Radoszewski starts new post as industry is in sustainability 'war'

Washington — Tony Radoszewski says he's beginning his tenure as the new president and CEO of the Plastics Industry Association on something of a war footing. The battleground: the waste and environmental issues surrounding plastics.

"At the get-go, the first thing is to recognize that we have a big target on our back," Radoszewski said. "And, in one word, that's unfortunate. We as an industry do so many good things and have for so long."

Radoszewski sat down for an interview in the group's Washington office on Oct. 2, his third week on the job, and began the conversation by offering up the analogy about being a target.

He noted that two weeks earlier, at the association's annual meeting Sept. 18-20 in Cape Coral, Fla., he told the assembled executives he believed the industry is in a "war."

"It's a strong word, and I chose it in particular because it's true," he said. "I feel we're being attacked on so many different fronts."

He sees the industry as needing two responses: Be a clear part of solutions to plastic waste problems and continue to make its case to the public about the benefits of plastic.

There are "fair questions" to be asked about solid waste and plastics, he said, but the longtime industry executive believes that the performance attributes of plastics remain strong.

"The reason why plastics are so abundant today is because the marketplace has decided they're the best alternative to other options," he said. "We always win on the intellectual plane."

But the public opinion landscape as he takes over the association is probably the most challenging it's ever been for the industry, and those challenges are not just coming from politicians or environmental groups.

They are starting to come in the marketplace — and potentially hit the bottom line — as large consumer companies shy away from plastic.

Consumer goods maker Unilever plc, for example, said Oct. 7 it planned to cut its use of virgin plastic in half by 2025. Similarly, PepsiCo Inc. said in mid-September it would cut use of nonrecycled plastic by one-third in that time frame.

"We have to focus on changing public perception, educating the public and influencing organizations of the good things that we're doing," Radoszewski said. "And to demonstrate that we are all in as an industry, that we are not passive bystanders … that we are committed to the solutions that support our goal of being stewards of the environment."

Radoszewski didn't offer any specific new plans or programs in the interview, beyond noting existing recycling trials the association is supporting or efforts like the $1.5 billion Alliance to End Plastic Waste.

He did say he was working on a way for large companies that recently left the association under pressure from environmental groups — such as Pepsi, Coca-Cola Co. and SC Johnson & Son Inc. — to continue to work with the group.

He said it's important for member companies to have a venue to talk regularly with those kinds of companies about their needs around plastic packaging.

"What we want to make sure is that we have some vehicle that allows us to have ongoing dialogue with them, to understand their needs, to craft policy to help formulate new packaging designs that are more environmentally friendly," Radoszewski said.

At K 2019, the group is also promoting NPE2021, the biggest plastics show in North America. The event, which is owned by the association, will be May 17-21, 2021, in Orlando, Fla.

At K, the group will host an NPE2021 reception Friday, Oct. 18, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in CCD South, room 3, of the fairgrounds.

Radoszewski also said he's looking at the K show as a chance to better understand challenges that the machinery sector faces, since the show has a lot of exhibiting companies in that sector.

Radoszewski is not new to plastics. Taking over the top job at the association culminates a decadeslong career that began in resin sales in 1980. Most recently, he was president of the Plastics Pipe Institute in Irving, Texas, from 2006-19.

He takes over from Bill Carteaux, a longtime industry executive who led the plastics association from 2005 until late 2018, when he died of leukemia, and from Patty Long, the association's chief operating officer, who was interim president and CEO for nine months until Radoszewski was hired.

On the waste and environmental issues, Radoszewski honed in on the need to boost collection and take a material-neutral approach on any legislation.

"Trash is a nonmaterial specific issue, so when you see legislation coming out attacking plastics, we have a problem with that," he said.

But he declined to endorse a material-neutral funding plan pushed by the industry's other large Washington trade group, the American Chemistry Council, to help pay for recycling infrastructure.

Earlier this year, ACC publicly proposed a three-tenths of one cent tax, at the wholesale level, per item on all types of disposable foodservice ware. ACC proposed it in California and estimated it would bring in about $100 million a year there to fund waste infrastructure. ACC also said it was open to talking about that in federal legislation.

But Radoszewski said he was not ready to sign on to that, or any, plan.

"I think the biggest thing is how do we address the funding of effective solid waste infrastructure," he said. "There has to be a funding mechanism. What that is, I'm not so sure, as of today."

Radoszewski's group has been part of a coalition working to draft federal legislation to secure funding, possibly $500 million, for recycling from any new infrastructure package in Washington. But he said there was no update on when that legislation might be introduced.

Outside of environmental issues, Radoszewski said the association would be supporting passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the replacement of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

And he said that the group will continue to work on workforce development issues, including with other manufacturing associations in Washington.

"It's our No. 1 issue with our members, just like it is with every manufacturer for sure," he said.

The longtime plastics industry executive said he looked forward to bringing his decades of experience in the industry to work for the association.

"It's the culmination of an awesome career, you know, starting out as a young guy selling pellets to being the head of this great association," he said. "I can't think of a better industry than plastics. I really can't."