PLASTICS is proud to have awarded these five honors since 2019. Take a look at the previous winners of the Plastic Sustainability Innovation Awards.
Plastic Sustainability Innovation Leadership Award – Plastipak for their PPK Natura material.
PPK Natura utilizes CarbonSmart™ MEG, a technology derived from waste carbon emissions through a proprietary carbon capture and transformation (CCT) process. In this process, industrial carbon emissions—such as those from steel mills or other carbon-intensive industries—are captured and converted into ethanol. The ethanol is then processed into monoethylene glycol (MEG), a key building block for PET resin. MEG is combined with terephthalic acid to create PPK Natura, a high-performance PET resin with the same properties as virgin fossil-based PET. The result is a fully recyclable material that retains the technical integrity required for a variety of packaging applications.
Plastic Sustainability Innovation in Design – PureCycle Technologies for the design of their PureFive™ resin dissolution recycling process.
PureCycle Technologies uses a dissolution recycling process developed by The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) that separates color, odor, other plastics, and additives from PCR polypropylene waste feedstock to transform it into PureFive™ resin. This purification process helps close the loop on recycled plastics while making recycled polypropylene more accessible at scale to companies seeking more sustainable materials in their products. In 2024, PureFive™ resin was successfully used in fiber, injection molding, and thermoforming applications.
This technology also won the 2024 People’s Choice Award.
Plastic Sustainability Innovation in Material – GreenMantra Technologies for their CERANOVUS® specialty polymer additive.
GreenMantra has developed the first commercially scaled molecular recycling technology, converting 100% waste plastics into high-performance synthetic waxes and polymer additives. Unlike standard recycled plastics, CERANOVUS® additives are molecularly engineered through a proprietary process that breaks down long carbon chains in recycled polyolefin plastics into tailored shorter-chain polymers and waxes. The result: functional additives that enhance product performance, improve manufacturing efficiency, and drive greater sustainability.
Plastic Sustainability Innovation in End of Life – Greyparrot for their Greyparrot Analyzer
The Analyzer is an AI-powered waste analytics system that revolutionizes plastic recovery by providing real-time data on material composition in sorting facilities. Using advanced computer vision, the Analyzer identifies and categorizes waste on conveyor belts, enabling operators to optimize infeed blends, improve product quality, and reduce residue loss. With 140 units deployed across 55 facilities globally, the Analyzer has identified millions of dollars in recoverable plastics previously lost to landfill.
Plastic Sustainability Innovation People’s Choice Award – SnapSlidefor their SnapSlide RX Vial.
The SnapSlide RX Vial redefines pharmaceutical packaging by combining child resistance with one-handed accessibility—an industry first. Designed to empower individuals with limited dexterity, SnapSlide eliminates the struggle of traditional push-and-twist closures while maintaining CPSC-certified child safety. Beyond accessibility, SnapSlide advances sustainability, using 25% less plastic than conventional vials while increasing shipping efficiency by approximately 20%.
Leadership in Plastic Sustainability Innovation – Polycarbinfor their Circular Economy for Laboratory Plastics and Carbin Counter Platform
Plastic Sustainability Innovation in Design – Eastman for their New Molecular Recycling Facility
Plastic Sustainability Innovation in Material – Bantam Materials for their Prevented Ocean Plastic
Plastic Sustainability Innovation in End of Life – Ultra-Poly Corporation for their ELV Bumper Recycling Program
People’s Choice Award – PureCycle Technologies for their PureFive Ultra-Pure Recycling Process
Leadership in Sustainable Innovation Award Winner – Amcor Rigid Packaging for their:
Sustainable Innovation in Design Award Winner – Avient Corporation for their Color Prediction Service (CPS).
Sustainable Innovation in Materials Award Winner – Envision Plastics for their EcoPrime® Fit for Food Contact HDPE and PP PCR.
Sustainable Innovation in End-of-Life Award Winner – ExxonMobil for their ExxtendTM Technology for Advanced Recycling.
People’s Choice Award Winner – Solvay for their Amodel® Bios PPA. Amodel®.
Leadership in Sustainable Innovation Award Winner – Ford Motor Company – for their:
Sustainable Innovation in Design Award Winner – Klockner Pentaplast for their kpNext™ R1: recyclable PET blister film.
Sustainable Innovation in Materials Award Winner – Starlinger Viscotec for their rPET100: Heat Resistant and Fully Recyclable Material.
Sustainable Innovation in End-of-Life Award Winner – JP Industrial Products for their AERO Screening Technology (Aspiration-Elutriation-Reduction-Optimization).
People’s Choice Award Winner – Novoloop, Inc. for their Oistre™ Thermoplastic Urethane (TPU).
Leadership in Sustainability Innovation Award winner – Chevron Phillips Chemical for converting difficult-to-recycle plastic waste into top-quality raw materials.
Sustainable Innovation in Design Award winner – Garçon Wines for their 100% PET flat wine bottle.
Sustainable Innovation in Materials Award winner – Ford Motor Company for their composite incorporating biomaterial from coffee.
Sustainable Innovation in End-of-Life Award winner – Digimarc Corporation for their digital watermarking solution, or “digital recycling passport”.
People’s Choice Award winner – Ford Otosan for their automotive fan shroud produced with 50% recycled material.
Leadership in Sustainability Innovation Award winner – PureCycle Technologies for their physical separation and purification process.
Sustainable Innovation in Design Award & People’s Choice Award winner – Accredo Packaging for their AccredoFlex® RP™ Gen2 pouch that is made with polyethylene (up to 25% biobased resin) and fully recyclable.
Sustainable Innovation in Materials Award winner – Vartega for their reclaimed and recycled carbon fiber.
Sustainable Innovation in End-of-Life Award winner – Eastman for their Carbon Renewal Technology (CRT).
Leadership in Sustainability Innovation Award winner – UBQ Materials for their propriety conversion process of converting household waste into new materials.
Sustainable Innovation in Design Award winner – Tarkett for their ethos® Modular Carpet Tile with Omnicoat Technology which was created using recycled material from disposed windshields and safety glass.
Sustainable Innovation in Materials Award winner – Dell for their Latitude 5000 Notebook containing 50-percent recycled content by weight.
Sustainable Innovation in End-of-Life Award winner – Circular Polymers/Broadview Group for their Rotary Impact Separator which disassembles post-consumer carpet into clean face fiber, clean backing fiber and a limestone granulate.
People’s Choice Award winner – iMFLUX for their philosophy and method for injection molding called the “Green Curve”.