Foreword: The Right Stuff: Reenvisioning Waste and Our Future, by Randy Hayes 1 THE PACKAGING LANDSCAPE The Package Is the Product Wading Upstream in the Waste Stream In Packages We Trust Does Packaging Waste Equal Food? Intrinsic Environmental Consequences of Trade-Related Transport, by Jerry Mander and Simon Retallack Acceptable Levels of Waste Curbside Confessionals Tracking a Package's Footsteps In Search of Water from a Deeper Well A World of Less Bad Solutions? Can Packaging Have a Meaningful Life? 2 THE SEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS Major Obstacles Preventing Packaging Reform Key Leverage Points and Trends Toward Packaging Reform Extended Producer Responsibility and Take-Back Laws Source Reduction: Packing More with Less Natural Systems Design: Thinking Like a Coconut Packaging Tips from the Porcupine Fish, by Janine Benyus and Dayna Baumeister Wood Reduction: Packaging and the Fate of the Forests Third-Party Certification Organizations and Ecolabels The Rise of the Mini-Mill The Carbohydrate Economy: On the Trail of Bioplastics The Global Revival of Local Economies 3 A FUTURE BEYOND THE BOX What You Can Do Wraps at a Glance Beyond-the-Box Packaging Solutions Appendix A: Packaging Practices Checklist Appendix B: Tips on Green Packaging Appendix C: Resources Notes Selected Bibliography About the Author and Contributors Photo Credits Index