The groundbreaking campaign that expands market demand for recycled resins and improves plastic recycling in North America announced new commitments during the virtual June 2020 APR Member Meeting. Developed by The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), The APR Recycling Demand Champions Campaign plays a prominent role in driving investment and increasing supply of PCR.  

Originally announced in October 2017 with 10 participating companies, that number grew to 20 companies in 2018, and resulted in over 30 million pounds of new demand for post-consumer resin (PCR). There are currently 40 participating companies that will report their impact in October 2020. The seven companies below are the first, to date, that will report their impact in 2021. 

APR is pleased to announce the new APR Recycling Demand Champions are: 

• Fraser Plastics
• Fusion Packaging
• Intertape Polymer Group
• rPlanet Earth
• Sabert
• Silgan Dispensing
• Westfall Technik

“We commend these companies for continuing and even expanding their commitment to plastics recycling during the current trying times,” commented Steve Alexander, APR President & CEO. “The pandemic, and our nation’s response to it, exacerbated and accelerated trends already happening in all industries.  And recycling is no exception. For recycling to work, consumers start the chain by putting their recyclable products in the bin and companies at the end of the chain buy and use that recycled material for new products.  That end-of-chain demand drives the entire system.”  

The campaign includes any and all new volume PCR utilization. This can be achieved through purchasing “work in process” (WIP) goods used in manufacturing facilities that contain PCR, developing a new application for PCR, as well as an increase in PCR usage in a current application. APR, in partnership with NERC, recently expanded the scope of the campaign beyond the private sector to include government entities. APR hosted a webinar about this campaign earlier this month.

“We look forward to the continued growth and expansion of this important campaign,” said Liz Bedard, director of the APR Olefins/Rigids Plastic Recycling Program. “Instead of allowing a crisis to force them to back off of sustainability goals, these companies exemplified a continued commitment to their pre-pandemic efforts.  They recognize that a strong and effective recycling chain represents the best available environmental option to reduce greenhouse gases and other pollution, save energy and eliminate ocean plastics.”