Plastics Association Sees Success With Recycling Program

Less than five months after launching an initiative to encourage manufacturers to recycle consumer plastic, the Association of Plastic Recyclers is reporting signs of major success.

In October, the Association of Plastic Recyclers announced its Recycling Demand Champions Campaign, which aims to get large companies to reuse consumer plastics in “work in process” (WIP) contexts. The idea was to encourage the creation of durable goods commonly used in factories—think wastebaskets or pallets—but APR says the initiative was so successful that it’s expanding both its mission and the base of companies it’s working with.

“Although the initial phase of the campaign focused on WIP durable goods, such as pallets and crates, we quickly realized the opportunity to expand the program to include any new application for [post-consumer resin, or PCR],” noted Liz Bedard, who’s in charge of APR’s Rigid Plastic Recycling Program, in a news release.

The association has brought on Nestle, Denton Plastics, and Champion Polymer Recycling as new partners for the program. APR is already working on the program with a wide array of well-known companies such as Coca-Cola North America, Target Corporation, and Campbell Soup Company. Each company that signed up agreed to identify and find ways to use PCR plastics within their facilities, with the goal of increasing demand for recycled plastics.

Since launching the program, these companies have shown much enthusiasm, said APR President Steve Alexander.

“One manufacturer recently indicated intent to replace 250,000 wood pallets with pallets made with PCR, leading to more than 2 million pounds of increased demand in that one application alone,” he stated, adding that he anticipates Demand Champions becoming a “seminal program” of the association.