Tins Made From
Steel – The #1
Sustainable Package
A tin can is the best choice you can make for
sustainability. Decorative tins made from tin-plated steel are
infinitely recyclable. Recycling a tin package uses fewer resources
and energy than for other materials. Each tin can contains between
25 and 60% recycled steel.
The World Steel Association reports that the global steel can
recycling rate has reached its highest record level of 68%. Custom
tin containers extend shelf life.
Decorative tins are not usually thrown away and are frequently
recycled through reuse or kept as a collectible.
Quick Facts About Steel Packaging:
Recycling steel uses 60% less energy than making new
.
Every can that you buy is at least 25% recycled steel.
Steel can be easily separated from other waste with a magnet.
There are more than 2,000 scrap steel processors in the US.
Every 2,000 lbs. of recycled steel saves 2,500 lbs. of iron ore,
1400 lbs. of coal and 120 lbs of limestone.
Each year, more steel is recycled than glass, paper, aluminum
and plastic combined.
Fade resistant, UV inks are used on the tin’s top. I
use acid free and lignin-free stock for the bottom label and
sugarplum identification label.
The sample tin at the top of the page has eleven sugarplums.
I have been using candy cups to hold each sugarplum, but that
presented
a problem.
I want to have a dozen sugarplums per tin. I could not force
another sugarplum into the tin using the cups. So I designed
a polypropylene candy tray that theoretically would hold twelve
sugarplums.
The spacing would be tight, but I thought it would work. To
test my theory, I built a small vacuum forming table and purchased
some black polypropylene that is USDA approved for food. I
then built a small, three receptacle mold based on calculations
from my
full size
design.
You can
see the results of my test at right. The sugarplums fit
into
the
receptacles
and
the spacing
was fine. At some point, I will get the twelve cavity insert
produced. But for the immediate future, I will use the candy
cups.
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