PLASTICS is proud to have awarded these five honors since 2019. Take a look at the previous winners of the Plastic Sustainability Innovation Awards.
Leadership in Sustainability Innovation Award – LyondellBasell Design: CTC Circularity Lab
The LYB Cincinnati Technology Center (CTC) Circularity Lab is a fully integrated, bale‑to‑pellet mechanical recycling and application‑development platform that uniquely replicates the entire industrial recycling value chain at lab‑to‑pilot scale in North America. Using pilot‑scale equipment representative of real‑world operations, the lab processes post‑consumer plastics from sorting and washing through extrusion to produce high‑quality recycled pellets, which are then immediately evaluated across multiple manufacturing technologies—including injection molding, film, blow molding, and pipe extrusion. By directly linking recycling, application development, and ISO 17025‑accredited testing within a single facility, the Circularity Lab enables rapid, realistic evaluation of recyclability, material performance, and manufacturability. This end‑to‑end integration overcomes traditional fragmentation in the plastics value chain, accelerates development of commercial‑ready recycled solutions, and sets a new benchmark for advancing circularity in plastics.
Sustainability Innovation in Design Award – Greiner Packaging Corporation: K3® r100 self-separating multi material package
Greiner Packaging’s K3® r100 is a pioneering packaging solution that sets a new standard for recyclability and sustainability in the industry. K3® r100 is the first cardboard-wrapped plastic cup in the United States to receive certification from the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), confirming its compatibility with existing North American recycling systems. Unlike conventional composite packaging, K3® r100 features a self-separating design that enables automatic detachment of the cardboard wrap from the plastic cup during waste processing—no consumer action required. This innovation ensures that both components are correctly identified, sorted, and recycled – dramatically increasing the recovery of valuable materials and reducing landfill waste.
The structural cardboard wrap also allows for significantly thinner plastic walls, resulting in up to 33% less plastic compared to standard cups. The cup can include up to 30% post-consumer recycled content, while the wrap can be made from 100% recycled cardboard, contributing to a lower CO₂ footprint across the product’s life cycle.
Sustainability Innovation in Material Award – Ecovaleric: e-P4HV biobased material
e‑P4HV from Ecovaleric is a next‑generation biobased plastic made from agricultural and forestry residues, that would otherwise be burned or landfilled, using an electricity‑driven process rather than traditional fermentation. Produced in compact, modular reactors powered by low‑carbon electricity, this process achieves productivity nearly eight times higher than traditional fermentation. The material offers a fast, precise, and scalable pathway to bioplastics while reducing reliance on sterile conditions, sugar-based feedstocks, and long processing times.
e‑P4HV offers strong, flexible, and thermoformable properties compatible with existing plastics processing equipment. Its performance can be precisely tuned—adjusting stiffness, toughness, barrier properties, and degradation rate—to meet the needs of applications ranging from durable goods to compostable packaging. e‑P4HV can function as a standalone polymer, a blend component, or a co-monomer in existing polyester systems, supporting new circular product designs across packaging, fibers, 3D printing, and coatings—all with minimal changes to current manufacturing infrastructure.
Sustainability Innovation in End-of Life-Award – Plastics Ingenuity: Closed-Loop Recycling with Thermoformed Trays
In partnership with a global pharmaceutical company, Plastic Ingenuity developed a customized closed‑loop recycling system for pharmaceutical thermoformed trays. The program collects used trays from contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs), recycles them through a certified partner, and converts the material into new automation trays containing 50% post‑consumer recycled HIPS—returning it directly to the pharmaceutical supply chain.
By creating a controlled take‑back system tailored to healthcare packaging, the program overcomes limitations of open‑market recycling and enables consistent recovery at scale. The closed‑loop model delivers measurable impact, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 41%, displacing more than 2,000 metric tons of virgin plastic, and demonstrating a scalable pathway for circular healthcare packaging through collaboration across the value chain.
*First Ever* Social Impact Award – SnapSlidefor their SnapSlide RX Vial.
EcoloPharm exemplifies responsible innovation by combining sustainable product design with socially impactful workplace practices. Its flagship EcoloVial replaces multi‑component prescription packaging with a single‑piece, monomaterial design that improves recyclability while meeting all safety standards. At scale, the solution delivers up to 44% less plastic, 55% less manufacturing energy, and 33% fewer greenhouse gas emissions across more than 4,600 Canadian pharmacies. Beyond product innovation, EcoloPharm is recognized for socially impactful workplace practices, including Concilivi certification for work‑life balance and flexible manufacturing practices, investment of 7% of payroll in employee training, and its status as a certified B Corporation. Together, these efforts demonstrate how environmental performance, employee well‑being, and operational excellence can advance together at scale.
Plastic Sustainability Innovation in Design – PureCycle Technologies for the design of their PureFive™ resin dissolution recycling process.
Plastic Sustainability Innovation in Material – GreenMantra Technologies for their CERANOVUS® specialty polymer additive.
Plastic Sustainability Innovation in End of Life – Greyparrot for their Greyparrot Analyzer
Plastic Sustainability Innovation People’s Choice Award – SnapSlide for their SnapSlide RX Vial.
Leadership in Plastic Sustainability Innovation – Polycarbin for 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 Plastic Sustainability Innovation Award Winner – Ford Motor Company – for their:
Sustainability Innovation in Design Award Winner – Klockner Pentaplast for their kpNext™ R1: recyclable PET blister film.
Sustainability Innovation in Materials Award Winner – Starlinger Viscotec for their rPET100: Heat Resistant and Fully Recyclable Material.
Sustainability 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.
Sustainability Innovation in Design Award winner – Garçon Wines for their 100% PET flat wine bottle.
Sustainability Innovation in Materials Award winner – Ford Motor Company for their composite incorporating biomaterial from coffee.
Sustainability 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.
Sustainability 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.
Sustainability Innovation in Materials Award winner – Vartega for their reclaimed and recycled carbon fiber.
Sustainability 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.
Sustainability 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.
Sustainability Innovation in Materials Award winner – Dell for their Latitude 5000 Notebook containing 50-percent recycled content by weight.
Sustainability 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”.
