Collaborating for change

Kelly Semrau, senior vice president of global corporate affairs, communication and sustainability at SC Johnson (SCJ), headquartered in Racine, Wisconsin, shared the company’s recycling goal for its Ziploc bags as well as other sustainability initiatives it has championed over the years. Semrau was the keynote speaker during the Re|focus Recycling Summit & Expo, April 25-27, 2016, organized by SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association, Washington.

Semrau’s speech was preceded by a welcome from Patricia Long, SPI senior vice president of industry affairs, who said that through Re|focus, SPI is seeking “to shift the ecology of our industry to one that is inclusive of recycling and that also embodies it.” She added that the plastics industry needs to “move the needle” on plastics recycling and shift its thinking to incorporate sustainability.

Semrau shared SCJ’s previous initiative to bring aerosol can recycling to 5,400 communities across the U.S., enabling marketers to place “please recycle” on these containers per Federal Trade Commission Green Guides labeling standards, saying this language “really drives consumer behavior.”

SCJ will take a similar approach with its Ziploc bags. Semrau said, “It is going to be a hard, uphill challenge. We know MRF (material recovery facility) operators don’t want a new product.”

However, she expressed optimism that SCJ would be able to figure out the challenge in collaboration with other stakeholders.

In the question-and-answer period that followed her presentation, Semrau said, “It is imperative that the end of life of our products is something we think about.” She added that for plastics, end markets can be a challenge, which would be a focus of the Ziploc initiative.

“The way the world changes is through partnering,” Semrau said. “One company can’t do it by itself.”

Collaboration was a key topic addressed in another Re|focus session. Panelists Ashley C. Hall, senior manager of sustainability at Wal-Mart; Rob Flores, director of sustainability at Berry Plastics Corp.; and Monique Oxender, chief sustainability officer at Keurig Green Mountain, discussed how the various links in the supply chain can work together to realize sustainability objectives.

One educational tool Hall cited was the GreenBlue Sustainable Packaging Coalition How2Recycle Label, an on-package labeling system created to provide clear, consistent recycling information to consumers. In 2015, Wal-Mart joined the program and is working with its suppliers to incorporate these labels on Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club private label packaging and is encouraging national brands to use the label.

The retailer, through its Wal-Mart Foundation, also is encouraging investment in recycling infrastructure through the Closed Loop Fund.

Oxender said the first recyclable K-cup, made from polypropylene, will reach market later this year. She said the company worked with MRFs to test their ability to recover K-cups at scale in 2015. According to these tests, 70 percent of the K-cups were recovered. Oxender said this development would not be possible without partnerships.

The Re|focus Recycling Summit & Expo was April 25-27 at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando.