EVANSVILLE - Berry Global Group has joined The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, which is aimed at increasing recycling access for polypropylene.
In a move that will help the company extend its recycling infrastructure, Berry will join the cross-industry effort that already includes Keurig Dr Pepper, Braskem, NextGen Consortium, and the Walmart Foundation, along with other members of the polypropylene value chain.
To date, the coalition has contributed US$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. It has also given financial awards across the US to increase polypropylene recovery by 13 million pounds annually and 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," said Robert Flores, vice president of Sustainability at Berry and a newly elected member of The Recycling Partnership’s Board of Directors. "This is critical to achieving a circular economy and giving natural resources multiple lives.”
The initiative is also in line with Berry’s efforts to improve polypropylene curbside recycling with the company 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.
