When we say "Swiss Miss" it probably makes you think of Tina Roth Eisenberg's blog, but in this case we mean the hot cocoa brand. For years the company has been packaging their product in these round canisters:

The problem is, mixed-material canisters like this--which are typically made from a paper tube with a foil lining and a metal bottom--cannot easily be separated, and are thus considered unrecyclable.

Thus Swiss Miss parent company Conagra Brands, which seeks "to make 100% of its plastic packaging renewable, recyclable or compostable by 2025," has commissioned a redesign from packaging solutions company Berry Global. Here's the new packaging:

In addition to the recyclability, the company claims it's easier to grip--and it further reduces their carbon footprint by costing less to ship:

"The new light blue easy-grip container is made of recyclable plastic with a wraparound in-mold label and a space-efficient tapered cube design that, based on an analysis conducted by Berry Global, reduces the carbon footprint associated with manufacturing and transporting the hot cocoa containers by 15 percent.

"The new design reduces the package's carbon footprint by 98 metric tons each year due to less energy required to manufacture and transport the material. This is equivalent to avoiding the greenhouse gas emissions of driving a passenger vehicle 243,176 miles, which is further than the average distance from the Earth to the moon2. The new shape also allows Conagra to better utilize space in transit, saving more than 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually from fewer truck loads transporting plastic tubs."

Independent of the green credentials, I'm digging the shape of the packaging. I think this is one of those containers that I'd hang onto after it was empty, as I'm sure I could cook up another use for it (holding it against the wall to catch sheetrock dust while drilling holes comes to mind).