DS Smith removes more than 313M pieces of ‘problem’ plastics

Sustainable packaging company DS Smith, headquartered in London with North American operations based in Atlanta, has announced it has removed more than 313 million pieces of problem plastics in the last two years by replacing them with its paper-based products. DS Smith says it also educated more than 2.8 million people on the importance of the circular economy.  

DS Smith’s designers have worked with clients on packaging and displays to replace or remove more than 3 million units of plastic per week, or 13,000 an hour. DS Smith says 80 percent of all sustainability savings come in the design phase, which is why the company has trained all 700 of its designers in its circular design principles. The principles were developed in cooperation with its strategic partner, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, to translate its circular economy model into practical packaging solutions.  

The company says its designers have created thousands of designs to eliminate all sizes of plastic in its packaging. This includes replacing plastic sealing tape with self-locking cardboard flaps and swapping plastic labels with print direct onto cardboard.  

“With our help, customers are responding to consumer demands to remove problem plastics from their products,” says Allison Berg, sustainability manager for DS Smith North America. “By using our proprietary circular design metrics system, we can easily show not just where plastic can be replaced, but how circular their packaging is right now and where we can make improvements together.”   

Over the next year, DS Smith says it will continue to drive the adoption of fiber-based alternatives among customers in response to consumer demand for plastic alternatives. It has also committed to continue engaging people in the circular economy, promoting circular lifestyles to 5 million people by 2030.  

At COP26, it launched a circular economy lesson plan, ‘Let’s Go Circular!’ as a free resource for teachers to educate students aged 11-14 about the circular economy. DS Smith also provides information through online content, videos, news articles, blogs and case studies with its goal of reaching 5 million people.  

As part of DS Smith’s "Now & Next" sustainability targets, the company says it plans to take 1 billion pieces of problem plastics off supermarket shelves by 2025, replacing them with sustainable, corrugated alternatives. DS Smith’s plastic replacement work and wider sustainability progress can be found in its latest sustainability report, which can be found here.   

One way DS Smith is doing this is with an investment of $140 million into research and development to explore a range of natural fibers. These include uses of seaweed, straw, hemp, miscanthus and cotton. It also includes sources like the daisy-flowered cup plant and agricultural waste such as cocoa shell or bagasse, the pulp fiber left over after sugarcane is processed.