Hi-Cone Worldwide partners with Avangard Innovative to stem plastic waste

Hi-Cone Worldwide partners with Avangard Innovative to stem plastic waste

August 25, 2020
Press Release: Hi-Cone Worldwide

A new sustainability milestone has been reached in the multi-packaging industry with Hi-Cone Worldwide, a supplier of multi-packaging solutions for global beer, soft drink, and general product industries, and the launch of its RingRecycleMe program in partnership with Avangard Innovative, the worldwide leader in #4 LDPE plastic recycling

The two companies have joined forces to address the current plastic waste crisis through a circular approach that keeps ring carriers in a recycled production loop, and out of landfills and the environment.

Currently, in the USA and Canada, ring carriers can be recycled where #4 LDPE mixed plastics, including ring carriers, are collected. Where ring carriers are not collected today, Hi-Cone has created a free recycling program to ensure that consumers can recycle their ring carriers and give them a second life. Consumers can now send back their ring carriers through RingRecycleMe.com or by dropping them off at a participating retail location later this year.

“Our partnership with Avangard Innovative is important to Hi-Cone because we’re working together to transform our product portfolio and build a circular economy for plastic so that this material does not become waste,” remarked Shawn Welch, vice president of Hi-Cone Worldwide. “At the same time, with the launch of our RingRecycleMe initiative, we’re giving consumers the resources and confidence that their ring carriers will be recycled and reused over and over again to cut plastic production during this pandemic. We see this as a positive step in the right direction.”

Hi-Cone’s partnership with Avangard Innovative comes at a time when food delivery and the use of disposable plastics are on the rise and US consumers do not understand or trust recycling. According to Hi-Cone’s State of Plastic Recycling Annual Report 2020, only one in four Americans recycle all of their plastic waste. The report also highlights the desire to do more to ensure a more sustainable future.

“We are excited to be a part of the RingRecycleMe initiative in partnership with Hi-Cone, as we both share a commitment to keeping plastic and other recyclables out of landfills and the environment,” said Rick Perez, CEO of Avangard Innovative. “Our participation leverages proprietary technology to measure, manage, and monetize retailers’ sustainability programs, maximizing the volume of ring carriers and other LDPE plastics reclaimed, recycled, and transformed into post-consumer resin. By using the PCR pellets to manufacture new ring carriers, Hi-Cone and Avangard Innovative will effectively create a circular economy solution,” Perez added.

The Houston-based recycling specialist for #4 LDPE or low-density polyethylene used in bags, film, and lighter plastics, Avangard Innovative, will supply post-consumer recycled resin (PCR) pellets from its NaturaPCR recycling facilities to Hi-Cone for the production on its redesigned RingCycles packaging, which reduces the use of virgin plastic by half. Ring carriers originated as an innovative alternative to paperboard to prevent deforestation back in the 1960s. The company is currently working on a sustainable solution that is 100% recyclable, biodegradable, or compostable by 2025.

In addition to partnering with Avangard Innovative and investing in next-generation solutions, Hi-Cone partners with leading organizations around the world including the Ocean Conservancy and TerraCycle and is part of the Ellen McArthur Foundation New Plastic Economy Global Commitment to advance the circular economy and keep plastics in use as a valuable resource.

The rescheduled Plastic Free World Conference & Expo 2020 will now take place virtually – live and on-demand – on Monday 9 November and Tuesday 10 November. To register for this highly focused, solutions-driven event, please click here. For sponsorship and exhibition opportunities, please email peter@trans-globalevents.com