Kickstart: Virtual Antec returns to your computer screens for a second year

Welcome to the second year of virtual Antec, once again coming to you from basement offices, spare bedrooms and dining room tables converted to desks.

The 2020 Antec was one of the first events in the U.S. to take a big hit by the pandemic, and the Society of Plastics Engineers successfully converted a live event in San Antonio to a virtual one within a little more than two weeks. The result was a massive success in terms of content — I have no idea how the financial story was within SPE — with more than 93 hours of presentations, keynotes and panel discussions made widely available. More than 3,000 people were able to attend this new version of Antec.

For 2021, SPE had more time to plan, obviously, and build on lessons from a year's worth of virtual events. While attending a gathering like Antec remotely misses out on the social aspect of in-person networking, there are lessons from the extensive reach of a virtual event that I expect will be applied in the future. So while Antec 2022 may finally resume as a live event, don't be surprised if it also retains a virtual touch for those who can't attend.

On the one hand, PepsiCo Inc.'s new BottleLoop program looks like a great tool to get more PET bottles into the recycling loop.

The program, introduced April 29, offers "easy and accessible recycling to PepsiCo customers" to collect recyclable materials. BottleLoop participants can simply schedule a pickup of recyclables.

It offers "differentiated" collections for K-12 schools, colleges and universities to keep bottles and cans out of landfills. PepsiCo also can move toward its goal of using 25 percent recycled plastic content in plastic packaging by 2025.

What the news release doesn't mention, though, is that participating schools and groups will pay to participate in the program. Prices start at $9.25, depending on the closest recycling center, the quality of the material and other factors, BottleLoop notes on its website.

Granted, the money paid to have the recyclable materials picked up may be offset by reduced landfill costs, but it sure seems like a way to boost your sustainability numbers without putting your own money on the line.

A Japanese company is building a model of sustainability by focusing on its models.

Toy maker Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. has opened kiosks at its retail shops in Japan to collect runners from its models from customers once they complete building Gundam robots. The runners will be returned to the company to be reground and turned back into new toys in a program called Gunpla Recycling Project. (The name comes from a combination of Gundam and plastic.)

"In activities to be undertaken by [Bandai Namco], such as the Gunpla Recycling Project, we believe that we can realize a sustainable society by having corporations and fans unite together," Bandai Namco President Masaru Kawaguchi said in a release about the company's overall strategy to reach net-zero carbon status by 2050.

The recycling program is only in Japan currently, but future sustainability programs will focus on wider Bandai Namco work.