Agenda

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste was created in 2019 with a clear mission to address the global challenge of eliminating plastic waste in the environment. Its 65+ corporate members represent the global value chain of plastics from resin manufacturers, converters, brands, to waste management companies. The Alliance frames this global circularity challenge in terms of six critical and inter-related gaps related to: quantity, quality, affordability, design, data, and alignment. Thus far, a portfolio of more than 35 projects in 30 countries are being implemented to close these six gaps. A pipeline of many more projects is in place to continue to grow this portfolio in terms of impact and reach. A diverse sample of projects will be reviewed that demonstrate a range of practical and robust solutions appropriate to different global settings and addressing different aspects of the circularity gaps. Furthermore, the role of innovation will be addressed in the context of Alliance programs to enable start-ups and entrepreneurs to grow and develop, access capital, and contribute to the ecosystem of circular solutions.    

Convenience Foods often come packaged in convenient packaging, at least convenient for the consumer, but often times not so convenient for the recycling industry.   Nodax resins from Danimer Scientific are based on PHA and offer alternative end of life options for packages produced with this material.   An explanation of what PHA is and where it comes from as well as an exploration of end of life options will be presented. 

About 50% of total plastics produced per year are used in disposable, short life, non-durable packaging and single-use products. Ninety percent of this plastics packaging and are carbon-carbon backbone, hydrocarbon plastics like polyethylene, and polypropylene. Used in thin or flexible film forms or with food, paper, and disposable product packaging, they are difficult to recover and clean from the MSW stream for recycling. In fact, the latest EPA’s MSW data analysis shows that recycling of non-durable plastics as percent of generation is only 2.4% and that of thermoplastic elastomers (rubber) is negligible. These carbon-carbon backbone plastics are non-biodegradable, persistent, and accumulate in the natural environment like the oceans. They fragment and break down into smaller and smaller particles, like microplastics and cause negative impacts as is being extensively reported in literature, press and e-media [The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Reckoning with the U.S. Role in Global Ocean Plastic Waste. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26132].

Re-designing carbon-carbon backbone polymer plastics at the molecular level to provide for certified and verifiable biodegradable and industrial compostable plastics is environmentally responsible. However, it must be ensured that after use, the compostable plastics along with food, paper, and biodegradable organic waste is treated at a managed industrial composting facility.  Managed industrial composting is necessary to divert food and biodegradable organic waste from landfills or open dumps to composting for reducing GWP impacts. The EPA WARM model estimates that recovery of 1.84 million tons of MSW biodegradable organic wastes through composting results in 1.7 million tons of CO2 equivalent of GHG emissions reduction. Complete biodegradability under composting conditions must be validated using ASTM/ISO International Standards and certified by certification organizations like the BPI (North America).

Unfortunately, there is much misunderstanding and misleading product claims about biodegradability and compostability in the marketplace. We will review the science around biodegradability and compostability and learn to identify unqualified, as well as misleading biodegradability claims. This @EnvSciTech article reports necessary requirements for assessing and reporting plastic biodegradation.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b04513 .

 

If we are going to get to net zero by 2050, circular plastics has to be scaled dramatically. It must make the switch from a cheap alternative to valued ingredients sought by consumers, retailers, and brands. It is proven that today’s consumer buys green when the message is simple and clear. This talk will focus on the opportunity to use technology to embed the impact in the materials and to make it obvious for the consumer. Track-and trace technology acts as a blockchain backbone to directly connect the the consumer to the material origin and the carbon impact of their purchase. For companies the technology provides a verification layer that allows them to easily visualize and compare their impact across product lines, regions etc. We will discuss cases from Oceanworks business and examples of how this technology can scale. The intended audience is brands and manufacturers that want to use recycled content but struggle to make the business case.

