For generations the sturdy Domino Sugar bag has lined grocery store shelves promising to safely deliver home the sweetness inside.
To make the sugar bag more sustainable, the packaging team at Domino Sugar designed a 4-pound bag that uses one-ply paper instead of two-ply paper. It turned out stronger than the old bag even with less paper.
And the difference was unnoticeable to consumers. The change is projected to save , pounds of paper annually or a 20 percent reduction in paper use. Volunteers from Domino Sugar in the Inner Harbor raise the baby oysters and transport them to a sanctuary reef in the Patapsco River, where they help filter water headed for the Chesapeake Bay.
The effort has been so popular with volunteers, the refinery hopes to double the size of its oyster garden in the Inner Harbor. Cold water that once left the plant after a single use is now heated for hot water needs. Steam and vapor is captured. Water used to rinse off sugar resin is cleaned and put back into service elsewhere.
The end result is a 24 percent reduction in water use.
