Husky's John Galt: A value proposition for a circular economy

Remember when community leaders, businesses, and environmental civil society groups told us to fill up our curbside bins to help address the ever-increasing trash and litter dilemma? It made sense to recycle plastic, glass and paper — to put them back into the economy and keep them out of landfills and the environment. Who could argue with that premise? Evidently quite a few people.

In the last few years, recycling has become a four-letter word, with some environmental groups and major media outlets lambasting its effectiveness and calling the whole notion a scam.

On the surface, recycling has undoubtedly underperformed, as only 21 percent of residential recyclable materials — this includes aluminum and glass — are recycled nationally. But the reason for this underwhelming statistic is not attributable to any one material in the packaging sector or a specific industry.

Drawing on 40 years of industry leadership and my role as chairman of the world's leading recycled PET conversion technology company, I can state with certainty: recycling works. And with PET being the most recycled plastic globally, it's proving its value every day.

PET plastics, used in water bottles, medical supplies and food containers, are highly recyclable. Our industry is constantly innovating to reduce the weight of our products, increase durability, and include components in their makeup to allow us to use them repeatedly. The problem lies in the outdated systems we rely on to collect, sort, and process these materials.

We know recycling works if the proper infrastructure, guidelines and investments are in place. One need only look at Oregon, which boasts a 75 percent recycling rate for PET bottles, whereas nationally, only 33 percent of PET bottles are recycled. Policies that align with and support recycling rather than hamper its effectiveness are the first step. This includes policies like well-designed extended producer responsibility (EPR), which brings the producers who design, manufacture, and sell the products into the solution, and deposit return systems (DRS), which encourage consumers to return beverage containers by offering a monetary reward, or deposit, for recycling. This, coupled with investments in AI-enabled material recovery facilities capable of sorting recyclable materials, consumer education, and support for end markets for recycled plastics, can deliver a truly circular plastic economy.

It is important to remember that plastics, which might seem like simple products on the surface, are very complex in their makeup. Whether water bottles that play a significant role in disaster relief, medical tubing for blood transfusions, or lightweight auto components to reduce fuel consumption, the end usage plays a major role in the effectiveness and sustainability of their design and production.

Some in our society believe plastics do not play a role in a circular economy. I'd remind detractors that the plastics industry has driven significant innovation and economic improvement across numerous industries, enhancing efficiency, sustainability, and affordability. Plastics are significantly lighter than alternatives like metals and glass, reducing transportation costs, fuel consumption, and emissions. It has transformed the automotive and aerospace industries for the better. Plastics have provided more sanitary devices in health care, saving millions of lives yearly. Innovations from advanced plastics in prosthetics, implants and diagnostic equipment are unparalleled. Plastic packaging reduces food spoilage and contamination, ensuring safer, more efficient and more reliable food distribution while cutting food waste globally. These are just a few examples.

More than 170 nations are working through the United Nations to develop a treaty to reduce plastic pollution. My colleagues and I wholly support this process and strongly agree that we must reduce plastic waste. In fact, plastic waste is a valuable asset that, when effectively recycled, can be transformed into new products — just like aluminum and glass, but often at a lower cost and using less energy. However, to realize this potential, we must establish regulations and infrastructure conducive to capturing this valuable commodity rather than shoving it into a landfill or, worse, simply littering our landscapes and waterways worldwide.

Today, the PET packaging industry is valued at $40 billion annually. It employs roughly 85,000 workers directly or indirectly across the U.S. Every year, it adds billions of dollars to the U.S. economy across critical sectors such as medical, food, beverage, and automotive. With the right policies, recycled PET could add another $40 billion annually in economic value. Because of inadequate waste collection systems, we lose an estimated $80 billion to $120 billion annually in material value due to the failure to recycle plastic waste globally.

We spend too much time discussing areas of divergence instead of finding common ground to address this global crisis.

Strengthening waste management systems and achieving plastic circularity is far from lacking ambition. If there is one plastic material that can serve as the bedrock for a circular economy, it is PET. The model already exists, and it is proven. Germany, Sweden, Japan, South Korea, and Brazil all have higher rates of PET recycling. It is time to get this right in North America.

John Galt is the chairman of Husky Technologies, a member of the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR). For more information, visit NAPCOR.com.