Dow Packaging and Speciality Plastics, Bemic and Polykar have created new technology that turns post-industrial food plastic barrier packaging into bin bags.
The bags will be used to help clean up beaches in the United States during the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Clean-up on 16 September 2017.
Volunteers attending this event are predicated to collect 4 million pounds of waste using the recycled bin bags.
Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics global sustainability director Jeff Wooster said: “We’ve taken on the challenge with Bemis and Polykar, alongside the Trash Free Seas Alliance®, to increase post-industrial recycling and extend sustainable industrial practices to address a worldwide problem. We know that if we work together, we can find a way to recover plastic waste and use it to make an even a bigger impact on reducing marine debris.”
The process of creating the bin bags starts with Bemis collecting the recycled plastic scraps and sending them to Polykar. Plastic recycling machines are used to combine the plastics with Dow’s RETAIN™ technology. The result is a recycled plastic substance, which Polykar uses to manufacture the bags.
All collaborators released a video showing the new technology and the process of manufacturing the post-industrial bags. The video also illustrates their dedication to decreasing marine debris.
The companies also produced a report analysing the major pathways of leakage into oceans and the solutions to establish and treat the waste before it contaminates the ocean.
Ocean Conservancy vice president Emily Woglom said: “It’s an exciting step forward to be able to use recycled materials to collect and properly dispose of marine debris.
“This work is just one example of the type of concrete solutions that we have identified and worked towards with our partners in the Trash Free Seas Alliance. Stopping waste before it ever reaches the ocean through proper waste management practices is key to solving this global problem.”
