SPARTANBURG, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As part of a multi-pronged strategy aimed to amplify plastic circularity, Milliken & Company joined the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, an industry collaboration established by The Recycling Partnership to improve polypropylene (PP) plastic recovery and recycling in the U.S. Milliken will tap into its material science expertise to help the organization increase the supply of high-quality recycled PP plastic in a variety of ways, including funding the coalition’s efforts to enhance the PP recycling infrastructure nationwide, establishing consumer education programs that encourage curbside recycling, and offering its product portfolio to packaging producers looking to use recycled PP plastic material.
According to The Recycling Partnership’s 2020 State of Curbside Recycling report, as much as 1.6 billion pounds of PP plastic may be available per year from single-family homes for potential recycling into new products. The Polypropylene Recycling Coalition aims to improve PP recycling in the U.S. by awarding grant dollars for sorting equipment and supporting consumer education programs and research. Through these efforts, the coalition will help make it easier for people to recycle PP plastic and ensure more recyclers can effectively sort the material in their facilities.
“Milliken’s partnership with the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition illustrates our goal of convening thought leaders within the plastics industry to help create meaningful solutions to address the plastics end-of-life challenge,” shares Halsey Cook, president and CEO for Milliken & Company.
Milliken’s Solutions for Recycled Polypropylene
“Our membership in the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition is one way we are improving the quality and performance of recycled polypropylene,” adds Allen Jacoby, senior vice president, plastics additives for Milliken’s Chemical Division. “It will add a new dimension to our goal to boost plastic circularity—which includes maintaining a robust portfolio of additives and modifiers.”
Milliken’s DeltaMax™ Performance Modifiers, UltraFit™ Solutions and Millad® NX™ 8000 clarifying agent promote the recyclability of PP plastic packaging. DeltaMax Performance Modifiers optimize the physical properties and processability of recycled PP plastic resins, particularly their impact resistance and melt flow. UltraFit Solutions allow converters to use recycled PP plastic resins to produce parts with consistent dimensional tolerances. Millad NX 8000 clarifier received Critical Guidance Recognition from the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) in 2019. This recognition for innovative materials validates that Millad NX 8000 clarifier is compatible with plastic packaging recycling and does not adversely affect the recyclability of PP parts.
Polypropylene plastic offers important sustainability advantages in food and non-food packaging applications, including high-performance mechanical properties that reduce the amount of material required in an application compared to other resins. Because it can be used in containers, closures and labels, PP plastic helps avoid multilayer constructions that are traditionally difficult to recycle. Milliken clarifiers, nucleating agents, performance modifiers and other additive solutions help ensure that PP plastic can be successfully recycled and made available for reuse in various applications—preserving its value and extending its useful life.
About Milliken
Materials science expert Milliken & Company knows that a single molecule has the potential to change the world. With innovative solutions across the textile, flooring, specialty chemical, and healthcare industries, Milliken answers some of the world’s greatest challenges. Named to the World’s Most Ethical Companies list by Ethisphere Institute for 14 years, the company meets the moment with an unwavering commitment to delivering sustainable solutions for its customers and communities. Eight thousand associates across 46 locations globally rally behind a common purpose: to positively impact the world for generations. Discover more about Milliken’s curious minds and inspired solutions at milliken.com and on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Milliken, DeltaMax, UltraFit and NX are trademarks of Milliken & Company.
Millad is a registered trademark of Milliken & Company.
About The Recycling Partnership
The Recycling Partnership is a national nonprofit organization that leverages corporate partner funding to transform recycling for good in states, cities, and communities nationwide. As the leading organization in the country that engages the full recycling supply chain from the corporations that manufacture products and packaging to local governments charged with recycling to industry end markets, haulers, material recovery facilities, and converters, The Recycling Partnership positively impacts recycling at every step in the process. Since 2014, the nonprofit change agent diverted 230 million pounds of new recyclables from landfills, saved 465 million gallons of water, avoided more than 250,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases, and drove significant reductions in targeted contamination rates. Learn more at recyclingpartnership.org.
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