From creation to disposal, the plastics industry is ripe for artificial intelligence (AI). The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) upcoming event, "Plastics in AI: Reducing Plastic Waste Through Artificial Intelligence and Digitalization," taking place online Feb. 5-7, 2024, and co-hosted with the Association of Plastics Recyclers, will explore how...
Host and APR's VP of Communications and Public Affairs, Kara Pochiro, is joined by Stephanie Baker, Director of Market Development for KW Plastics' Recycling Division. Kara and Stephanie discuss how KW got its beginnings from the disposal process for automotive battery casings and has now turned into a closed loop recycling business in Alabama, rev...
A great new blog post published this week by Dr. Kate Beers, a polymer scientist who leads work on the circular economy for the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), says "Plastics and polymers are an essential part of life, but we can be more thoughtful about how much of them we use and discard." Live...
APR is pleased to announce that three of our top leaders have received an important industry recognition. Steve Alexander, APR President & CEO; Kate Bailey, APR Chief Policy Officer; and Curt Cozart, APR Chief Operating Officer, were included on Plastics News' inaugural list of Notable Leaders in Sustainability. Plastics News recognizes Steve, ...
APR President & CEO, Steve Alexander, is back on Recycled Content with host Kara Pochiro to discuss and reflect upon 2023. The two give updates on their predictions and resolutions from earlier this year, talk about the current state of the recycling industry, and how APR is a key component of progress made. Steve and Kara break down the recycl...
New polypropylene (PP) packaging components now eligible for recognition The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) recently announced six new packaging components eligible for the Preferred Design Recognition (PDR) Program, formerly known as Meets Preferred Guidance (MPG). This program provides third-party validation that products are compat...
Working towards common goals to eliminate plastic waste The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) has joined the Canada Plastics Pact (CPP), which aims to eliminate plastic waste and pollution by bringing together businesses, government, non-governmental organizations, and other key stakeholders in the Canadian plastics value chain. APR and CPP sh...
Host and APR's VP of Communications and Public Affairs, Kara Pochiro, is joined by Bruce Magnani, APR's Legislative Advocate in California, and VP of Houston Magnani Associates. Kara and Bruce start by breaking down the basics of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and California's SB 54 that focuses on packaging. The two discuss the EPR wave th...
Today, November 15th, the Association of Plastics Recyclers (APR) is excited to mark the 26th annual America Recycles Day, the only nationally recognized day dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the United States. This day is especially important to APR as a U.S.- based, international non-profit and the only North American organizati...
Updates Reflect Current Market Trading Practices for PP and Mixed Rigid Plastics (November 14, 2023, Washington, D.C.) - The ISRI, "Voice of the Recycled Materials Industry™, and The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) have announced the latest update to the ISRI Specifications and APR Model Bale Specifications to include updated recycled p...
Plastic pollution continued to be top of mind for policymakers across the US and around the world in 2023. This webinar will cover the latest in state, federal, and global policy initiatives, including the United Nations negotiations to end plastic pollution, US federal legislation and federal agency initiatives to improve recycling and reduce plas...
"Because the recycling process is very similar in both geographies, packaging will likely be processed similarly," said Curt Cozart, APR COO. "Although some differences exist, APR Design® Guidance is nearly the same as RecyClass. The APR® Design Guide previously allowed for 5% EVOH in HDPE containers but will update to 6% to align with RecyClass De...
Register Now What Happens at an APR Member Meeting? General Sessions occur at the beginning and end of the meetings. APR's President offers a "State of the APR" address and other presentations address topics of broad industry appeal. Committee Meetings mostly happen on the middle day. All attendees may participate in any committee meetings they cho...
Steve Alexander Testifies on Plastic Recycling Issues Before U.S. Senate Subcommittee On Thursday, September 28, 2023, APR President and CEO Steve Alexander was invited to testify at a hearing before the United States Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's Subcommittee Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Reg...
The go-to reference for global recyclability regulations The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) recently expanded and updated the APR Global Design Catalog, a comprehensive resource to access the most current plastic packaging recyclability guidelines for countries and regions around the world. Different countries and regions operate a variety ...
Host and APR's VP of Communications and Public Affairs, Kara Pochiro, is joined by Dale Gubbels, the 2023 Advocacy Champion Award recipient and CEO of Firstar Fiber. Dale and Kara break down Dale's early days of recycling and how Firstar Fiber has evolved into one of the largest materials recycling facilities (MRFs) in the Midwest. They decode Firs...
On this week's episode, APR's VP of Communications and Public Affairs, Kara Pochiro, is joined by Curt Cozart, Chief Operating Officer of APR and lead of the APR Design® Guide Training Program and other technical projects. Kara and Curt continue the conversation on package design from the last episode, diving into the world of PET, a plastic often ...
This summer, APR's Chief Policy Officer Kate Bailey represented APR at the Second Session of the UN Environment Programme Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-2) in Paris, France. The week-long event was the second of five planned sessions in the UN process to reach a final agreement in late 2024. APR participated as an...
On this episode of Recycled Content, host Kara Pochiro is joined by Ruben Nance, Program Director for the Meets Preferred Guidance (MPG) Recognition Program at APR. Ruben and Kara talk about what makes packages truly recycling compatible through an examination of APR's Design® Guide, the different Recognition Programs that APR offers, and the curre...
View the recording View the slides Report: 2021 US Post-Consumer Plastic Recycling Data Report Report: Recommendations for Recycled Content Requirements for Plastic Goods and Packaging Video: How Post-Consumer Plastic Becomes Green Infrastructure Blog: How Wide-Spec Plastic Leads to Less Circularity and More Waste Resource: Buy Recycled Products Di...
