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
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • 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
    • 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
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics 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
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • 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
September 19, 2019 01:57 PM

Plastics industry at ‘tipping point' says Coke exec

Jim Johnson
Staff Writer
Plastics News Staff
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Jim Johnson
    Penny Walter, senior category manager for strategic procurement sourcing — closures in North America for Coca-Cola Co., says the plastics industry must work together to advance recycling and sustainability.

    Chicago — Plastics are in a state of emergency, Penny Walter says.

    As senior category manager for strategic procurement sourcing — closures in North America for Coca-Cola Co., Walter sees the situation facing the industry up close and personal.

    "We are under attack as the plastics industry for single-use bottles, for beverage containers. There's a financial impact to the things I'm talking about," she said.

    "The industry has reached a tipping point. There's a negative perception that is real of the plastics industry. Consumers are avoiding buying our products. Why is plastics considered evil? " she asked at the recent Plastics Caps & Closures 2019 conference in Chicago.

    With an estimated 8 million tons of plastic waste entering ocean waters each year and all the talk about plastics polluting the environment, plastics waste management is a raging issue.

    "We as an industry are at the point where we need to have a call to action. Regardless of what company you work for. We as an industry need to come together and have one voice. One voice for the plastics industry to educate consumers to properly recycle and the benefits of plastics," Walter said.

    "Plastic isn't evil. In fact, it's the way forward for our future. How do we shift that paradigm?" she said.

    Plastics, Walter said, has touched "each and every one of our lives." She pointed to the medical and pharmaceutical industries as just two segments where plastics have made an impact.

    But those are far from the only areas.

    "Everything we do, directly or indirectly," she said, has a connection to plastics.

    Walter told the crowd to pay attention to and engage those who speak against plastics.

    "Come together. There's a lot of critics out there. Let's listen to what they have to say and ask them to help come up with a solution. Let's leverage that as an opportunity," she said.

    China's decision to stop importing most recycled plastics and other used commodities certainly has helped focus attention on post-consumer material management in the United States.

    "Is this a challenge or is this an opportunity?" she asked.

    There is a trend toward buying more finished goods with a growing percentage of recycled resin, but that's not enough, she told the crowd.

    "How do we create a world without waste?" she asked. "How do we change this perception? I ask each of you to think about how each of you can partner in this solution."

    Walter choose her words carefully as Coca-Cola, early last year, unveiled its World Without Waste initiative. That program includes a goal of collecting and recycling the equivalent of every bottle and can the company sells around the world by 2030.

    The Atlanta-based beverage company also wants to significantly increase the amount of recycled content in the plastic packaging.

    "Our mission at Coca-Cola, we want to be leaders in sustainability, and we want you to be with us," Walter said. "We want 50 percent recycled content. It's a big gap. Where's that material going to come from? We've got to close that gap. There's a lot of smart people in this room. How do we go forward?"

    Coca-Cola is working on increasing post-consumer content, Walter said, but she is not able to publicly talk about those efforts yet.

    "We've got some real things that are happening with this," she said. "We've got some really cool things coming. We want to be the first, and I want you to come with me."

    Safety and product quality always must be kept at the forefront, Walter said, but "we need to start challenging the way we're doing business."

    "If you want to do business with Coca-Cola, I highly suggest you take this seriously. Sustainability is going to be the way to our future. It's a sober message, but this is how serious this is," she said. "It's the right thing to do for society. For our overall plastics industry, we've got to make a change," she said.

    "We can change the perception of plastic. It's going to take time. Each of us needs to come together," she said at the conference organized by Plastics News.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Numbers That Matter Live — sign up for the next live
    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
    ExxonMobil weighing options for more chemical recycling capacity
    2
    Wilbert Plastic Services adjusts to changes with new owner, leadership
    3
    PepsiCo on a ‘multiyear journey' toward bioplastics
    4
    After years of challenges, can secondary sortation take off?
    5
    Biden sets US goal to replace 90% of plastics with biomaterials
    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.

    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
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • 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
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics 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
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • 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
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • 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