A 2019 AmeriStar Award has been presented to ScottsMiracle-Gro in partnership with packaging leader ProAmpac for their bio-plastic based design of the Miracle-Gro Performance Organics growing media packaging, which made its commercial debut this spring.

The annual AmeriStar award competition is conducted by the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP). The two companies were recognized for a “more sustainable” flexible package which is “thoughtfully engineered using the least amount of material required without sacrificing product performance, functionality and package durability.”

“This award has special significance,” said Adam Grose, ProAmpac’s chief commercial officer. “Not only is this one of the oldest and most prestigious packaging design competitions, but this AmeriStar recognition reinforces the success of Collaborative Innovation, an approach in which ProAmpac’s new-product team joins forces with a customer’s development group to accelerate innovation.”

The 27 award winners announced June 4 by IoPP were selected by 12 judges from 50 entries across 17 categories. In reviewing this year’s competition, Flexible Packaging Magazine observes that the “highest award for flexible packaging went to ScottsMiracle-Gro, who partnered with ProAmpac.”

More Sustainable Packaging

AmeriStar Award Winner: The new Miracle-Gro Performance Organics growing media bag can withstand harsh environmental challenges while maintaining the quality and performance of a conventional large-format plastic bag. The award-winning packaging replaces 25 percent of the traditional oil- or natural gas-based polyethylene resin with a sugarcane-based bio-plastic resin. The cultivation of sugarcane utilizes carbon dioxide (CO²) and releases oxygen (0²) to give bioplastic a negative carbon footprint.

“As the category leader, we embrace our responsibility to further enhance the environmental sustainability of our products, ingredients, and raw materials,” said Sara Gordon, vice president, brand marketing for ScottsMiracle-Gro. “With the help of our partner ProAmpac, we optimized the packaging of Miracle-Gro Performance Organics soils and substituted more bio-based materials without compromising product quality and integrity. “In addition, Miracle-Gro Performance Organics reuses millions of pounds of organic materials annually in the soil product content, further demonstrating our commitment to sustainability,” added Gordon. “By working with communities to recycle green waste into beneficial soil products, ScottsMiracle-Gro keeps it out of local waste streams and returns valuable, often local, nutrients back into the soil. It also makes ScottsMiracle-Gro one of the largest green waste recyclers in the world.”

To learn more about ProAmpac’s ProActive Sustainability offerings, visit  ProAmpac.com/Sustainability.