NPE is getting a little sister. And she recycles.
The Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. announced Monday at NPE 2015 that the plastics trade association will return to Orlando in 2016 for a brand new event, the re|Focus Recycling Summit and Expo.
The inaugural event, focused on promoting plastics recovery and using recycled content at the industry level, will take place April 25-27, 2016, at Orlando's Rosen Shingle Creek Resort.
“As leaders in the recycling space, SPI and its member companies are committed to manufacturing products that reduce environmental impact by increasing the use of recycled content and promoting better design of products that make them more recoverable at end of life,” said Bill Carteaux, SPI president and CEO. “It's our commitment as plastics manufacturers to promote sound recycling practices as economic and environmental solutions to the ubiquitous nature of our products.”
Spearheaded by SPI and its Recycling Committee, the organizers, who also put on the triennial NPE trade show and conference, have not yet enlisted other industry organizations for the new event but are open to getting more groups involved.
“The plastics world is small enough that we all talk to each other and we are open to that discussion,” said Kim Holmes, SPI's senior director of recycling and diversion.
SPI was “very deliberate and careful” in designing re|Focus Recycling Summit and Expo, Holmes said, focusing the new event on manufacturing issues, zero-waste goals and post-industrial plastics rather than overlapping with existing recycling events with a more high-level and post-consumer recycling focus.
“We are going to look beyond packaging, beyond the obvious,” Holmes said. “People don't associate the plastics they interact with every day — all plastics — as recyclable.”
SPI will host a focus group for brand owners following Tuesday morning's 7:30 a.m. SPI/IHS Chemical joint breakfast discussion on North American manufacturing in W415 to discuss building the program for 2016's event.
“This isn't just for C-suite folks,” Holmes said. “We really want this event to be member driven.”