Sustainability in plastic packaging is shaping up

“Our employees have a real sense of ownership in the company,” said Sakif Ferdous, Chief Revenue Officer of Plastic Ingenuity. “Everyone is directly incentivized to do what is best for our customers and personally take it upon themselves to get things done.”

With a compounded annual growth rate of over 15 per cent since 2020, Plastic Ingenuity has made ongoing investments in its people and its production capacity. All US locations have added production lines, upgraded equipment and have extended the company’s footprint. In fact, Plastic Ingenuity’s newest manufacturing location opened in 2021 in Tooele, Utah, focusing on high-volume, sustainable food packaging applications. 

Though sustainability may be a more recent priority worldwide, conservation has been part of Plastic Ingenuity’s mission since day one. Some notable achievements include a closed-loop cooling system for thermoforming machines that helps reduce water consumption, a waste-heat recovery system in the warehouse that reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, rain gardens to help reduce storm water runoff, solar panels that help generate energy and reduce GHG emissions, and energy-efficient lighting to reduce energy consumption throughout the facilities.

Besides minimizing its own environmental footprint, Plastic Ingenuity is dedicated to helping its customers across the food, healthcare and consumer goods segments improve the circularity of their product packaging.

“Each of our customers is at a different point in their sustainability journey. While some are just starting to define their goals, others have established and publicized commitments that they are aspiring to meet,” said Zach Muscato, Corporate Sustainability Manager at Plastic Ingenuity.

 A deeper understanding of its customers’ most urgent and significant needs has led Packaging Ingenuity to launch a suite of circularity services designed to assist customers wherever they might be on their sustainability journey. Services include sustainable packaging assessments, sustainability roadmaps, recyclability assessments, take-back programs and life cycle assessments. Additionally, Plastic Ingenuity has earned ISCC PLUS certification, enabling it to offer materials derived from advanced recycling techniques.

This will be especially useful to the healthcare industry, where regulations limit the type of material approved for sterile barrier system (SBS) packaging. However, it’s a misconception that materials from a healthcare setting must be incinerated or sent to a landfill. Only 15 per cent of packaging waste from healthcare facilities is considered hazardous^[1]. Post-consumer recycled material may be used for secondary and tertiary packaging, as those applications are less constrained than SBS packaging.

Furthermore, the scale and buying power of group purchasing organizations and large retailers, non-governmental organization (NGO) leadership, legislative policy, consumer demands and investor influence are elevating the priority of sustainability efforts. Although the transition to a circular economy will require significant investments of time, money and resources, recognizing and pursuing opportunities for change will help create a more sustainable packaging industry. Plastic Ingenuity is proud to be a full-service partner for food, healthcare and consumer goods brands committed to mitigating their environmental impact and promoting a brighter future.