Sustainability

The push for sustainability and environmental responsibility is in full force. In the plastics business, it is imperative our customers understand the difference between myths and facts. As you know, ultimately, the sustainability concept is all about conserving the ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources, and, in our business, we do just that.

UPPI’s Sustainability Mission

Universal Protective Packaging, Inc. (UPPI) places the highest priority on our relationship with the environment and our responsibility to the environment. UPPI’s ultimate sustainability goal is to make sure everything we do has the softest impact possible on the environment.

UPPI evaluates the total thermoform packaging footprint and engineers intelligent packaging solutions based on those findings. UPPI creates a package as one component which reduces the amount of material used and decreases waste; making it a better environmental choice than the traditional three-part packaging method. UPPI designs many of our packaging products to be reusable and for more than one product. UPPI utilizes a closed loop recycling program, taking refuse and turning it into new raw material, in all locations, to minimize our environmental impact. UPPI supports research of materials produced from renewable resources such as biodegradable and compostable films and provides continual education concerning these raw material advances. UPPI promotes energy conservation of our equipment and minimizes the consumption of non-renewable resources

UPPI’s Green Manufacturing Practices

  • Material Recycling Program
    The number one material used during production is Recycled PET, with other types of recycled-content material not far behind; total amount used is approximately 3 million lbs per year. All unused recycled and virgin material is resold to our suppliers; which totals approximately 2 million lbs of material per year
  • Metal Recycling Program
    All unused aluminum and stainless steel is resold to a recycler. During the year, we recycle approximately 31,500 lbs of aluminum and 12,250 lbs of stainless steel
  • Cardboard Recycling Program
    All cardboard (including boxes, material cores, and shredded paper) is recycled, totaling approximately 50 tons per year; due to this effort, we cut our trash input in half
  • Facility Energy Conservation
    With the use of T8 fluorescent lighting in our facility, we save 230,253 KWH per year. Due to this, we have reduced our carbon footprint by 345,379 lbs. Motion sensors incorporated into the lighting system in our warehouse decrease the amount of power used in a day; translating to approximately 16 hours of energy conservation. Our thermoformers have high efficiency quartz heaters, which heat up faster than standard heaters, and are easily turned off when not in use. The water used to cool our machines during production is funneled into our water table and back through our geo thermal heat pump for reuse. The geo thermal pump also serves as the building’s heating system.

ABOUT UPPI

UPPI is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of specialized, custom thermoformed plastic packaging. Our business is the design, creation, and production of effective, yet cost-efficient packaging for the retail, medical, electronics, industrial, and food industries. If you would like to learn more about our services, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Universal Protective Packaging Logo in Grey