The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly increased the amount of single-use plastic, especially as personal protective equipment (PPE) like gloves, disinfecting wipes, and medical-grade facemasks have become common among the general public. The need for public health, however, has ushered in a pandemic of another kind: one of environmental harm. Although efforts have been made to prolong use or otherwise reduce waste of these items, many areas have already seen negative effects of both properly discarded and littered PPE. It is estimated 89 million masks are used globally per month, and in the U.S. alone, the healthcare system generates 5 million tons of medical waste annually, not including drastic scale-up during the pandemic. Other countries have up to eighteen times that amount, far exceeding capacity at disposal facilities. To reduce the environmental threat from these items, which have become necessary to maintain public health, the Hyundai-Kia Materials Development Department collaborated with a U.S.-based specialty recycling facility to develop a supply chain for collecting and compounding these disposable items into reusable resin. The objective is to develop cost-effective material for automotive use, supporting Hyundai Motor Company global sustainability goals. Sourcing and collection was conducted at medical centers and research labs, with stringent protocols to eliminate any possible biohazard risks. Compounding was completed to meet internal specification requirements and preliminary testing shows promising results for mechanical performance. Targeting interior and exterior trim components for two vehicle platforms, this development is expected to divert 1 thousand tons of PPE waste annually. Although similar recycling efforts are in progress around the world, this will be world-first for the automotive industry, enabling drop-in replacement for current materials. Future work can include the addition of regional collection partners to support global production, as well as additional compounding such as the development of glass-fiber reinforced structural grades.

Climate change, population growth, unsustainable lifestyles – surmounting global challenges like these require embracing the circular economy as a guiding light. At Covestro, our goal is to embed circular economic principles into the fabric of our operations and be a trailblazer for the entire plastics industry. A globally leading high-tech polymer manufacturer, Covestro has set a vision to be fully circular. A core component of achieving that vision is focused on joint solutions and collaborations with entities that share a similar goal for a more sustainable future. From innovative mattress collection initiatives to advanced and chemical recycling solutions, Covestro and its collaborators work to set the foundation for a new way of working. Closing the loop on a sustainable future is best done by preparing the next generation workforce with the skills needed to approach manufacturing with an eye on circularity, leading to collaborations with top-tier universities like the University of Pittsburgh, where the Covestro Circular Economy Program is launching.

Eliminating single-use plastics is a hot issue of the day. But more discussion is needed around the solutions for managing overlooked plastics like those used in healthcare, textiles, and electronics. These products make up two-thirds of the plastics produced, and will continue their linear path to landfills and incinerators unless we build recovery pathways for all types and uses of plastics. Join Brightmark CEO Bob Powell as he shines a lot on these lesser-known plastics and the emerging technology solutions that recapture their value and absorbs these materials into the new circular economy.

Recent advances have included the inclusion of biocarbon in products that are compostable in less than 90 days, or can be fully converted back to pure carbon for re-use in a matter of minutes. The production of carbon from waste biomass sequesters three tons of carbon dioxide for every ton of biocarbon produced. This carbon can be added at up to 50% in plastics providing stiffness, color, and ultraviolet protection. 

This presentation provides an overview of the opportunity to generate substantial and valuable carbon credits during the production of renewable plastics additives. Biomaterials inputs are cleaner products at competitive prices and can perform equal to, or better than, fossil fuel-based inputs. Product manufacturers that use renewable biocarbon can save money by reducing resin loading and the use of alternative fossil-based additives such as carbon black.

 

Noah Godfrey from Ampliphi will introduce the concept of “plastic accounting” - a process used to measure the negative impacts of plastic pollution that are associated with a company’s operations and supply chain. We all know we can’t manage what isn’t measured — the concept of plastic accounting intends to bridge the gap between ambition and action.

Plastics are a ubiquitous group of materials found in almost every supply chain. While they can offer significant advantages over alternatives, plastics’ contribution to climate change and the exponential increase of plastic pollution has created a global call to action.

Especially in the plastic packaging industry, pollution and waste has emerged as a principal concern. As a result, consumer brands are feeling the pressure from regulators, investors and consumers. A complete plastic footprint analysis is the first step to relieve these pressures and to better understand how to implement sustainable systems into their operations and supply chains. Measuring a plastic footprint uncovers accurate and actionable information, enabling informed decision making and unlocking the sustainable potential of a company’s value chain.

