The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), Washington, has announced its board of directors that will lead the organization in 2020.
Jaime Camara of Mexico-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycler PetStar will serve as chair for the upcoming year; with Rozanne Spiekerman of Roplast Industries Inc., an Oroville, California-based manufacturer of custom polyethylene-based films and bags; and Michael Westerfield of Mason, Michigan-based food service packaging manufacturer Dart Container Corp. serving as vice chair and treasurer, respectively.
The APR membership elected three new members to the board for a three-year term:
- John Caturano of Nestle Waters, Stamford, Connecticut;
- Scott Saunders of Troy, Alabama-based KW Plastics Recycling; and
- Julie Zaniewski, Dow Chemical Co., New York City.
They join APR’s existing board members: Jon Stephens of Avangard Innovative, Houston; Dawn Gaines of Mohawk Industries, Atlanta; Greg Janson of QRS Inc., St. Louis; Tony Moucachen of Canada-based Merlin Plastics; and Eric Targgart of Custom Polymers Inc., Charlotte, North Carolina.
“As the only trade association focused exclusively on plastics recycling, APR is pleased to elect a board that represents a variety of roles within the value chain with the direct knowledge and experience to respond aggressively to industry challenges,” says Steve Alexander, president and CEO of APR. “We greatly appreciate their commitment to lead our industry in these challenging times.”
The APR board will hold an annual planning meeting in January to finalize the organization’s 2020 priorities and legislative agenda. Major issues to be addressed by the board include continued international collaboration to ensure APR maintains its role as a global leader in design, testing and recyclability requirements; expansion of the APR Design Guide for Plastics Recyclability and training programs; and supporting greater market penetration of the APR Demand Champions Campaign, which creates new markets for material.
“APR works every day to enhance the plastics recycling industry,” says Camara, who is CEO of PetStar. “This board is prepared to focus our efforts on the need to increase collection of material available for recycling, elevate the value of postconsumer resin (PCR) to increase market demand and continue to promote the necessity of design for recyclability.”
Read the full article from Recycling Today.
