Plastics News Daily Report - May 10, 2018 - 18

18 ‹ PLASTICS NEWS DAILY REPORT ‹ May 10, 2018

Recycling just the beginning for zero waste effort
At most schools, getting an
87 will get you a solid B, maybe
even a B+.
But NPE2018 is looking to
get on the dean's list this time
around with its waste diversion
and recycling efforts at the Orange County Convention Center.
This year's version of the
massive plastics industry trade
show is looking to divert 100
percent of the waste stream from
landfill disposal. That compares
to the 87 percent figure posted
the last time thousands of plastics people descended on the
convention center for NPE2015.
There's one particular company that's doing a lot of the heavy
lifting at this show, as Commercial Plastics Recycling Inc. of
Tampa is once again in charge of
recycling plastics products and
scrap from the show floor.
CPR expects to recover at
least 400,000 pounds of material this time around, maybe even
more.
But the efforts are not limited
to CPR, said Kim Holmes, vice
president of sustainability for the
Plastics Industry Association,
which runs the triennial exposition.
"I think we had a very high recovery rate last [time], and I think

Plastics News photo by Jim Johnson

By Jim Johnson
Plastics News Staff

NPE2018 wants to divert 100 percent of the waste stream from landfill disposal. That compares to the 87
percent figure posted the last time thousands of plastics people descended on the convention center for
NPE2015.
we're always striving for improvement. The way that the Orange
County Convention Center is managing its materials, sending residuals to energy recovery, it gave us
the opportunity to shoot for 100

percent recovery rate," she said
during the show.
CPR is working with Waste Connections Inc., the national solid
waste and recycling management
company that has the contract to

handle the convention center, to
help handle certain plastics on
their behalf.
Paul Benvenuti of CPR said
working with Waste Connections,
instead of merely alongside of

the company, will help in better
coordination and higher recovery rates than three years ago.
Even recovering 87 percent,
like what happened in 2015, was
"pretty impressive" for "a show
of this scale," Holmes said.
"So not only are we pushing
our rates of recycling, mechanical recycling and diversion, but
being able to fill that gap by putting the rest of those materials
to higher and better use than
landfill," Holmes said, helps divert more material from landfill
disposal.
Unsold food and other items
that cannot be donated to charities will instead go to a facility
in Orlando to undergo anaerobic
digestion to create methane that
will be used to create energy.
"The Orange County Convention Center has been a very
good partner. They understand
what our environmental goals
are for this event, and they have
stepped up and been a solution
provider to help us meet those
goals," Holmes said.
Trade group CEO Bill Carteaux
said in a statement: "Plastics
are a valuable resource that
should always be recovered for
their highest and best use. At
NPE2018, we're practicing what
we preach, putting sustainability and recycling at the center of
the event."

collaborating
Thinking and working externally and open to collaborating to solve market needs.
Visit us at Booth S12115 in the South Hall.
If you're ready to expand your product portfolio, visit go.Lubrizol.com/CAPPsNPE2018 now.

http://go.Lubrizol.com/CAPPsNPE2018 http://go.Lubrizol.com/CAPPsNPE2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Plastics News Daily Report - May 10, 2018