This session will provide insight on what is important to consumers and when it comes to packaging, how it’s created and where it originates from is just as important as how it looks and functions.  Fiber-based packaging is a sustainable solution that is both functional and has less of an environmental impact.  Moving toward a circular economy includes building a sustainable supply chain through collaboration alongside like-minded partners with continuous innovation.  Sustana is uniquely suited to share expertise and key learnings on how recycled content in paper packaging and products supports the circular economy and meets consumer demands.

Empower is building a global plastic waste ecosystem based on the same philosophy as the Norwegian bottle deposit system. By giving plastic waste a value we can crowdsource collection and segregation at source and keep materials in the economy. Empower aims to stop leakage of plastic into the environment and cost-efficiently incentivise collection of leaked waste. The solution functions digitally via a mobile app. By tracking plastic waste and making digital inventories, they ensure that most of it is reused and recycled. This is done by setting up collection points around the world, together with local partners who then issue financial rewards in the form of digital tokens, in return for the deposit of plastic. Empower does not take ownership of collected materials or data, but helps the local collectors to get both funding for cleanups and to match with potential buyers of materials. This way they create local waste collection infrastructure as well as local entrepreneurs and sustainable jobs within the waste management industry.

As consumer awareness and demand for sustainable, recyclable packaging have increased, so too has the pace at which brands are evolving to meet these packaging expectations, especially related to their single-use plastics packaging. This has a trickle effect on packaging manufacturers and converters. Faced with developing solutions at the speed and scale required by brands, they must ensure the alternative packages meet recyclability criteria AND contribute to a positive consumer experience. Innovation is at the center of our successful evolution and as a part of this approach, and a focus on performance, sustainability, and price, we are developing the technology to replace traditional plastic packaging with renewable, fiber-based materials.

Returnable, reusable and refillable packaging is gaining a lot of attention these days. When done right, it can completely eliminate the problem of plastic packaging waste while reducing costs for consumers. However, few companies have been able to build a successful business in this space and it remains a very small proportion of the total consumer goods sector. The Coca-Cola Company has been one of the pioneers in this space, and even today runs large returnable and refillable businesses around the world. In this session, you will learn about some of the principles and practices that make for a successful returnable and refillable packaging strategy.  

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the world’s oceans will contain more plastic than fish by 2050. Now is the time for CPG brands to improve the recyclability of their packaging, specifically for e-commerce channel use, which has increased nearly 50% over the past two years. In this presentation, H.B. Fuller Global E-Commerce Business Manager Tania Montesi will discuss the opportunities for packaging makers to use materials that add high quality fiber to the recycling stream. Learn how even the smallest changes in E-commerce packaging design can make a big impact on our planet. 

For polymer products, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a defining step which helps in setting up the decarbonization and sustainability goals in a more quantitative way. LCA is a method to assess the potential environmental impact of products and processes throughout their entire life cycle which includes raw material acquisition, production, use, and end-of-life. I will be describing current market trends for flexible packaging materials for which alternatives such as bioplastics are being sought. I will present some key jargon used in the industry, and describe what lies ahead for bio-based and biodegradable polyesters (bioplastics) based on some key performance and sustainability parameters.

Consumers, regulatory agencies and industry providers all understand the evolving environmental and health issues associated with the use of environmentally persistent plastics. Bans on the use of environmentally persistent plastics for single use consumer products, industry sustainability goals, pending taxes on producers of environmentally persistent plastics and consumer demands are all driving companies to replace environmentally persistent plastics with biologically degradable or otherwise waste stream manageable alternatives. The challenges in the production of alternative polymers, industry conversion to these polymers and the commercialization of products manufactured from these polymers at scale will be discussed. With a panel of scientific leaders involved in the scaled production and industry use of alternative polymers for consumer products, conference attendees will hear up-to-date successes and issues in achieving full commercialization of biologically degradable polymers. Conference attendees can send questions that they would like to hear addressed by the panel to the roundtable discussion moderator Branson W. Ritchie, Director of Technology Development and Implementation at the New Materials Institute (britchie@uga.edu.)   

