Dannon yogurt cups, part 1

Dannon yogurt. I have been a user and aficionado of Dannon yogurt for as long as I have been eating solid food - I especially love apples & cinnamon and blueberry flavors. I fondly remember the old paper-and-wax packaging. And the other day I had it driven forcefully home to me how much plastic is being wasted every time I enjoy this healthful snack.

So, I wrote Dannon. In addition to the above, I wrote the following:

Has your company looked into returning to the wax-and-paper containers? I'm sure it would be more expensive, but I cannot continue buying a product that I feel is so wasteful. Please consider going back to an old standard. Thank you for your time.

And of course, I got a lovely form letter back.

Dear Tasha Wassink,

Thank you for contacting Dannon regarding your concern about plastic packaging. We sincerely appreciate your interest in our packaging.

Please be assured that Dannon shares your concern about the environment, and within the past few years, we have made significant changes in our cups to reduce the amount of plastic that is used. Our primary concern, however, has always been and always will be to protect the quality and integrity of our product. Any action we take must maintain the same quality that consumers like you expect from Dannon.

Plastic containers provide superior durability and ensure superior quality. Since not all plastics are alike, we are continually testing and evaluating the various types of plastics available to us. At the present time, polypropylene (#5) and polystyrene (#6) cups have proved to be the best "match" for Dannon yogurt.

You may also be surprised to learn that in many communities with recycling programs that accept #1 (PETE) or #2 (HDPE) plastics, only bottles are actually recycled. The wide mouth plastic containers are frequently removed and discarded at the recycling processing plant. Additionally, containers made from PETE and HDPE require more plastic to be produced than similar containers made from either polypropylene or polystyrene.

Currently, there are over 1700 communities throughout the United States collecting polypropylene. Consumers like yourself can play a role in working with local governments to help expand the number of centers accepting #5 plastics.

Dannon regularly evaluates ways to reduce the overall amount of plastic used to produce Dannon yogurt cups. We have already introduced new single serve cups that require 20% less plastic to produce. In addition, Dannon has decided to remove our overcaps in fall 2005, symbolizing our belief that there are better uses for 3.6 million pounds of plastic. Over time, this means that Dannon will have eliminated the use of 11 million pounds of plastic. Imagine a pile of 666,000 cups and overcaps? - that is how much less plastic we're using each year. Please be assured that we are continually to evaluating our process in the interest of eliminating unnecessary solid waste.

You may be interested in learning more about source reduction from a newsletter called "The ULS Report". The newsletter's goal is to help conserve resources and reduce waste by Using Less Stuff. We believe the publication is free and can be obtained by writing: The ULS Report, P.O. Box 130116, Ann Arbor, MI 48113, www.use-less-stuff.com, or calling 313-668-1690.

Thank you for contacting Dannon on this important matter. We appreciate your concern and hope we have earned your respect for our on-going environmental efforts.

Sincerely,


Lisa Moore
Consumer Response Representative

I particularly enjoyed the passive-aggressive "Well, communities don't recycle wide mouth containers ANYWAY" part... but I didn't ask them about switching plastics. Since they didn't actually answer my question, I had to write back once again.

Thank you for the reply Lisa, but I have to ask again... what about
the paper and wax containers you used to use? I see that switching to
a more recyclable form of plastic was addressed in the form letter,
but I didn't see anything about the way you used to "protect the
quality and integrity of our product" - one that I remember worked
perfectly well. Source reduction is great, but in the past you didn't
need to do source reduction.

Thank you again for your time, and I look forward to your response.

Tasha Wassink

And today, got this back:

Tasha,

Thank you for your recent contact with The Dannon Company Consumer Response Center.

Although we understand that email may be your preferred method of communication, we would like to have an opportunity to speak with you directly regarding your question about wax cups. Please call our toll-free number, 1-877-DANNONUS (1-877-326-6668), Monday through Friday, 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. Eastern Time.

Thank you for your interest in Dannon. We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to speaking with you soon!

Best Regards,


Lisa Moore
Consumer Response Representative
1-877-DANNON-US (1-877-326-6668)
(Mon-Fri, 9AM - 6PM ET)

I'm guessing they think either that e-mail is too low a barrier to communication and that I'll be afraid to talk to a real person, or that they don't want their answers to be in print. Either way, once my cold is better Dannon is going to be getting a little call; especially in view of products like the Ecotainer (which isn't wax-and-paper; it might be even better). Come on Dannon, prove worthy of my love.