This announcement extends Berry’s goal of enhancing recycling infrastructure as part of the quest toward a circular economy. As a cross-industry effort, Berry joins steering committee members Keurig Dr Pepper, Braskem, NextGen Consortium, and the Walmart Foundation, along with other members of the polypropylene value chain.
The coalition has:
• Contributed $4.2 million in grants to 13 recycling facilities to positively impact nearly 15 million U.S. residents—almost 6% of the U.S. population.
• Given financial awards across the United States to increase polypropylene recovery by 13 million lb annually.
• Supported targeted consumer education efforts and infrastructure improvements.
“By expanding and modernizing recycling infrastructure, we will capture the economic value that is currently being lost and supply the recycled content necessary to meet commitments. This is critical to achieving a circular economy and giving natural resources multiple lives,” said Robert Flores, Vice President of Sustainability at Berry. Flores is also a newly elected member of The Recycling Partnership’s Board of Directors.
This initiative is in line with Berry’s efforts to improve PP curbside recycling. Berry is strategically targeting both investments and partnerships to foster recycling infrastructure. An example of this is a recent collaboration with Evansville, Indiana, materials recovery facility (MRF) to purchase and install a new AMP Robotics Cortex™ high-speed robotics system to sort polypropylene. Recovered material will be used back in Berry’s products, but more importantly, learnings from the robot will be evaluated and shared to enhance and promote polypropylene recycling.
PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO (Sept. 27-29, Las Vegas Convention Center) will reunite the packaging and processing community. With over 1400 exhibitors, no other event in 2021 will bring together a more comprehensive gathering of suppliers offering new products, technologies and solutions. Attendee registration is now open.