Brands often struggle with balancing design and sustainability: this session explores select best practices from cosmetics conglomerates optimized for both packaging appeal (primary & secondary). Its aim is to help practitioners (across all teams including operations, packaging, marketing, and CSR) implement the guidelines from management on sustainability goals, adapting existing packaging (eg PCR, light-weighting, refills, etc), and discussing technologies of eco-design software (e.g. the eco-design tool S.P.O.T., Sustainable Product Optimization Tool at L’Oreal, and the EDIBOX software at LVMH Perfumes & Cosmetics). The session will discuss how brands can save hundreds of thousands of dollars annually from making simple and practical packaging sustainability adjustments using proven case studies.

How can we convert single use water containers from petroleum-based to plant-based bottles, caps, and labels? Bill Horner and his team at Single Use Solutions have been working diligently to provide an answer to this question by establishing Model Sites around the world, to prove the conversion can be achieved in everyday practice. Horner will be sharing insights as to how this long-awaited breakthrough will soon become a reality.

The global growth in e-commerce and the changing behavior of online shopping is increasing packaging material consumption drastically. The recent pandemic has fast forwarded the e-commerce industry by 5 years but the used- packaging materials are often still from the late 90s. Forward thinking companies understand that modern shoppers care about the earth-friendliness of packaging and that consumers prefer buying from retailers who support environmental responsibility. Furthermore, negative press and unpleasant unboxing experience combined with the fact that everyone has a voice on social media can drive a product or even a company to succeed or fail. But the landscape of offers for sustainable packaging is broad, the certifications are often not harmonized and the regulations are different in each country or state. Missing recycling and composting infrastructure combined with reduced availability of materials  make it hard for e-commerce sellers to make the right decisions. In this presentation you will learn about the challenge of designing and producing a commercially available alternative to virgin plastics and why increasing use of paper for packaging can only be a  part of the solution.

The presentation will explain how Lenzing and PACKNATUR® joined forces to shake up the way we pack fresh fruits and vegetables, and how retailers have benefited from showing the will to change. LENZING™ for Packaging surrounds food and other goods in naturally durable and biodegradable fibers that are of botanic origin and certified safe for food contact. Sustainably produced and fully compostable after use, LENZING™ cellulosic fibers are suitable for a varied range of packaging applications, from single-use botanic nets to reusable bags. In close cooperation with producers, Lenzing AG has developed environmentally sustainable single-use nets and reusable bags for fruits and vegetables made from LENZING™ Modal fibers of botanic origin and certified as compliant with recognized safety standards for food contact. Responsibly produced in line with Lenzing’s commitment to sustainability, these vibrantly colored nets are becoming increasingly popular as a compostable substitute for plastic bags and nets that are derived from non-renewable sources and contribute to the pollution of the environment

Sustainability is a popular topic in many industries but what does it mean for flexible packaging?  And how is the industry planning to get there?  This presentation will go through the background of why the industry is innovating for sustainability, the technical challenges that need to be overcome, and the three-pronged approach.  Details of each of these three prongs will be discussed including how they all work together to solve the sustainability puzzle across many different product types that utilize flexible packaging.

TBC

Driving sustainability into products on the shelf requires organizations to thoughtfully consider all materials and ingredients in their products, the byproducts of the manufacturing process and even how the final product makes its way to stores shelves or direct to consumers homes. The full impact of downstream sustainability impact is determined at the planning stages of a product. Learn how to determine where in the process you are and how you can take to make your goods more sustainable.  

At SABIC, we focus on various aspects of sustainability that are linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals designed to be a "blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all". In this presentation, I will talk about our SABIC’s Specialties offerings toward the carbon neutrality goals, including mechanical recycling, chemical upcycling and certified renewable solutions.

