Green Wombat

It’s the small things that count. Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) has redesigned the packaging for its ubiquitous ink and toner cartridges in a way that the printer giant claims will eliminate an estimated 37 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions this year. Or to use the cars-taken-off-the-road metric: that’s like idling 3,600 vehicles for a year. So what did HP do? It essentially shrunk the packaging and made it lighter, replacing PVC plastic with recycled plastic and paper. (Before-and-after photo above.) That will save 15 million pounds of materials, resulting in smaller packages that require fewer carbon-spewing trucks and freighters to get them to their destinations. For instance, HP says smaller LaserJet toner packages mean that 203 cartridges fit on a shipping pallet that used to hold 144. Of course, refilling spent ink cartridges rather than replacing them is another way to get rid of planet-warming packaging. HP has also redesigned the packaging for its PhotoSmart 735 digital camera, reducing the weight by 36 percent. The number of cameras per pallot has increased to 340 from 200 and pallot use has fallen 41 percent as a result, according to HP. That saves some green for shareholders: shipping costs per camera  are down 36 percent. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart (WMT) has joined efforts to rethink the box. As part of its "Sustainability 360" initiative, the retailer is working with suppliers to shrink the amount of product packaging by 5 percent by 2013.