The afternoons were spent seeing that theory in action. The group donned safety hats, vests and earplugs and toured a WM material recovery facility (MRF) in Arlington. They observed the everyday reality of contamination in the recycling stream and saw how packaging that is incompatible with sortation infrastructure ends up in the wrong place.

On day two, the group traveled to an Indorama PET recycling facility in Dallas, where they saw how PET bales were sorted, cleaned and processed into pellets, and how attached caps were segregated into their own recycle stream. Along the way, attendees learned about recycling pitfalls and opportunities—like the effect of full coverage / printed shrink sleeves on sortation and the paper label waste stream.

Finally, in between learning and touring, the group was able to connect with each other and APR staff. Lively discussions were had on the rapid transition of the toothpaste tube market to recyclable designs and how the age and footprint of MRFs can inhibit their capabilities. APR was thrilled to see such diverse stakeholders coming together with the common goal of designing recyclable packaging and plans to host another Two-Day Training & Tours program in 2025. This builds upon its highly popular, customized APR Design® Full-Day Training — which has been delivered to over 40 of the largest multinational organizations, some of whom repeat the training annually. If you’re interested in learning more about APR Design® Training, email [email protected]g.