Kickstart: Happy (belated) recycling day

It's National Recycling Day. Or, rather, it's the day after National Recycling Day, but we don't send out Kickstart on a Sunday.

To mark the day, some big companies are talking about their recycling programs.

Azek Co., a maker of vinyl building products, officially has launched its AzekFull-Circle PVC recycling program. Full-Circle works with dealers, contractors and other building professionals to collect, return and recycle scrap PVC from shops, construction sites and remodeling projects. The company already has an integrated polyethylene recycling program for its TimberTech decking lines.

Azek competitor Trex Co., meanwhile, is working with grocery store chain Albertsons to recycle bulk pharmacy bottles and turn those products into new decks.

Albertsons, which operates nearly 1,700 pharmacies, has collected more than 54,000 pounds of bulk medication dispensing bottles, the contents of which are used to fill individual prescriptions. That packaging will go to Trex for recycling.

Albertsons already recycles film through Trex.

It's not just about decks. Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. has received the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources 2020 Recycling Excellence Award for Innovation for the pipes it produces for water management, drainage and septic systems used in a range of construction, agriculture and road infrastructure projects.

ADS, based in Hilliard, Ohio, says it uses 550 million pounds of post-consumer and post-industrial plastic for its pipes. In Wisconsin alone, it purchased nearly 7.5 million pounds of recycled material.

Berry Global Group Inc. employees did more than use recycled materials. For three weeks in late October and early November, Berry employees collected 400,000 pieces of litter from their communities.

The total amount of litter collected was four times higher than Berry's original goal.

"Berry was proud to take part in this very worthwhile initiative. Not only is this program in direct support of our ... sustainability strategy, but it also served as a catalyst for raising awareness of properly disposing of waste," CEO Tom Salmon said in a news release.

The Plastic Bank has received positive attention for its work in places like Haiti, the Philippines and Indonesia, where it pays people to collect plastic waste.

The program allows people in need of money to buy cellphone minutes, earn cash for school expenses or food by collecting plastic before it enters waterways and adds to marine waste.

For packaging companies, Plastic Bank helps close a loop in the circular economy, with "Social Plastic" collected through the program going back into new packaging.

A joint program by Plastic Bank and Germany's Henkel won the top award from the Dow 2020 Packaging Innovation Awards. Henkel has produced 25,000 bottles using the recycled material since 2018.

Find out more about the Social Plastic program here.