Welcome to our series aimed at spotlighting the NLCRC members and partners.

Discover how these companies are addressing pressing challenges around environmental sustainability issues, such as energy, greenhouse gas emission reduction, packaging, product recyclability, and what inspires each of them to include lubricant packaging recovery and recycling into their ESG objectives and how they hope to make an impact in the lubricant value chain.

Connect with Graham Packaging on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Graham Packaging is a global leader in the design, engineering and manufacturing of creative, sustainable packaging solutions for a variety of industry-leading consumer brands within automotive; beverage; dairy, health and nutrition; food; and home care markets. Graham Packaging delivers measurable value through sustainable efforts. As we launch into the member spotlight, you’re invited to learn more about the company’s sustainable packaging solutions on its sustainability page, as well as, read the company’s most recent sustainability report. 

Graham Packaging’s Innovation in Lubricant Container Recycling

A founding member of the NLCRC, Graham has implemented multiple innovations to its lubricant bottles—the company’s very first product, incidentally—including lightweighting; increasing the percentage of recycled material and minimizing the amount of residual oil from used containers to increase their recyclability.

AccuStrength is Graham's revolutionary, patent-pending lightweighting technology that reduces the amount of material used while maintaining or improving the container's performance. Packaging made with AccuStrength is up to 11% lighter, uses less plastic, requires less fuel to ship and is reinforced to ensure containers survive the supply chain of palletization, transit and store shelving, thereby improving e-commerce performance—and is still 100% recyclable. Graham has conducted successful investigations, which included change in resin type, additives and coatings to reduce oil residue in the bottles to improve recyclability. 

“Our lubricant containers contain approximately 25% PCR today, and we continuously work with our customers to increase this PCR%.” — Richa Desai, Director of Sustainability

Our Graham Recycling Center in York, Pennsylvania, is one of the largest plastic recycling facilities in the northeastern U.S. It has grown into a three-line operation that recycles #2 HDPE bottles into PCR. Facilities like ours help conserve energy and natural resources by substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions and diverting hundreds of millions of pounds of plastic from landfills and the ocean.

What are Graham Packaging’s long-term sustainability goals and how do they relate to lubricant packaging?

We have many goals surrounding sustainability for the near and distant future, including but not limited to:

• 30% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030;

• 20% average PCR use, including ocean-bound PCR, across all Graham products by 2025;

• 100% recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging by 2025; and

• Increase Graham’s number of ISSC PLUS certified plants capable of processing advanced recycled material (currently four plants are certified).

These goals absolutely apply to our lubricant packaging. We have and continuously strive to increase our PCR integration into lubricant bottles, successfully maximize stacking and cubing efficiencies to lower GHG emissions in transit, make the packaging lighter and recyclable. 

“Purchasing through online platforms has accelerated due to ease and convenience. As of September 2021, 17.5% of sales for the automotive aftermarket occurred online—an increase of 51% over 2020. This increased penetration of e-commerce might necessitate adoption of lighter and sturdier packaging. Based on these trends and our goals, we at Graham are aimed at solving top-load distribution issues, lightweighting, maximizing cube and stacking efficiencies, and improving recyclability.” — Tracee Auld, Chief Strategy and Chief Sustainability Officer

How does the company’s membership help Graham Packaging to meet its sustainability goals and commitments?" 

We are committed to making 100% of our products recyclable or reusable and increasing our PCR to 20% by 2025. The lubricant bottles we make are HDPE, which is fully recyclable, but these bottles are not recycled due to the residual oil remaining in those containers. 

“NLCRC membership helps us divert oil bottles likely to be landfilled into the recycling stream, thereby improving the recycling rates of plastic containers and recycled plastic feedstock, which we can reuse in our products to help meet our customers’ goals.” —Richa Desai, Director of Sustainability

Through NLCRC’s work, we are focusing on recycling oil bottles that would otherwise go to landfill. Additionally, amid increased regulations for PCR, by increasing feedstock and PCR availability and capability to include mechanical and chemical advanced recycling, we are helping customers reach their sustainability goals and comply with regulations.

What do you value most about the collaborative nature and your membership with NLCRC?"

“Graham helped start this coalition, as we recognized the immense value in collaborating to solve the recyclability issue with lubricant containers. This cannot be solved by any one company alone. The collaborative, actionable nature of the NLCRC brings together competitors and customers not just to talk, but to act.” —Tracee Auld, Chief Strategy and Chief Sustainability Officer

About Graham Packaging:

Graham Packaging is a global leader in the development and design of creative, sustainable packaging solutions for a variety of industry-leading consumer brands. The company employs some of the best and brightest package designers, who bring inspired, technology-driven solutions to market. Headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with a flagship manufacturing facility in nearby York, Pennsylvania, Graham Packaging produces more than 16 billion containers annually across nearly 70 plants in North America, Asia, Europe and South America. The company was founded in 1970 and acquired in 2011 by Reynolds Group Holdings — a leading global manufacturer and supplier of consumer food and beverage packaging and storage products. For additional information on Graham Packaging, please visit www.grahampackaging.com.

About NLCRC 

The National Lubricant Container Recycling Coalition or "NLCRC" is an industry-led technical coalition, established in 2021 by a committed consortium of lubricant manufacturers and associated plastic packaging manufacturers, focused on establishing solutions for post-consumer recovery and recycling of plastic lubricant containers. Members include Castrol, Valvoline, Pennzoil - Quaker State Company, Graham Packaging, Plastipak Packaging, Berry Global, Inc, Petroleum Packaging Council, and Chevron. For more information, visit our website, or connect with NLCRC on LinkedIn and Twitter.