This Year's NPE is Greener Than Ever

Recycling and sustainability in manufactured plastics is a big topic at this year’s NPE. Produced by Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) and co-located with NPE2018, the 2018 Re|focus Sustainability & Recycling Summit challenges the entire supply chain to "refocus" on product design, technology and manufacturing with an eye toward recycled content. This year’s keynote presentation is “Using Dell Innovation and Supply Chain to Tackle Ocean Plastic,” by Oliver Campbell, director of worldwide procurement and packaging for Dell Technologies. Sessions include:

• “Recycling Game Changer: Moving Beyond Mechanical Recycling” (PLASTICS Material Supplier Council)
• “Additives for Upcycling” (PLASTICS Recycling Committee)
• “Under One Roof: Investing in On-site Plastic Reprocessing at MRFs” (Recycling Today & Plastics Recycling Magazine)
• “Advances in Composite Recycling” (SPE Sustainability Division)
• “Innovations in Bioplastics” (PLASTICS Bioplastics Division)

In addition to programming focused on recycling and sustainability, NPE is working to raise awareness through a 100 percent recycling initiative at the show. The goal is to recycle every scrap of plastic generated at NPE2018.

“Plastics are a valuable resource that should always be recovered for their highest and best use,” says PLASTICS president and CEO, William R. Carteaux. “As the producers of the leading trade event in plastics, we have a responsibility to make NPE reflect PLASTICS dedication to recycling and sustainability.”

Commercial Plastics Recycling (CPR) has returned to serve as the official recycler for NPE2018 after a successful partnership at NPE2015. Over 380,000 pounds of material were recovered from the show floor in 2015, and this year’s NPE could yield even higher volumes thanks to a new, onsite recycling demonstration sponsored by WEIMA.

This year CPR is collecting scrap plastics from the show floor and transporting them to WEIMA’s WLK 15 single-shaft shredder, which is located in the Westwood parking lot. The materials are sorted into batches, shredded and conveyed through a granulator. The granulated plastic scrap is then transported CPR’s headquarters in Tampa, Florida.

“The addition of on-site grinding capabilities will ensure an even greener NPE,” says Paul Benvenuti, sales manager at CPR. “Reducing the plastic scrap before transportation will allow us to use fewer trucks when hauling it to our facility in Tampa, resulting in fewer carbon emissions.”

“This onsite demonstration is the ultimate opportunity for education-in-action,” says Audrey Brewer, marketing manager at WEIMA. “We’re excited for this opportunity to show others just how green a tradeshow can be.”

Once hauled to the CPR plant, the reduced plastic will undergo quality control testing to ensure it meets material specifications before it is sold to end-users. Once sold, the plastic can be used to create new products — often in place of virgin materials.