Trinseo will discuss how a plastics manufacturer transforms toward circularity. With the evolvement in the marketplace on sustainable products and consumer perceptions, the business model of the plastics manufacturers is evolving, including upward and downward integration or collaborations - developing and securing sustainable feedstocks, expanding sustainable product portfolios, utilizing scientific tools, decarbonization and innovative product design. Most importantly, concerted efforts among value chain partners are critical as circularity can only be achieved through collaborations.

STX is a multinational environmental commodities firm with a 17 year tenure that has been helping companies of all sizes achieve Net Zero.  What may seem like a daunting task is actually quite feasible and less capital intensive than most think.  STX has offices spanning across the US, Europe, and Asia which gives us direct access to the most affordable solutions when paving your path to a more sustainable future.

The presentation will highlight green routes that generate value from waste streams via upcycling. Discussed in more depth will be three examples from different sectors, including the 1) upcycling of agro waste streams or CO2 into biochemicals, 2) presentation of the first known industrial bio-based metal recovery from lithium ion batteries and 3) enzymatic plastic degradation to useful monomers.

It’s imperative that manufacturers continue to focus on deploying a ‘greener’ approach to the manufacture and distribution of their products. Becoming ‘greener’ typically means reducing the use of toxic or hazardous materials, reducing the energy required to support operations and minimizing waste products introduced into the environment. However, there are other avenues companies can follow to becoming green. 

Participants will learn about an actionable framework to guide their efforts to embed sustainability into every function of their company.

How the next generation of climate positive materials is enabling companies to design meaningful user experiences, by telling stories with new beginnings and endings that go the distance to truly embrace circularity? This presentation looks at both existing alternatives as well as new innovations that are leveraging local ecosystems to create sustainable and desirable products. A range of cross-industry case studies will highlight how leading as well as emerging brands and manufacturers are positively disrupting their industries by harvesting the power of different renewable carbon sources to maximize sustainability, support new business models, mitigate supply chain risks and elevate consumer engagement throughout the product lifecycle.

The chemical industry, although responsible for making over 96% of goods, has also become the third largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. This is due to the implementation of chemical processes that carry inefficiencies in energy use and increase CO2 emissions. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to help scientists develop more sustainable products and processes, but it typically requires large datasets (100’s-1000’s of points), which are not available in the initial development stages.Sunthetics democratizes the use of AI in chemical research with a platform that enables the development of new chemical products, processes, and formulations in 20% of the time. The approach leverages small data (as little as 4-5 initial data points) to reduce development waste, emissions, and resource consumption by 80%. We work at the intersection of AI and chemistry to promote digitalization, fast-track innovation, increase manufacturing efficiencies, enhance material performance, and improve sustainability for advanced manufacturing.

Growing pressure from regulators, investors, and other stakeholders is compelling companies to take a deeper look at their scope 3 emissions and develop meaningful disclosures and reduction targets. But, while more and more guidance on how to report on those emissions is beginning to coalesce, many companies still have a lot more questions than answers on where to begin, how to quantify and prioritize, and how to set meaningful reduction goals. Scope 3 emissions can be especially challenging to quantify, and the availability of good data from suppliers and other stakeholders is often lacking or non-existent. Thankfully, by leveraging life cycle assessment data and associated emissions factors, companies can create defensible scope 3 GHG emissions inventories, identify hot spots and areas for improvement, and set realistic reductions goals and targets achievable through partnerships, thoughtful procurement practices, and other strategic initiatives.

Blockchain has been much discussed over the past several years with great promise to help improve many processes across the globe, including but not limited to supply chains, manufacturing, contracts and payments, the environment etc. Yet several years later, we are still talking of promise vs progress.  The reason is simple - early blockchain solutions were engineered more to stretch the limits of what is possible vs to focus on what can and should be attainable. In essence they were not customer (enterprise) focused. There is a new breed of blockchains, led by Topl, that is building not only enterprise grade technology but enterprise ready usability in order to focus on real use cases and drive real value creation for our enterprise customers.  We will discuss how Topl is making it easier and easier for enterprise users to incorporate blockchain so that we can continue our promise to our customers: you change the world.  We prove it.