When I started working at Dell 10 years ago, I knew I’d get to work with innovative engineers, learn about new materials and technologies and, if I were lucky, leave work feeling truly inspired by the good my company is doing in the world.
What I did NOT expect was using the word “compost” in a Dell-related blog post. (There was no such thing as a blog post 10 years ago… but I digress).
But alas, that day has come. According to the Soil Control Lab out in California, the innovative, oh-so-sustainable bamboo packaging in which we ship our Mini 10 and Mini 10v (and THIS JUST IN! About half of our Inspiron models, with more to come!) can be tossed into your compost pile for easy, environmentally responsible disposal.
There’s a bit of a trend here. You might have heard that SunChips recently unveiled its first 100 percent biodegradable bag, which is generating a lot of buzz and getting more people talking about compost than I’ve heard in a while. That’s a good thing. (Sidebar: Want to learn more about composting? SunChips provides some great tips).
But why else does it matter that we create packaging from sustainable materials that can then be turned to compost? We’re working to make “being green” easy and cost-effective for our customers, and this is definitely a step in the right direction. I think Oliver Campbell, Dell’s passionate senior manager of packaging, says it best:
“Developing packaging that is lightweight, strong enough to protect our products in transit, avoids the need to cut down hardwood trees and can return to the ground to sustain new plant growth – those are the kinds of long-term, sustainable solutions we want to provide for our customers.”
Learn more about Dell’s bamboo packaging at www.dell.com/bamboopackaging.
During the compostability testing, engineers grew cucumber and sunflower plants in soil mixed with our bamboo packaging compost. As you see, the cucumber plants are nice and healthy!