Packaging & Sustainability

Almost everything we purchase is packaged in some way, and often then loaded into a plastic or paper bag for transport between store and home. In the US alone, we use about 10 billion paper bags, 100 billion plastic bags and 100 billion cardboard boxes each year. Is producing and using this much packaging environmentally sustainable? Can it be?  Where does all this stuff end up? Is recycling the answer? Join our discussion with experts from CSU.

Panelists:

Dale Lockwood, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology and School of Global Environmental Sustainability
Caroline Mitchell, Waste Reduction and Recycling Manager, City of Fort Collins
Tony Rappe, Professor, Department of Chemistry
Steve Simske, Professor, Department of Systems Engineering

Moderator: Gene Kelly, SoGES Faculty Research Liaison, Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station and Associate Dean of Extension