Technological watch
Berry increases recycled plastics use
Recycled plastic use went up for Berry Global Group Inc. in 2022 and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) went down, according to a new report from the company.
The Evansville, Ind.-based plastics processor, with about 265 locations around the world, is out with its 2022 Impact Report indicating post-consumer plastics use increased by 28 percent year over year.
Berry reports on resin in a few different ways, taking into consideration where the used plastics originate and uses the term "circular resin" as a catch-all for the variously sourced recycled resins or bioplastics.
In total, the company said it saw total circular resin use increase to 9.1 percent of the total volume of resin consumed in 2022, up from 8.5 percent in 2021 and 8.3 percent in 2020. The number of pounds those percentages represent was not included in the report. "We do not wish to disclose the number of pounds publicly," Berry said in an email.
Of the circular resins used in 2022, 3.4 percent of the company's volume was purchased post-consumer resin. That's up from 2.6 percent 2021. Including all recycled plastics and bioplastics, circular resins purchased were 4.9 percent of the total, up from 3.9 percent in 2021, the company said.
"In 2022, we increased the amount of post-consumer recycled [PCR] and total circular resin purchased across our business by both volume and percentage of total purchased resin," Berry said in the email.
Turning to GHG, the company reports a reduction of 21 percent in Scope 1 and 2 emissions since 2019. Berry has a 25-percent reduction goal by 2025. Scope 1 emissions are those directly created by companies, and Scope 2 emissions are those from electricity, steam, heat and cooling purchased by firms.
"Our long-term vision to decouple plastics from fossil fuels in favor of recycled and renewable feedstocks, is a critical step toward decarbonizing the plastics industry. This is also critical for achieving a circular economy and ending plastic waste," said Robert Flores, vice president of sustainability for Berry, in the report.
"As highlighted throughout the report, we partnered with our customers to launch several products with circular plastics, allowing us to increase the quantity of circular plastics we purchased by over 23,000 metric tons year-over-year propelling us to a new record of 9.1 percent for total circular plastics used."
The Evansville, Ind.-based plastics processor, with about 265 locations around the world, is out with its 2022 Impact Report indicating post-consumer plastics use increased by 28 percent year over year.
Berry reports on resin in a few different ways, taking into consideration where the used plastics originate and uses the term "circular resin" as a catch-all for the variously sourced recycled resins or bioplastics.
In total, the company said it saw total circular resin use increase to 9.1 percent of the total volume of resin consumed in 2022, up from 8.5 percent in 2021 and 8.3 percent in 2020. The number of pounds those percentages represent was not included in the report. "We do not wish to disclose the number of pounds publicly," Berry said in an email.
Of the circular resins used in 2022, 3.4 percent of the company's volume was purchased post-consumer resin. That's up from 2.6 percent 2021. Including all recycled plastics and bioplastics, circular resins purchased were 4.9 percent of the total, up from 3.9 percent in 2021, the company said.
"In 2022, we increased the amount of post-consumer recycled [PCR] and total circular resin purchased across our business by both volume and percentage of total purchased resin," Berry said in the email.
Turning to GHG, the company reports a reduction of 21 percent in Scope 1 and 2 emissions since 2019. Berry has a 25-percent reduction goal by 2025. Scope 1 emissions are those directly created by companies, and Scope 2 emissions are those from electricity, steam, heat and cooling purchased by firms.
"Our long-term vision to decouple plastics from fossil fuels in favor of recycled and renewable feedstocks, is a critical step toward decarbonizing the plastics industry. This is also critical for achieving a circular economy and ending plastic waste," said Robert Flores, vice president of sustainability for Berry, in the report.
"As highlighted throughout the report, we partnered with our customers to launch several products with circular plastics, allowing us to increase the quantity of circular plastics we purchased by over 23,000 metric tons year-over-year propelling us to a new record of 9.1 percent for total circular plastics used."
This project has been co-funded with the support of the LIFE financial instrument of the European Union [LIFE17 ENV/ES/000438] Life programme
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