Plastic waste issues are now mainstream concerns but you may be unaware of specific issues. Do you find yourself scratching your head wondering about some of the challenges with post-consumer plastic packaging recycling? And you may also be wondering how does the NLCRC hope to address them?

The biggest challenge that we see with recycling plastic packaging is developing a consistent way to collect and aggregate containers that are “contaminated” from consumers and commercial uses. In the Lubricant industry, even an “empty” bottle can contain residual amounts of product. For the most part, these containers are not thrown into the recycle bin by consumers; and if they are, they may often be discarded into municipal solid waste streams (i.e., landfilled), due to concerns with secondary use applications.

The NLCRC will address these ‘non-conforming’ containers by building an industry-wide program that involves multiple stakeholders across the value chain, including those that make the product and packaging, those that sell it, those that use it, and those that collect and process it back into new products. The NLCRC will develop system solutions. To do this, we seek collaboration from all parties to build a market-sustaining, economically viable model.

You’re encouraged to stay up to date with our progress by subscribing to our blog. Follow us on LinkedIn. Connect on Twitter.

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NLCRC founding members include Castrol, Valvoline, Pennzoil - Quaker State Company, Graham Packaging, and Plastipak Packaging. Learn how the NLCRC is addressing the waste problem by becoming a member. If you have any questions or inquires, please send us an email at hello@nationallcrc.com.