Liberty Intercept Blog

I recently have been spending a lot of time thinking about the future of cars. The advances in electric and driverless cars have really stolen the show. All of this was brought about recently when I was hit by, non-driverless cars (ie. cars with drivers), I was actually hit twice, once on a bike and the other while stopped at a red light. Both were accidents, but both got me thinking that we sacrifice countless efficiencies when humans are in control of cars. The first one that comes to mind is fuel (and energy) efficiency. If we use computers to drive cars they can more effectively and more quickly communicate with other cars thus reducing time wasted at stoplights or waiting while another driver considers what he or she is going to do. A perfect world could look something like this. 

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Topics: waste, anti-corrosion barrier packaging, how to reduce waste

Oh, paints! One of my pet peeves as a homeowner is when it comes time to use the paints for touch-up after they’ve been stored for a time, they are a mess and unusable (see gunky rusty metal paint can at left compared to nice clean paint can after storage in Intercept packaging). The cans become rusty and cruddy, the paint inside and thick, gunky, with rust particles from the can floating through it. The issue for me then becomes the disposal of up to a half gallon of bad paint. The oil-based paints are deposited at the town’s hazardous waste drop-off, collected once a year, which is fine if I am available on that day. Latex paints are supposed to be dried out and placed in the general trash...I don’t like that. Drying out paint in the can is an unrealistic chore. Disposing of paint in the general trash pickup just doesn’t feel right.

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Topics: waste, anti-corrosion barrier packaging, how to reduce waste

To continue my series of household applications using Intercept to protect personal belongings from rust/corrosion, mold and mildew, here is a story about my snow blower.

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Topics: waste, anti-corrosion barrier packaging, good packaging matters, heavy duty barrier packaging

“Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift.” ~Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

“All excesses are inimical to Nature.  It is safer to proceed a little at a time, especially when changing from one regimen to another.” ~Hippocrates (c.460 - 400 BC)

I went out to shoot pictures of nature’s beauty, determined to present only nature’s splendor and not the trash within view. Finally, the Great Esker Park did it to me. I would have in my view finder all these alluring images, but if I were to zoom out or pan to a slightly different angle, there is the trash spewed about in all its ugliness. It was like a rash underneath my skin that I couldn’t scratch.

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Topics: effects of pollution, waste, how to reduce waste

Yes, I spelled it correctly; "going grean", according to The Converting Curmudgeon, is the process of combining the tenets of environmentalism with those of lean manufacturing. Concerns over the environmental impact of packaging, as well as health and cost issues, can be assuaged by manufacturers "going grean". The Curmudgeon (Mark Spaulding) writes about a recent Converting Influence meeting featuring a presentation by Dr. Steven Dunn, associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and director of the school's Center for Sustainable Enterprise. Dunn is a former packaging manufacturing and logistics manager for H.J. Heinz Co. and author of The Green Baron (Trafford Publishing).

According to Spaulding, Dr. Dunn explained why the focus on "going GREAN" is important:

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Topics: waste, sustainable packaging, how to reduce waste

Efficiency is important.  Having to do a job two or three times in order to make it right is a waste; it's also not very much fun either (you are currently reading my third draft). There are times where such redundancy is necessary. An example we at the ITG use to display this is the case of the armor-plated Humvee cabs.

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Topics: waste, corrosion resistance, how to reduce waste, outdoor storage

Two servicemen showed up at 10 a.m. and opened the three large boxes of washing machine replacement parts that had been decorating our living room for a week. The protective packaging consisted of a corrugated three foot cube box - no inner packing materials; some loose corrugated supports - no bubble wrap, no newspaper, no packing peanuts, no air pillows - nothing to cushion the item inside. Evidently, a simple corrugated carton could not withstand whatever treatment it received in the warehouse and during shipment. The rigid nylon bearing tub part, essential to the job, was cracked on two sides - not usable.

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Topics: carbon footprint, waste, manufacturing, packaging, protective packaging