Quite often consumer product manufacturers and packaging companies are faced with a serious dilemma. They may be stuck with a warehouse or shipping container full of material that they may be prohibited from selling as a result of a lawsuit or product recall, or they cannot sell because the product does not meet their manufacturing standards, is expired or out of date.
Here are a few scenarios as an example:
- You just lost a judgment on a patent infringement case and you have been ordered to destroy a warehouse full of video game controllers.
- The toys that you imported and stocked up on for this year’s Christmas season were made by a shoddy international manufacturer and contained lead, leading to a product recall and bad company publicity.
- The Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning about tainted dog food and is issuing a recall for your brand.
- You have pallets of your name brand shampoo that did not pass your high quality assurance standards and you do not want your branded products out on the grey market.
- French Vogue declared pink to be passé this year and you have a warehouse full of pink lipstick, eye shadow and nail polish that you will not be able to sell before the shade comes back in style.
What do you do?
These are real life scenarios that companies face and choices are limited. In situations like these it is important that companies have cost effective solutions and a secure certified product disposal option.Certified product disposal, or certified destruction as it is sometime called, is a process whereby products are destroyed or disposed of and the process is authenticated in order to ensure that the product is not being resold or utilized illegally. Product destruction should be handled in a professional, confidential, and cost efficient manner by a reputable disposal company.
When looking at Certified Product Destruction, here are some things to be aware of:
Careful consideration must be given to the selection of specific methods. Numerous factors weigh into this decision, including:
- Necessity of assured/certified product destruction to eliminate re-entry to marketplace
- Government and local community directives to reduce land disposal
- Elimination of future liabilities associated with land disposal
These options include:
- Non-hazardous incineration
- Recycle/reuse
- Off-site wastewater treatment
- Aerosol recycling
- Ingredient capture for reuse in other processes
All entities seeking destruction of their products or materials need to ensure that a proper certificate of destruction is provided by your vendor.
Look for companies that will provide you with appropriate paperwork and the assurance the job has been done completely and competently. A qualified product destruction company should provide at a minimum a certificate of destruction, but many companies will go that extra mile and provide photographic or video evidence of destruction, like we do here at IDR Environmental (Sorry for the Shameless Plug).
Let’s face it. The stakes are high for your business and your company brand. If your product falls into the wrong hands and is sold on the “grey market,” your company can face serious brand erosion, liability from faulty or defective products, or violations of court orders. Don’t take any chances, too much is at stake!
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