What are some specific problems caused by moisture? Still have a question about the data? <> Standards & Guidelines relating to the corrugated industry - Fefco We know, boxes are not rocket science. In our latest case study, learn about NION Health's revolutionary "negative ion" supplement and how their luxurious NION Health has the distinction and the challenge of being the first of its kind on the market as producers of the first safely Upgrade your product's packaging game with GLBC's custom solutions. Therefore, any discussion about improving the sustainability of production and consumption must always address packaging as an essential part of the supply chain. Less-than-ideal or fluctuating conditions reduce their effectiveness and shorten their useful life. Corrugate is 71% weaker at 95% humidity vs. 50% humidity. Heat can reduce the moisture content of corrugated boxes, making them brittle. Higher humidity levels can drastically affect corrugate strength. Can retailers really afford to do this? We remember those who have lost their liv From their unique branding depicting the legend of the '@BlastedChurch' to their award-winning wines & strong commu On the one hand, the story of Okanagan Falls, BC, winery Blasted Church Vineyards is similar to many others in the region. Box users make major investments in the development, production and promotion of their products. EPA measures the generation, recycling, composting, combustion with energy recovery and landfilling of paper and paperboard products. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Typical accuracy is about 0.1% moisture. There are three main causes of compression-loss when palletizing boxes: Pallet Overhang, Wooden Pallets, and Interlocked Stacking Patterns. In 2018, paper and paperboard (cardboard) materials comprised the largest component of municipal solid waste (MSW). Sources: Aluminum Association data are used for generation of aluminum packaging and recycling of aluminum cans. <>/XObject<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> OW8lF0Bd9n?DL0C S\E vmi]L'E`f ur4Z{.+};pf K@i%LEwpX9hH How the unit load is designed and interacts with material handling, packaging and transportation go a long way to determining the extent, if any, of damage. Access Packaging World's free educational content library! shippers) accounting for the overwhelmingly majority of that volume. Before putting together a plan, lets examine how product damage occurs and some questions to ponder. When building pallet loads of flat boxes, use deck boards to distribute weight evenly. After recycling, the combustion of corrugated boxes was 230,000 tons, and landfills received 940,000 tons in 2018. EPA estimated the amount of generation of aluminum cans using Aluminum Association data on the number of cans consumed domestically and on average can weight. Reflects new or updated requirements: Changes represent new or revised requirements. By unitization, we simply mean the process of bundling and securing several individual packages together, often on a pallet. Over his 25-year career Bodenheimer has spoken on a wide variety of topics includingreverse logistics, health and beauty accessories and damage research. Represents the most recent date that the FAQ was reviewed (e.g. Facts and Figures about Materials, Waste and Recycling, Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures Report page, Paper and Paperboard Containers and Packaging. <> An excel testing template is available as a tool to support the statistical evaluation of the test results and communication with suppliers/customers. Moisture and temperature are important considerations when discussing the strength and longevity of corrugated boxes. The converting machines play a major role in obtaining the required quality level of the finished products. Evidence of damage is heavy creasing to the corrugate, a punctured case or other tell-tale signs, such as tears and rips. Not only do you need to provide strong, durable corrugated boxes that can withstand drops and movement during transportation, but they must also be able to withstand various weather conditions including snow and rain. stream The amount of wood pallet recycling (usually by chipping for uses such as mulch or bedding material, but excluding wood combusted as fuel) in 2018 was 3.1 million tons. The degree of moisture resistance varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and also depends on the conditions where the boxes will be used. Water is used in the corrugated board production and aids in creating the liner board, forming the flute structure, and as part of the starch adhesive that combines them. . Types of changes and an explanation of change type: Additionally, the combustion of containers and packaging was 7.4 million tons (21.5 percent of total combustion with energy recovery) and landfills received 30.5 million tons (20.9 percent of total landfilling) in 2018. All of these cause problems as the corrugated is erected into boxes, whether the operation is manual or automated. Colder temperatures hold less moisture. At FlexPAC, we have tools and experience to help determine the right corrugated board grade for a given situation. Workers have a couple options. The tear-resistant qualities of corrugated cardboard are hard to beat and they have the added advantage of guarding against moisture, so food items are kept fresh. In this table below published in the Handbook of Package Engineering (c.1992), you can see that the greater the humidity the less stacking strength a box has. Both cases can lead to failure. 