Almost 400,000 pounds of scrap plastics was recycled at NPE 2015 in Orlando, Fla., a new record that shatters the old mark and even outpaced expectations of the company handling the material.
The Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. reports that 191 tons — or 382,000 pounds — of plastics were collected, sorted and processed by Commercial Plastics Recycling Inc.
That's a 62-pecent increase from NPE 2012 and a 235-percent jump from NPE 2009, the trade group reported.
Tampa, Fla.-based Commercial Plastics used a crew of regular and temporary employees to handle the plastic generated at 82 exhibitors, twice as many participants in the recycling program compared with 2012, SPI said.
“We reached out to exhibitors well in advance of NPE 2015 to find out their needs and get a clear idea of how we should prepare,” said Paul Benvenuti, who coordinated collection for CPR, in a statement. “Another big help was having our containers and trucks on site during setup since machines were being operated and generating scrap well before the start of the show.”
Washington-based SPI said the increased tonnage and participation rate effort reflected the show's focus on the three Rs — reduce, reuse and recycle.
“As the leading trade event in plastics, we needed to model the appropriate behavior, and thanks to the efforts of our recycling program partners, we were able to do just that,” SPI CEO Bill Carteaux said in a statement.
“We believe our recycling efforts were a realization to that commitment,” he said.
While CPR handled plastic recycling from the show floor, the Orange County Convention Center also managed post-consumer waste from the week-long event.
In total, 518 tons of waste and recyclables were generated at NPE 2015. That amount included 452 tons, or 87 percent, that were recycled, SPI said.
