Over the last three or four weeks I’ve been reading about changes in 2023, endangered species, the growth of global waste, COP 28, and all things “sustainable.” It’s really quite a mouthful and one thought jumped out: is pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) technology, as we know it today, endangered?

Is this a bit far-fetched? Our own company is in the label business, so I guess this makes me a heretic. The folks at Avery Dennison and UPM Raflatac may think I’m a lunatic. In fact, the entire label industry is probably saying, “What’s this guy drinking?” But, I’m dead serious. Is PSA technology endangered?

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was established about 50 years ago to protect wildlife, fish, and plants that are threatened with survival. ESA focuses on recovery and “conservation” of imperiled species. It’s a federal law that protects and creates protocols for survival.

As I read everything sustainability, and the changes that have and are occurring in packaging and packaging waste legislation, I couldn’t help but think of our PSA as a technology, under stress, hence, endangered. However, like the spotted owl, like the monarch butterfly, like the grasshopper sparrow, and so many other plant and animal endangered species, there is hope, if only the industry will listen.

Pressure sensitive technology is a “contrary.” It is so efficient, offers incredible ingenuity, along with hundreds of constructions to blend, mend, and enhance a variety of packaging substrates and forms. In many ways it is ubiquitous, omnipresent, if you will. And, honestly, it has created so many opportunities and careers. Wow, we are so fortunate that Stan Avery came along. So, with all of that, how is it endangered? You know the answer. In fact, it’s almost rhetorical.

Here’s the rub, as good as PSA technology is, it also contributes to a host of issues:

• It’s not recyclable
• Creates a nightmare for recyclers
• Uses unfriendly substrates
• Friendly substrates cost money
• By-product adds cost
• Colored liners in Europe create recycling issues
• Etc.

(You know the drum roll)
The World Bank predicts global waste will reach 3.4 billion tons per year by 2040-2050. Packaging by-product is a large percentage of that 3.4 billion number, and pressure sensitive labelstock and release liners are part of packaging. The most staggering part of that number is that 70% of that waste, amounting to billions of tons, is landfilled. I would hazard a guess that 70% of PSA by-product is landfilled. We can argue about the percentage of PSA waste (matrix), but that’s not the point. The point is PSA label technology generates 50-60% waste and this is unacceptable. This is one of the reasons it’s “endangered.” If I’m a print buyer, and everything being equal, I would pay a premium for direct-print because it is more sustainable. I’m generalizing, obviously, but you get the point.

There are plenty of alternatives to landfilling pressure sensitive waste. Fuel pellets is one solution, and I’ve written extensively about that option.

Waste-to-energy (WTE) is a more all-encompassing answer. It can reduce landfill by at least 75%. WTE is a waste management technology that mitigates landfill issues such as methane pollution, water contamination, ground water degradation, and the hottest subject of all, the dissemination of plastics and microplastics. WTE can play a valuable part in the waste hierarchy, particularly as a generator of energy. The point here is we must stop landfilling PSA waste and release liners to protect our industry.

Two of my favorite organizations, TNC (The Nature Conservancy) and Audubon write extensively about the 50th anniversary of the ESA.  None was more poignant than a column in Audubon by Rene Ebersole, who wrote passionately about the survival of the Bald Eagle:

“December 29, 1973, President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act (ESA), arguably one of the most powerful environmental laws in US history.  For decades, humans had wantonly destroyed wildlife habitats at a breakneck pace – chopping down forests, plowing up prairies, filling in wetlands, and poisoning the environment with pesticides.  The publication of Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring revealed these farming chemicals, originally designed for warfare, were imperiling wildlife, sparking outrage and inspiring an environmental awakening.”

The bald eagle was one of those endangered species and in the 1970s fewer than 400 survived in the entire United States. Ebersole recounts the first experiment to create nesting and procreation with funding from the ESA. The rest is history. Today, bald eagles can be found in every state in the US except Hawaii. What a wonderful success story for America’s national bird!

Ebersole continues with a brief history of ESA and how, today, it is slowly being bastardized by special interest groups that threaten to weaken the law. She finishes by saying that, more than ever, we need a commitment to species conservation.

It is my contention that the same solution exists for our pressure sensitive technology. We need a commitment by our industry leaders to make changes, even at the cost of profitability. This will protect our technology. Whether you accept the fact that climate change is causing irrevocable havoc is almost academic. Regardless, you can’t argue that matrix and liner going into a landfill create methane and methane contributes to climate change. Therefore, we need to keep those two out of the landfill.

The most difficult roadblock, obstacle, is money, cost – “making change will cost money.”  “I don’t have room.”  “If I work with a third party, it will create logistical issues and cost more.”  I’ve heard every excuse imaginable and then some. Look, our industry doesn’t have much time. We are endangered. Owners, presidents, and CEOs must make a commitment or our industry will go the way of the dinosaur – extinct!

During the coming months I will write about waste-to-energy, COP 28, PVC under investigation and other topics that I believe are important and can affect the future of our industry.

Welcome to 2024! May this be the year to commit to change that will allow your business to contribute  to saving an “endangered species.”

Another Letter From the Earth


Calvin Frost is chairman of Channeled Resources Group, headquartered in Chicago, the parent company of Maratech International and GMC Coating. His email address is [email protected].