2)XxN=.26^k )B7/-:vb aZ-NQ@4M However, over time, cases can shift, creating a gap that can lead to product damage. In 2018, the recycling rate of generated packaging and containers was 53.9 percent. He can be reached at[emailprotected]. Phone: 317-872-0097 You could also 'mist' your boxes with a spray to keep them slightly moist when folding them. Higher humidity levels can drastically affect corrugate strength. Approximately 46million tons of paper and paperboard were recycled in 2018for a recycling rate of 68.2percent, which was the highest compared to other materials in MSW. Paper containers and packaging, excluding corrugated boxes, had a recycling rate of 20.8 percent, while corrugated boxes had a recycling rate of 96.5 percent in 2018. How appropriately stretch-wrap is applied can be a big factor in whether a product sustains damage. AutomationDirects Contrinex small rectangular inductive proximity sensors are available in sizes12mm x 27mm x 6.5mm and 12mm x 27mm x 12mm. The corrugated medium is often 0.026 pounds per square foot (0.13 kg/m) basis weight in the U.S.; in the UK, a 90 grams per square metre (0.018 lb/sq ft) fluting paper is common. producers, packers or suppliers) are responsible for ensuring the quality, safety, and hygiene not only of food, but also of packaging. Incredibly, it has been found that improper palletization can result in boxes losing up to 50% of their compression strength! Checkout our packaging and processing solutions finder, ProSource. Less-than-ideal or fluctuating climate conditions reduce corrugate effectiveness and shorten its useful life. This too can cause significant compression losses in the unit load. Fortunately, combating the harmful effects of low humidity need not be complicated or expensive. One solution to this problem is to stabilize the load by using stretch wrap. All rights reserved. Please click here to see any active alerts. )3$q:z]==V/_WwOw~cogf8{<>E5ep8\3^G}`*Y Knowing this, corrugated board manufacturers add small amounts of resins to the adhesive to give it moisture resistance. Copyright 2022 FlexPAC Web Design by Roundpeg, To get all the tips on corrugated boxes, read our blog on, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). Using an interlocked pattern, which rotates each layer on the load, can destroy up to 50% of the compression strength. What about column or interlocking stacking? Nondurable goods made of paper, excluding newspapers, had a recycling rate of 43.1 percent, while newspapers had a recycling rate of 64.8 percent. Containers that are contaminated should be removed based upon the cleanliness requirements of the storage area. As much as 11% of unit loads arriving at a distribution center have some level of case damage. Improper and fluctuations in relative humidity can be seen in: These can result in the box structure breaking down, leading to a reduction in strength and, eventually, failure. Additionally, about 13.4 percent of the glass containers and packaging waste generated was combusted with energy recovery, while the remainder (55.4 percent) was landfilled. Following these simple guidelines will maximize the performance and prolong the useful life of your corrugated boxes: The preceding information and illustrations on how to store and handle corrugated boxes are from the Fibre Box Handbook (Fibre Box Association, Rolling Meadows, IL, 1992), Do you have a project GLBC can help out with? The construction of a box can become even more complicated for dangerous goods. 3 0 obj Other paper packaging, such as cartons and sacks, is mostly recycled as mixed papers. What is The Joint Commission's position on managing cardboard or corrugated boxes and shipping containers? Find evidence-based sources on preventing infections in clinical settings. To put it another way, dont treat damage research like an Easter egg hunt. Cardboard - Cargo Handbook - the world's largest cargo transport Extreme cold also affects moisture content, making the boxes more fragile. A property of corrugated is flat-crush resistance; even so, that property should not be exceeded by superimposed weights. So whereas the guidelines presented in this article are relevant for virgin corrugated, they are more so for recycled corrugated. Pallets should be of quality construction; otherwise, splinters, protruding nails, and other defects can inflict damage. The amount of moisture in a board has a significant effect in the material's properties such as printability, shrinkage, dimensional stability, and physical strength. FEFCO Technical Specifications for Converting Equipment_V1.2is meant to support all those in the industry who are involved in selecting converting machines, defining the specifications of the machines, commissioning the machines and using them after installation. Check out our Frequent Questions page. Despite its repetitive nature, this exercise presupposes a certain level of risk for product damage. Palletizing boxes so that they are columnar, or vertically stacked (stacking one box directly on top of the other) is the preferred method. Gain an understanding of the development of electronic clinical quality measures to improve quality of care. The new national standard "corrugated board" GB/T6544-2008 stipulates that the moisture content of paperboard should be no more than 14%, that is, an upper limit for the moisture content of cardboard. The FEFCO GMP standard was launched at the end of 2003, renewed in 2006, to ensure that corrugated boxes meet all the requirements of quality, safety and hygiene. Corrugate is 71% weaker at 95% humidity vs. 50% humidity. Sources: USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station and Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Relative humidity regularly varies between 30 to 90 percent depending on location . rAbuZrVI4*S~BA/9xd)0u Alternate bundle direction, or alternate loose boxes at intervals for greater stability. Its fair to say that billions of productsall types, all sizes, all purposesmake the trip from the manufacturing plant to a distribution center to a retail store. A simple, effective solution can be to choose an area within the facility that is least susceptible to high-humidity conditions; for example, rather than an area close to the loading docks, with their routine raising of doors and the ingress of humidity, a better area is one that is farther into the interior of the facility. NEW: Auditors need to renew certification documents every 5 years. 1 0 obj Moisture adsorption in palletised corrugated fibreboard cartons under Set expectations for your organization's performance that are reasonable, achievable and survey-able. Smaller proportions were combusted for energy recovery (3.7 percent) and landfilled (15.4 percent). Loading decisions must seek to balance productivity, safety, transportation and equipment costs, and product protection. The porosity of wood fibers, which is what corrugated boxes are made of, allows it to absorb and release moisture, a phenomenon that isknown as hygroscopy. Forty% of the strength of corrugate is lost within the first 30 days of storage.