Sustainability
Sustainability is written into IPL Macro’s mission statement: “To be the global leader in re-usable, bulk, material handling, and specialty solutions, dedicated to creating innovative products with a positive environmental impact while providing value to our customers, employees, shareholders, and business partners.”
Learn more about how IPL Macro incorporates sustainability into daily operation with our 5R’s of Responsibility.
Reduce
IPL Macro currently works hard to innovate and create smart designs that reduce resource input from manufacturing and use. We take this passion and continue to investigate options to reduce our environmental impact and the impact of our customers.
As a part of IPL Plastics, we have a directive to Save more, generate more, and buy more.
All of our products are carefully designed so that they will reliably perform for our customers season after season. Our returnable trip container solutions eliminate the need for expendable waste packaging and reduce the carbon footprint for our customers over the lifespan of our product when compared to other packaging options such as wood or corrugate boxes.
In 2019 we were named to Food Logistics’ Top Green Providers list who recognizes companies whose products, services, or exemplary leadership enhance sustainability within the food and beverage industry.
Our Hybrid line of bins is our newest innovation for the global food supply chain. The revolutionary nesting bins maximize shipping efficiencies as well as protect produce from damage during transport. See how the Hybrid bin is changing the supply chain in New Zealand and India.
In addition to designing efficient products, we have been working to reduce our energy consumption at all of our plants. We track our Scope 1 and 2 Greenhouse Gas emissions, our resin and recycled resin use as well as our waste metrics.
Reuse
IPL Macro does not design built-in obsolescence into our products. We want to build the strongest, most long lasting products for our customers that will last season after season. All of our bins are designed and analysed to ensure they are robust and capable of use over many years to come.
The hybrid family is our line of nestable bins. These bin are made up of modular components that can be switched out if damaged. This greatly extends the usable lifespan of the bin and allows it to be used for years to come. Additionally, the high shipping ratios make this bin easier and cheaper to reuse in the international supply chain than ever before.
Our EuroBin has been optimized to fit 26 stacks of 10 when folded in a euro trailer. This is the best packing efficiency of any bin of its type in the market today. This increase in efficiency makes the EuroBin easier and cheaper to use and reuse across the supply chain. If any parts are damaged, they can be swapped out for new parts. View our repair and replacement videos here.
Recover
At IPL Macro sustainability is at the forefront of every project we decide to pursue. We have unique opportunities to recover and close the waste stream from our products. All of our products are made of a single material, either polypropylene or HDPE, and weigh on average 80 lbs each. This makes each product valuable to recover.
With our buy-back program we pay fair market prices for our products and regrind the material to be used again. The regrind is cleaned to remove dirt, rocks and debris and for some applications it is necessary for it to be reprocessed into uniform pellets. In 2019 we installed a pelletizing unit which allows us to reprocess our recycled material onsite, reducing our carbon emission from freighting the material to a third party company. Additionally, it allows us to increase the recycled content in our products.
At IPL Macro, we are motivated to capture as many products as possible at the end of their life and contribute positively to the circular economy.
Most of our recycled resin is used in the feet that go on the bottom of our bins. However, due to the longevity of our products, we only get back a small percentage each year. Please contact customer service at 800-845-6555 to learn more about our buy-back program.
Recycle
In addition to recycling our products, we try and recycle at our manufacturing plants and offices. In 2018 we began tracking our waste streams from our production facilities. This has allowed us to gain a better understanding of our production and office waste and work towards increasing recycling and reduce unnecessary waste.
At our California plant, we are working with a bay area non-profit called Gone for Good Recycling to properly recycle all of our e-waste.
Re-Invest
IPL Macro understands that no matter our work to reduce, reuse, recover and recycle, we are a manufacturer and therefore use resources and create pollution. To help us bring our environmental impact even lower, we need to invest in good environmental work.
Since 2018 we have been a proud member of 1% for the Planet. This means we give 1% of all sales revenue from our Hybrid line to environmental non-profits. We hope this continuing contribution will help us do our part to ensure the future of our planet.
