Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Bioplastics Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • PFAS Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
    • Europe - Virgin
    • Europe - Recycled
    • Europe - Feedstock
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
May 31, 2018 02:00 AM

Recycling, efficiency help cut carbon footprint for NPE

Jim Johnson
Senior Reporter
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Jim Johnson
    Paul Benvenuti of Commercial Plastics Recycling Inc., said his company was able to reduce trucking requirements to recycle items at NPE2015 by using shredders and grinders on site.

    Transportation costs and environmental impacts were dramatically cut at NPE2018 when it comes to recycling plastics from the show floor.

    The exact, final numbers are not quite in yet regarding total recycled tonnage, but the folks at Commercial Plastics Recycling Inc. are pretty happy about their efforts at the recent trade show in Orlando, Fla.

    The Tampa, Fla.-based company, for the second time, oversaw collecting and recycling plastic products and scrap from the show floor.

    That material eventually made its way back to CPR's reprocessing facility, about 60 miles away in Tampa.

    "We definitely were more efficient in terms of what we were sending back here," said Paul Benvenuti of CPR in a May 24 interview. "We actually cut back the trucks by 40 percent from what we sent overall in ​ 2015."

    That was the first time CPR landed the recycling contract for NPE. The company made some changes for the 2018 show.

    A major change was a partnership with machinery maker Weima America Inc. to utilize both a shredder and a grinder in a convention center parking lot. Grinding much of the output from exhibitors allowed CPR to drastically cut down on the amount of air it was moving from Orlando to Tampa.

    "We went from roughly 40 trucks of scrap moved in 2015 to 25 in 2018," Benvenuti said. "We definitely exceeded our goals in terms of reduction, and [it] certainly was above our goal for the carbon footprint we were looking to reduce.

    "We think it was a really positive recycling effort at the show," he added.

    Benvenuti estimated that 380,000-400,000 pounds of plastics were recovered from the show exhibits, a similar amount to what was collected in 2015. CPR is still awaiting some final numbers from Waste Connections Inc., the solid waste management and recycling company that handled a segment of the recycling stream coming from the convention center.

    Waste Connections has a contract with the convention center for recycled materials generated by attendees, such as empty bottles. CPR has the contract for exhibitor-generated materials. The two companies, Benvenuti explained, worked more closely together at this year's show to coordinate efforts to avoid duplicating work.

    Going into the show, Benvenuti held out the possibility that this year's version might end up producing more scrap for his company to handle compared with three years ago. But in the end, he figured it has been about the same.

    And that, he believes, is due in part to the quality of giveaways that people were taking home.

    "I think one of the biggest things I saw in my building, we saw a lot of materials people were taking. The NPE swag was probably up. There were probably a little more souvenirs being taken than in '15," he said.

    Stepstools, buckets, cups, tennis rackets and sport bottles were just a few of the items he remembered seeing in people's hands.

    Benvenuti oversaw the West Hall at the convention center while his colleague at CPR, Rick Love, handled duties in the South Hall for the company. This allowed each man to concentrate on a specific area instead of trying to be in two places at once.

    Love said the amount of recycled material coming out of the South Hall definitely increased in 2018 due to the location of the Bottle Zone there. The Plastics Industry Association, which owns and stages NPE, decided to create a dedicated space for companies serving the bottle industry.

    Having this concentration in the South Hall, Love said, pushed the number of products being made on the show floor higher in that hall.

    "In the South [Hall], we went very smooth. We had a couple back-of-the-house issues when they swapped out trailers, but nothing inside at all," Love said.

    "We learned from '15, we implemented it in '18 [and] learned more in '18 that we'll implement in '21," Love said.

    Benvenuti is looking forward to taking what he learned this year and implementing improvements at the next show, if CPR is awarded the recycling contract.

    "With each of these shows, you learn something new and try to add it the next time. You take a step forward and learn something new with each new process. The show shows innovation. That's the point of the show. And we have to innovate with the show," he said.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Preventing pellet pollution focus of expanded Operation Clean Sweep, congressional push
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Braskem stops production on a PP line at Pennsylvania plant
    2
    Perspective: Making the case that ‘Recycling Is Real'
    3
    Superior Die Set seeks sale of Wisconsin plant, may be forced to close
    4
    An 8,000-ton dream for Milacron, 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics
    5
    Lego ditches plans to make bricks from recycled PET
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Find more newsletters at plasticsnews.com/newsletters.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
      • Podcasts
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Bioplastics Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • PFAS Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
      • Europe - Virgin
      • Europe - Recycled
      • Europe - Feedstock
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified