StopWaste: Ghiradelli Chocolate

Ghirardelli in San Leandro, CA had been spending $520,000 a year on 580,000 cardboard boxes for internal distribution. These boxes would get soiled with use and so were thrown in the trash—resulting in an additional $2,700 spent on disposal. The StopWaste Partnership assessed Ghirardelli’s operation and identified reusable totes as a potential solution. The StopWaste Partnership then provided a cost benefit analysis and a $75,000 grant to help offset the large initial investment and get the project rolling. The reusable tote solution will allow Ghirardelli to realize $1.95 million in net packaging reduction savings over the five-year life of the project and prevent 350 tons of soiled cardboard a year. In addition, it means that workers are less likely to develop repetitive stress injuries from taping and opening cardboard boxes.