Reynolds, Dow, ByFusion partner to reduce hard-to-recycle plastic in landfills

Reynolds Consumer Products, Lake Forrest, Illinois, and Dow, Midland, Michigan, have announced the Hefty Energy Bag program is collaborating with ByFusion, a plastics recycling manufacturer in Gardena, California. The three will work on a pilot project to create new uses for hard-to-recycle plastic scrap collected by local participants in Ada County, Idaho. 

According to a joint news release, the ByFusion pilot project will convert plastic scrap into material that supports the community. The companies say the project leverages public-private partnerships and will divert up to 72 tons of hard-to-recycle plastics from the Ada County Hidden Hollow Landfill.

The ByFusion pilot project will convert the hard-to-recycle plastics collected by the Hefty Energy Bag program into ByBlocks, a construction-grade block made from collected, previously unrecycled plastics. 

ByFusion's proprietary, no-emissions process creates ByBlocks made entirely from plastic scrap, without the addition of chemicals, additives or fillers. The company says its fusion process does not require sorting, cleaning or preprocessing as in traditional mechanical recycling. The ByBlocks can build various structures, including benches, bus shelters and more. 

"We are confident that the area's implementation of ByBlocks will show other cities how they can repurpose their plastic scrap and transform it into an alternative building material that helps support their infrastructure needs, instead of being an ongoing burden," says Heidi Kujawa, CEO of ByFusion.

The first ByBlock application planned for the Greater Boise area is a large bench in Manitou Park, which was installed Feb. 15. Additional projects are planned over the next few months, including a park bench in Garden City and other structures in the area.

The companies also are taking the opportunity to determine the environmental impact of the ByFusion pilot project from beginning to end through a life cycle assessment. Having a better understanding of the full environmental impact of material used in ByBlocks in comparison with other usages of the collected materials will inform how the Hefty Energy Bag program and ByFusion may work together in the future.

"We are always exploring new end-usage opportunities for the hard-to-recycle plastic collected by the Hefty Energy Bag program, including the potential to expand beyond plastic as an energy source, which is why participating in the ByFusion pilot project is such an exciting moment for the Hefty Energy Bag program," says Lisa Burns, senior vice president of sustainability for Reynolds consumer products. "Seeing the transformation of these challenging plastics into this impressive park bench is a testament to what is possible and what the future could hold for the Hefty Energy Bag program."

The ByFusion pilot project was developed in collaboration with Dow's Business Impact Fund, which is a competitive grant program.