Sustainable Packaging
Industry Experts discuss all the new materials and ways that packaging can be more sustainable and how we can do our parts to help recycle and reuse. Sustainable Packaging is and will continue to affect us all in our daily lives. We have lots of fun and get down to the real data of what's working to help our planet!
Sustainable Packaging
What's the Future of our Industry? Students like Morgan Bright from Virginia Tech
https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgangracebright/
What's the Future of our packaging industry?
How are packaging students tackling sustainability?
What's Morgan's dream job?
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https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-connors/
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Welcome to Sustainable Packaging with Cory Connors. Today's guest is Morgan Bright from Virginia Tech. She's a student and intern. How are you Morgan? Hi, I'm doing good. How are you? Good. Thank you so much for making some time. I really do enjoy speaking with students and learning from your perspective, how the world of packaging is going for the future generations. but let's learn about your background. How'd you get into this, line of study?
Morgan Bright:Yeah, so when I was in high school, I was very passionate about plastic pollution. I found myself writing a bunch of high school papers. Any chance I got, they were all about plastic pollution. And then I went and toured Virginia Tech and discovered the packaging major. And I found that would be a great way for me to stop the waste and pollution before it starts. So that's why I'm in packaging.
Cory Connors:I think that's awesome. I, I think that's it's inspiring for people like me to keep going, to what we're doing. It's working. we're making a difference together as a group of sustainable packaging professionals and future professionals, but let's talk about, what you're studying at Virginia Tech. Is sustainability a huge focus?
Morgan Bright:It definitely is. the name of my major is packaging systems and design and the department it's in is sustainable biomaterials. So there's a large emphasis on how we source materials and material choice. we also Study polymers and how to make sustainable focus decisions on that. We also take a sustainable packaging design classes and, just design classes of all kinds to get a well rounded background in packaging.
Cory Connors:That's excellent. Are any of your professors, adjunct professors that have been out or work in the industry or are they mostly academics?
Morgan Bright:I believe, Dr. Orvath, I'm not sure about him, but he works a lot in the pallet industry, and I know he is a big leader in that. It's
Cory Connors:a big deal. Pallets are a huge industry that a lot of people don't focus on, but it's an incredibly important, Part of packaging, millions and millions of packaging or pallet ship every year. And it's an incredible, system that they have developed for sure. let's talk about your internship. You're, you've recently started an internship at Newell. what's that
Morgan Bright:I'm loving it. I actually just got off early to do this podcast. I'm super busy already, but I'm really loving the structure and how much they put sustainability at their focus and the forefront of everyone's designs. it's just, I've learned so much already and it's only my Third week.
Cory Connors:so what does
Morgan Bright:Newell do? So they're a consumer goods company. they own a lot of brands that you probably recognize like Yankee candle, paper me Elmer's. I'm specifically working on Nook and Elmer's.
Cory Connors:Oh, wow.. What? What's Elmer's? the glue? Yes, the glue. Oh, wow.. Yeah. That's a big, that's a big brand a lot of people heard of. Yeah. Well done. And it's a very popular br brand with that new, trend in slime. My, my kids like to make slime and all of a sudden Elmer's glue was like the most popular thing in the house. oh. Yeah. Have they accommodated that with some new packaging?
Morgan Bright:I'm not working on that, but they did drop off a container, they call it goo, on my desk, and I was playing with that,
Cory Connors:That's fun. Very entertaining material, for sure. So your team at school is, you're working on some research that's funded by the ISTA. Can you tell us a little bit about the ISTA and then what the project's all about?
Morgan Bright:Yeah, so ISTA chose to fund our project because grocery delivery services, is largely unmapped. And it's just this huge area of the supply chain that's growing only, since COVID. the numbers have grown hugely. And, So just to really see if there's any hazards in this area, they chose to fund our, research on it. So I, it was me, Alonda Johnson, Zachary Weston, and Jieun Yoo. And we worked with, Dr. Eduardo Molina to, work on this project. And then in, the beginning of May, we, presented in person at the ISTA conference. Oh, wow.
Cory Connors:Where was the conference?
Morgan Bright:It was in Houston,
Cory Connors:Texas. Incredible. Were you pretty nervous to speak in front of a big group?
Morgan Bright:I was nervous, but I was, mostly ready to get it over with because we had prepared so much and a lot of time went into it. At that point, we had been working on our research for a year, an academic year,
Cory Connors:That's incredible. how many people do you think were there at the ISTA event?
Morgan Bright:I'm, I would guess over 100. I'm not sure, though. I couldn't tell you exactly. maybe about 100.
Cory Connors:Some of the best advice I got when I was in college was to speak in front of people as much as you can as scary as it is, continue to do it and you'll get better at it. And I can assure you that is true because I was on a team in college and we had to speak in front of a large group and it was very nerve wracking but It gets easier. It gets, you just get more comfortable, I think. So well done. So what did your study find, as far as your premise?
Morgan Bright:Yeah, so we determined that grocery, packaging is currently over designed and that allows opportunity for cost savings and material reduction. We found the specific heights that drops most drives drops were found between it was point nine and four inches. and then we also determined the four segments in which a drop may occur.
Cory Connors:Oh, interesting. So you're saying that most people, when they drop something, they're probably picking it up from a table and dropping it on that table rather than carrying the groceries and dropping it to the floor.
