,” nor should water be a commodity to begin with.
Sam says:
April 26th, 2008 at 2:26 am
I agree with Nick that it takes a lot more than closing the gap with recycling or purchasing swaths of rainforest to account for sustainability.
one aspect of sustainability that probably no one in the US takes much time to think about is the sustainability of Fiji’s developing economy and the cultural sustainability that needs to be addressed. everyone’s so busy jumping down Fiji Water’s throats for their environmental problems, they probably haven’t done a lot to consider the human side of the equation (hardcore environmentalists often could care less about humans, i’ve found).
Fiji has suffered from and continues to suffers under a series of unstable governments, race tensions between indigenous people and indians who were brought in under colonial rule, urban drift, a younger generation that does not understand or know their traditions, and brain-drain of its best and brightest to Australia and New Zealand. i know all this because i’ve lived and worked here on volunteer missions for a number of years now.
I have to say, no one in Fiji is complaining about Fiji Water. They are all clamoring to work there. They pay their workers the best wage in the country, give them all sorts of benefits, have a foundation that serves health and educational outreach throughout the country. they’re also a great example of a successful, classy, world-reknowned company emerging from a developing nation that does NOT engage in exploitative activities.
For this reason I completely DISAGREE with Mason’s comment above. If you stopped producing this product tomorrow there would be 500 more people living in poverty in Fiji and there would be so much humanitarian and economic possibility left undone, so much wasted potential. for a moment, Americans, just imagine what a success story this little bottled water is to the people of Fiji. they see its placement in movies and on TV and they are filled with pride. Allow a tiny 3rd world nation to have a bit of success and go after China for a change.
Japhy Ryder says:
April 27th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Your attempts at greenwashing are pathetic. Please stop plundering another people’s resources for your gain. I agree with other posters, the best thing you can do for the environment is stop producing your product.
gliscameria says:
May 1st, 2008 at 4:37 pm
This ‘Carbon Footprint’ stuff is garbage. Actually do some research instead of absorbing everything you hear on TV or read in the paper. CO2 is GOOD for the planet, period. Since the industrial revolution plant growth has increased in speed and coverage, because CO2 is plantfood! If you buy into the ‘fossil fuel’ theory then ALL of the oil in the ground used to be plants, and all those little carbon atoms used to be part of something living. Now, all of those tidbits that are needed for life are deep underground. By burning it up and liberating the CO2 we actually speed up the entire ecosystem. I’m in no way supporting any form of toxic pollution, such as lead/sulfur/etc, or drastically raising our current fuel use, but increasing the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is not a bad thing.
FIJI Green Gal says:
May 1st, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Hi gliscameria, I’m not sure which research you’re referring to, but scientists at Harvard are finding that the recent dramatic rise of CO2 in the atmosphere may actually be contributing to the slowdown of tropical forest growth. As shown by Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS) data from tropical forests on opposite sides of the planet (in Panama and Malaysia), the growth rates of the majority of their tree species have slowed dramatically in the past 25 years.
The Harvard researchers found that while increases in atmospheric CO2 provide fertilizer that can stimulate growth by aiding photosynthesis, the number of rainy days had increased at both sites over the period of the study, meaning that less sunlight was available to fuel photosynthesis. In addition, nighttime temperatures had increased, and higher temperatures mean higher respiration rates. With more energy going out than coming in, trees have less energy for growth, as appears to have happened in these two forests. More rain (i.e., less sunlight) and higher temperatures in tropical regions are two expected consequences of climate change, which is spurred on by the rise of greenhouse gases like CO2 in the atmosphere.
You can read more about this research and other related studies here: http://harvardmagazine.com/2007/09/p-sinking-carbon-sink-hope.html.
gliscameria says:
May 6th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Publications on ideal plant environments, hydroponics, greenhouses…
For the record, I do believe we need to pollute less, but I believe we need to define ‘pollution’ properly. I don’t believe CO2 is a pollutant, and our focus on it instead of real toxins to plants and animals is counter productive. From what I understand plants are more succeptable to the pH of the rainfall and petrochemical pollution than pH or a few degrees change. I don’t understand the argument that increased rainfall and warmer night temperatures are bad for plants when some of the most dense forests/jungles in the world are in the hottest wettests places on earth.
A few quickies…
http://www.nationalcenter.org/NPA334.html
http://homeharvest.com/carbondioxideenrichment.htm
http://pages.unibas.ch/botschoen/elevated_co2/index.shtml
They’ve also done some work to show that plants do better in low light situation when CO2 concentrations are higher… example…
http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/abstract/114/1/337
Also, if increased CO2 concentrations are causing more rainfall, then why the global warming / fresh water concern?
gliscameria says:
May 8th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Edit: Sorry, second pH should be CO2. =)
FIJI Green Gal says:
May 9th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Hi gliscameria - This research is interesting, thank you for sharing it! However, unlike the Harvard studies, these studies were done in controlled/greenhouse environments, where all variables were held constant except for CO2 concentration. Either the plants were grown in greenhouses, or the scientists used canopy-type structures over natural plots to contain any CO2 that was added. This is perfectly reasonable when trying to evaluate the impact of CO2 on plant growth, all other variables held constant, but does not address the heat-trapping impact of CO2 in the open atmosphere.
Conversely, the CTFS data used in the Harvard studies looks at actual tropical rainforest growth over decades, so it documents what is really happening as CO2 concentrations rise. And the growth of the rainforests studied by the Harvard researchers has undeniably slowed.
To explain why increased rainfall and warmer temperatures could slow the growth of plants - just because a plant species grows well with a certain amount of water and at a certain temperature, doesn’t mean it will do well when it gets more water (and less sunlight) and the temperature gets hotter. It’s like saying that if food is good for you, then the more you eat the healthier you will be. Or saying that if my gardenias do well in part sun/part shade, they will do better in full sun (not true! don’t try this at home).
Regarding your final point about why fresh water will be scarce if climate change causes more rainfall: Climate change won’t cause more rainfall all over the world. Current models suggest that in general, wet places will get wetter and dry places will get drier. Another issue is that as ice cap areas melt, sea levels will rise, and salt water will encroach upon low-lying areas and contaminate fresh water sources.
I do appreciate your sharing some actual research with us - it helps to have a nice healthy dialogue.
gliscameria says:
May 9th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Nice responses FG!
I have some publications on my desk at my other job I’ll post up when I get back. I enjoy the discussion. =)
Patricia says:
July 15th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Here’s a better idea at stopping global carbon emissions. Stop bottling water in the first place. You may be patting yourself on the should for improving the way to produce your bottled water, but what about shipping emissions? FROM FIJI to the US? I wouldn’t call that environmentally friendly?
A better idea would be to collaborate with your other ‘eco-friendly’ water bottlers (Coke, Pepsi, Nestle) and help bring back the trust in our own tap water systems.
Thanks for your efforts? Nahhh.