EVANSVILLE - Berry Global Group has joined the Alliance to End Plastic Waste as a founding member. This new organization is currently comprised of 27 companies and is making an initial five-year, US$1.5 billion commitment to invest in solutions to eliminate plastic waste in the environment.
The Alliance will work with governments, multilateral institutions, companies, non-government organizations, and communities to support investments and drive progress over the next five years to end plastic waste. The focus is narrowed to four main areas: infrastructure development, innovation, education and engagement, and clean-up.
“This Alliance is different from other organizations in that it spans the value chain. Brand owners, plastic resin producers, chemical companies, converters like ourselves, as well as waste management companies and recyclers, all aligned towards a common goal of how we ultimately end plastic waste,” said Tom Salmon, Chairman and CEO of Berry Global Group, Inc.
In addition to the company’s efforts with the Alliance, Berry also partners with key organizations to encourage recycling as well as internal efforts to improve product recyclability and increase offerings with recycled content. As part of their efforts to end plastic waste, the company has pledged to prevent resin pellet, flake, and powder loss through their partnership with Operation Clean Sweep.
“Our company has a history of taking steps to reduce our environmental impacts," Salmon added. "That, coupled with the use of post-consumer recycled materials is something that we’re very encouraged by. By joining the Alliance, we are now able to make a greater impact on the end of life for plastic products, which we hope will lead to increased use of recovered plastic material which can be used again.”
Berry said it was keen to collaborate with the Alliance to develop and deploy systems to better collect and manage post-use plastics in support of a more circular economy.
“The creation of the Alliance is a tremendous avenue through which the entire value chain will be able to identify and address the challenges and concerns we all face,” Salmon concluded.
Web: www.endplasticwaste.org.
