• Sustainability

      Pursuing Zero Net Waste at the PLASTICS DC Offices

      December 20, 2016 Paper. Coffee cups. Snack wrappers. To-go containers. Lunches. Cardboard boxes. More paper. A lot gets thrown away at offices around the country.

    • Sustainability

      New Research: Flexible Film Packaging Can be Recycled

      September 30, 2016 Flexible plastic packaging- resealable bags, pouches and other items- is becoming increasingly popular. This type of packaging protects more products and often does so with a lower environmental footprint than other packaging options. However, these materials have raised questions in materials recovery facilities (MRFs) about how they can be recycled after the end of their useful life.

    • Sustainability

      SPI and ACC Pick Up Riverside Litter for Coastal Cleanup Day

      September 26, 2016 SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association and the American Chemistry Council (ACC), hosted a river clean up as part of the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup (ICC). The annual ICC is one of the largest volunteer events in the world where thousands of people volunteer their time to clean up the world's coastlines and waterways. 

    • Sustainability

      Operation Clean Sweep Celebrates 25 Years

      September 21, 2016 Operation Clean Sweep (OCS) is voluntary stewardship program for facilities that handle plastic materials. Administered jointly by SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association and the American Chemistry Council (ACC), OCS is designed to help facilities implement procedures to keep plastic materials out of our waterways and eliminate plastic pellet, flake and powder loss. 

    • Sustainability

      Hear about the Benefits of Pursuing Zero Net Waste from SPI’s First-Ever Zero Net Waste-Designated Company

      August 31, 2016 When The Minco Group and its All Service Plastic Molding (ASPM) subsidiary set out to achieve Zero Net Waste using SPI’s program, it couldn’t have known how it would impact its operations, or its bottom line. But Minco Program Manager Andy Brewer, with the support of Vice President Dan Norris, organized and led a company Green Team which implemented the program and started monitoring their progress.

    • Sustainability

      How The USDA’s BioPreferred Program Is Helping Bioplastics Expand

      August 23, 2016 Since 2003, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) BioPreferred Program has focused on accelerating the development and expansion of markets for biobased products, including bioplastics. As part of SPI’s inaugural Bioplastics Week, we recently sat down with Kate Lewis, deputy program manager at USDA to learn more.

    • Sustainability

      Sustainability in the Olympics: Striving to Set a Gold Standard

      August 5, 2016 Every four years, millions around the world turn their attention to the Olympic Games and watch athletes bike, flip, swim and run to represent their respective countries in the global competition.

    • Sustainability

      Is Your Product Industrially Compostable?

      July 28, 2016 Companies today are focused on creating products that are sustainable, meaning they are made with materials that minimize the impact on our environment. You may have some familiarity with biodegradable products, which are one solution to companies’ need to create environmentally-conscious products.

    • Sustainability

      Summer Excursion: Members Tour EREMA, UMass Lowell and Learn About Recycling and Plastics Engineering

      July 25, 2016 The plastics industry continues to find innovative ways to create products that are environmentally friendly without compromising the needs of consumers. In a world where recycling is a learned-behavior, along the way there has been urban legend that foam cups – popular in many an office and college party – are not recyclable.