Partnership to bring recycled packaging to restaurants

HAVI NextLife recycled resin

"HGS is committed to being on the front lines of new approaches related to sustainability, and helping our customers meet the growing consumer and regulatory demands for greater environmental responsibility," said Dan Musachia, president of HGS. "Our partnership and investment in NextLife will help accelerate the commercialization of an important technology, and drive tremendous benefits for the planet and our communities, as well as, deliver a competitive advantage to our customers." The PCR resins, which include FDA-approved Polypropylene, Polystyrene and Polyethylene blends, can be tailored to specific QSR chain needs and used to replace virgin resins in the manufacturing of plastic products with food contact, including plastic cups, lids, cutlery, and serving trays.

Broadly implementing recycled plastic resins at highly trafficked restaurant chains can dramatically improve their sustainability initiatives, and has the potential to save more than 500,000 barrels of oil annually for every 100 million pounds of recycled resin produced. "As a nation, we have made significant strides in our recycling efforts over the past few decades, but there remains considerable opportunity to improve. Today, about 80 percent of what Americans throw away can be recycled, yet our recycling rate is only 28 percent," said Ron Whaley, NextLife's CEO. "We have a lot of work to do, and we believe our recycled resins have the opportunity to dramatically reduce the amount of waste generated throughout the US." HGS supplies packaging for some of the nation's leading restaurant chains and will inform key customers about the availability, production and safety aspects encompassing the implementation of PCR resins.

Source: HAVI Global Solutions
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