As a plastics manufacturer and converter, we tend to know the people we sell to and buy from. When the creation of the product we use to manufacture or the product we sell to the market extends beyond our immediate contacts, we lose touch with how it is made or how it is used.
The goal is to move away from linear thinking and systems where we take, make, and dispose of products in a landfill or incineration. We want to collectively move towards circular systems. In a perfect circular system, there is no waste —- by products of one process turn into a feedstock for another just as in nature. In a simplified circular system for manufacturing and recycling, there are six general stages.
- Manufacturing / Production
- Distribution
- Consumption by end users
- Collection and Sorting (Recycling)
- Processing to create new raw materials from collected and sorted resources
- Finished raw material is then sold back to manufacturers – back to #1 to begin the cycle gain.
Our focus as manufacturers has more understanding of the people we sell to (#2 distributors) and the people we buy from (#6 finished raw materials). This is the side of the moon we see.
The half of the circular moon we do not see includes consumption, collection, sorting and processing of the recycled materials.
Our goal in attending The Plastics Recycling Trade Show in Washington DC March 7th to the 9th 2022 was to shed light on the dark side. It is our dark side. My guess is others see the dark side in other parts of the circle depending on where they are in the #1 though #6 continuum above. We are all trying to shed light on the portions of the circle we cannot see.
Sustainability is a collaborative effort to attain a circle flow of materials — to see the whole moon. Trying to attain authentic sustainability actions is more difficult without an understanding of the portions of the circle we know influence our pursuits.
We attended multiple educational sessions and walked the trade show floor to hear from experts and interact with companies in the collection, processing, cleaning, sorting and pelletizing space —- every step that gets material from a recycle bin to a pellet ready to be made into new material.
For the longest time, the side of the circle we could not see did not seem to matter. Our feedstocks came from vendors who sourced virgin resin, not recycled resins. A linear progression as the result of recycling or lack thereof was not fed back into the production phase for manufacturing. That is changing.
The linear line has been bent with PCR (post consumer recycled content) requests and mandates, EPR (extended producer responsibility) regulation coming, consumer demand, public pressure and investors looking for more sustainable, more “circular” companies. Many stakeholders now see the recycling sector as a place to understand its problems to invest in a more circular flow of material.
The big problem is only 9% overall of plastics is currently recycled. A staggering low percentage considering the number of plastics we use every day. With mandates and laws coming for PCR, demand is growing. Supply is low due to the low recycling rates and historically minimal investment in infrastructure. The supply needs to catch up with the new demand. The dark side of the moon is no longer dark. Manufacturing companies now need supply from recycling infrastructure businesses like never before.
2,400 people attended the event. When the opening speaker asked who was attending this trade show for the first time, I raised my hand. I was not alone. Surprisingly, about half of the people raised their hands. At the end of the show, the director declared this to be the largest congregation of people ever to attend a recycling conference in North America. The interest is there. Things are happening. Time to act.
We walked into the conference with only half the moon lit. We walked out with a clearer vision on the whole circle we are part of. We need to find sources of PCR, promote the use of PCR, close our own loops in the market wherever we can, educate employees and clients about circularity, communicate what we are doing and set short- and long-term targets.
Thanks for reading.