Morgan Bright:we studied four areas. So we did picking, checkout, loading and delivery. so it was all different. So for the picking, it was off of a shelf onto into the basket. So it was all different heights and different levels. and just looking at the difference between those.
Cory Connors:That's fascinating. So packaging being over engineered is wasteful, right? So what was your recommendation as a group for some redesigns? Did you come up with some new designs for the committee?
Morgan Bright:The only recommendations we found are. Concluded were to use reusable totes in the grocery delivery services. we mostly focused on the bag waste cause that is huge. and then a lot of, there's no regular regularity between the businesses. Some use reusable bags. Some use plastic bags. It just, it depends on the store and then also the service. So we found that if it was a fully integrated system that there would be a reduction in waste because we could use reusable totes and things like that.
Cory Connors:That's fantastic. So the tote would be used by the consumer or by the store? Or both.
Morgan Bright:So it could be either. It could, it could be owned by the driver or the retailer, or it's like a pool service, like a rental type thing.
Cory Connors:Fascinating. I agree with you. Reusable packaging is a huge part of the future of sustainable packaging. And did you. Do you have any thoughts on that? Do you think reusable packaging overall, even for consumer goods will take shape here?
Morgan Bright:Oh, I think definitely. yeah, I'm a huge supporter of a circular economy. I've taken a lot of classes on that. I find it really fascinating. So I would love to see that.
Cory Connors:What other sustainable trends are you, interested in, in, in this world?
Morgan Bright:Yeah, I'm really interested in reusable, reusability, and just how a package can be made to do something else. I was working on a project, my senior design capstone, and it was actually funded or not funded, but the project was from Newell Brand. And so it was an Elmer's project and it was a spray chalk. And so I wanted to really incorporate that reusability into the package. So I incorporated a stencil on the back so that you can keep reusing the stencil with your spray chalk to just give it that user element and, just. Has a purpose past just opening.
Cory Connors:Great idea. And I agree. I think packaging will be more reasonable every day. I think we'll come up with new ways to do it. Even packaging that's not considered reasonable should be reused in my opinion, like corrugated boxes can be used dozens of times before you recycle them. That is, it's. There's a lot of action that can be taken there for sure. can you tell us a little bit about the school and what it's like to go to school and study packaging? Yeah,
Morgan Bright:I love Virginia Tech. It's, my parents are Hokies, so it's in my blood. I grew up going to football games and basketball games. I love them. But just the packaging and sustainable biomaterials area is very It's not, it's small, but it's small in a good way. Like everyone's tight knit and everyone knows each other and the professors really care about their students and I really appreciate that I have those relationships with my professors.
Cory Connors:That's great. I had a similar experience in my college and I, it's so valuable to get to know your professors to get to know your fellow students I was in advertising that we didn't have a package. Thank you. Program. I didn't even think about packaging in college and except I worked at a production facility for corrugated boxes. So that's how I paid my way through college. But anyways, if you could pick any job in the world of packaging for your dream job, what would that be?
Morgan Bright:My dream job would be working somewhere where Sustainability is foremost and cost is always second. I feel like cost is always first everywhere you go now, but if that's possible, I would love one where cost is second.
Cory Connors:Yeah, I think you're right. it's difficult to find that these days. Would you like to be focused on design and the science of it still? Or do you have druthers to start a business or, be in sales or anything like that?
Morgan Bright:Yeah. So my short term goal is to be a packaging engineer. cause I really enjoy the technical design aspect. and then longterm, I would love to start my own company and be in, a consultant for sustainable packaging design and really connect, producers and the packaging.
Cory Connors:Oh, great. I know a few people in the industry. I'll be happy to introduce you around. You've got a bright future ahead of you. anything else that you wanted to talk about before we end up here?
Morgan Bright:just how important it is to, keep going, even though it seems like you're being bogged down by the costs and all the, problems going on right now with inflation. just keep going. Cause. it'll get us where we need to go.
Cory Connors:Yeah, said we need to focus on the positive outcome here and not just these small battles that we're dealing with sustainability and packaging. I toured a material recycling facility today. And she said the same thing she's the president there and she's. frustrated with certain things, but very excited about certain things. So there's this, kind of balance that we're evening out in the middle. And I think it'll be good news for all of us. I'll say, yeah, what's the best way for people to get in touch with you and maybe with the school.
Morgan Bright:Yeah, you can follow me on LinkedIn. I'm Morgan bright. You'll see me. I work at Virginia tech annual brands currently, but I won't in the fall. And you can also email me at mobright at vt. edu if you would like.
Cory Connors:All right. And you have plans to do another internship or anything else after, after this one?
Morgan Bright:so I'm hoping and planning to go to grad school at Virginia Tech in January.
Cory Connors:Oh, good for you. And does that include some hands on experience with certain companies like internships or paid internships?
Morgan Bright:with the masters. so the project that I would be working on is funded. So I would be paid to do the research.
Cory Connors:Oh, that's amazing. So can companies reach out to Virginia Tech to become a part of that program? Oh,
Morgan Bright:definitely. I would say definitely. Dr. Molina would be a great contact for that. Excellent.
Cory Connors:thank you so much, Morgan. I appreciate it. And thank you Landsberg Aurora for sponsoring this podcast. If you're listening, make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next episode and stay tuned for more.
