Fighting Plastic Waste, One Tile at a Time

Emily Packer, co-founder of ColdHarbour Tiles.

Although a native to Southern California, Emily (Enberg) Packer, CCAS BA ’08, has made just about every corner of the world her home. Her love for travel started early as a child, frequently taking trips with her family.

“I quickly picked up the adventure bug and wanted to explore the world, soaking up all its beautiful differences,” she explains. “Traveling has made me think of myself more as a ‘global citizen,’ than being from one particular place.”

Now a resident of Rwanda, Packer’s travel experiences combined with her studies has inspired her to eliminate plastic waste – one eco-tile at a time. She recently launched Coldharbour Tiles, which transforms plastic waste from East Africa into high-quality, recycled wall tiles.

However, her environmental passion and journey around the world started well before her time in Rwanda. It’s no surprise that when she was in high school, Packer fell in love with GW and D.C. while visiting her sister and made it the next stop on her global journey.

“I was instantly drawn to the international nature of the [nation’s] capital, the buzzing of ‘things happening’ in the air, the intense political conversations you would overhear while walking down the street, and the incredible museums,” Packer reflects.

An American Studies major and sociology minor, she credits GW with providing her with “the confidence and the tools to embrace everything the city and university had to offer.” She acknowledges that this confidence and excitement to learn further cultivated her curiosity to explore the world.

After an internship at the National Geographic Society and a semester abroad in Morocco, Packer graduated and eventually moved on to study at the American University of Paris, where she completed her master’s in global communications and public policy. During an internship at the United Nations Environmental Program, she became “slightly obsessed” with environmental documentaries, which piqued her interest in being a part of the solution for the world’s environmental issues.

She continued her career as a freelance videographer, and produced an environmentally-focused mini-documentary series. She traveled to 23 countries on five continents to interview over 200 people about global environmental solutions, further inspiring her to find a way make a difference.

ColdHarbour’s tiles are
sourced from 100% recycled materials.

After a stint in London, Packer moved to Kigali, Rwanda with her husband and son and opened KOKO Club – a family club and café focused on environmental issues. This was her first taste of environmentally friendly design, producing a new type of eco packaging called a “DOOG” box – a takeaway food container made from recycled paper bags, flower/water paste and beeswax. It was working in the restaurant industry that opened up her eyes to how much plastic waste comes with running a business – and in that moment, she knew she had to do more.

While observing an incredible amount of plastic waste on a videography mission in Cote d’Ivoire, Packer sparked her grand idea – to take this free material and transform it into a useful item that had longevity, to ensure it wouldn’t end up back in another waste stream. From there, with some trial and error, Coldharbour Tiles was born.

With the help of local students, she perfected the production process and eventually created a 100% recycled tile with a stone-like appearance by mixing different shades of available recycled plastic. Available in three shapes and nine colors, Coldharbour Tiles is versatile enough for any home décor style, with the feel-good appeal of helping the environment.

“Our goal is to create a beautiful product that just happens to be made from 100% recycled plastic,” Packer says. “The pervasiveness of plastics and microplastics in our environment is truly frightening. My goal is for Coldharbour Tiles to become the leader in the eco-tiles industry, cleaning up thousands of tons of plastic waste.”

To further reduce their environmental impact, Packer notes that they plan to design eco-friendly packaging for tile shipments and offer consumers the option of purchasing carbon credits to offset emissions from shipping.
“Sustainability and environmental protection are the heart of our brand,” Packer asserts.

Tackling a global issue isn’t easy, but Packer is hopeful for the future. “Our goal over the next year is to process at least two tons of plastic waste per day, so the impact of this on the environment could be huge.”

-Carli Halper

To learn more about Coldharbour Tiles, visit the organization’s website or kickstarter campaign.

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