Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Co. (dow.com/en-us), has created two senior leadership roles charged with addressing global plastics recycling and waste management challenges. Tim Boven, previously Dow’s global integrated supply chain director for Hydrocarbons, is the new recycling commercial director for Latin America and North America. Carsten Larsen, formerly Dow Industrial Solutions’ commercial director for Europe, Middle East, Africa and India, will serve as recycling commercial director for EMEA & APAC. 

Boven and Larsen will be responsible for developing new business models and growth strategies that monetize plastics waste recycling streams across the Americas, EMEA and APAC. They will work with their respective commercial leadership to help design the appropriate resource structure based in the regions to advance this effort.

“Too much plastic is turning into waste and entering our natural environment due to global variations in the availability of sufficient waste infrastructure, low rates of recycling, and plastic being carelessly discarded after use,” said Diego Donoso, business president for Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics. “Dow is committed to investing in the right leaders and recycling innovations to help advance end-of-life solutions for plastics.”

Boven and Larsen are evaluating current plastic waste streams around the world, working to identify innovations in recycling technology that will contribute to a global circular economy for plastic.

As part of their recycling strategy, the two will build on Dow’s existing collaborations, working with the company’s value chain partners to address plastic waste challenges with Dow’s technologies and initiatives that increase the recyclability of plastics. Their work will help Dow reach its 2025 Sustainability Goal of advancing a circular economy by delivering solutions to close the resource loops in key markets.