Page 49 - Plastics News February 2025
P. 49
PRODUCT NEWS
PCR procurement shifts
as needed volumes grow
said.
As a result, recycled resin is becoming more
commodity-like, especially in A-grade LDPE film
and also, to some degree, for HDPE. However,
“polypropylene is still all over the place” in terms
of consistent color and quality, Hano said.
In the past, PCR was largely purchased on a spot
basis and was closely tied to virgin resin pricing.
Durable goods such as carpet fiber were the pri-
mary applications and didn’t require high-quali-
CR procurement has changed over the ty material, so RPET was used as a cost-saving
years, though exactly how is difficult to measure.
Pput into words due to the nuances in-
volved in getting post-consumer material into But as focus shifted toward using PCR in pack-
new products, said Crystal Bayliss, director of aging, quality requirements increased, which has
strategy and engagement at the U.S. Plastics helped drive an increase in longer term contracts
Pact. to secure supply, Bayliss said. “We’re starting to
see those shifts happen, not all the way there to
“But it’s really the nuances that are driving justify the investment that’s needed to be able
changes in the buying behavior,” she said. Bay- to get to where PCR content goals are, but we
liss will present “Reimagining PCR Procurement: are definitely headed in that direction,” she said.
Building Industry Capacity and Exploring Alter-
native Strategies” at the 2025 Plastics Recycling Moving forward, brands that need higher-quali-
Conference, March 24-26 in National Harbor, ty grades of PCR will have to make longer term
Maryland. contracts and commitments, Bayliss added.
At packaging giant Berry Global, dominant play- “I think that as brands understand that their
ers in PCR supply are beginning to emerge along packaging has to get recycled to prove respon-
with consistent quality, said Doug Hano, vice sible end markets for the emerging EPR legisla-
president of sustainable resin purchasing. After tion, they’re going to realize that they’ve got to
years of buying PCR, “we’ve got enough history incentivize the investment to collect and recycle
to compare and contrast quality levels, we can their packaging, and the only way to do that is
do more of a bidding sort of process, so that longer term contracts, with the types of con-
we can swap out one (supplier) for another,” he tracting methods that incentivize investment,”
February 2025 PLASTICS NEWS 49
