SoftLayer has received its first delivery of servers using a new packaging program designed to reduce materials and waste.

Hosting company SoftLayer and its server manufacturer, Supermicro, collaborated for several months on the program, which uses 80 percent less packaging than before, a savings of about 100,000 pounds of waste a year.

“From the shipment of our first server in 2006, SoftLayer has actively recycled all its data center materials. But with our rate of growth, it was essential we do even more,” said Joshua Rushe, SoftLayer's vice president of operations.

The new packaging system saves about eight pounds of packaging per server and eliminates the shipping of user manuals and unnecessary components.