This innovation was driven by a need for packaging that helps brands meet consumer demand for more circular plastic products, while still offering the high-quality protection properties of polyethylene foam. ExxonMobil's investment in advanced recycling technology and Pregis' holistic approach to circular design fueled this integration of certified-circular resins into more circular packaging applications that do not compromise performance.
Ryan Wolcott, Chief Sustainability Officer at Pregis, explains, "Incorporating certified-circular resins into protective foam applications is a novel approach achieved through deep collaboration across the value chain. We view advanced recycling technologies and the use of certified-circular resins as one more set of tools that allow us to help tackle the plastic waste challenge. This achievement embodies Pregis’ commitment to plastics circularity.”
ExxonMobil’s advanced recycling facilities and processes are certified via an independent, third-party certification system called International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS. Using ISCC PLUS’s mass balance attribution methodology, the mass of plastic waste processed through ExxonMobil’s advanced recycling process, less manufacturing losses, is attributed to the mass of certified-circular plastic sold to Pregis. Pregis uses the certified-circular plastics it buys from ExxonMobil to produce foam in its Hopkinsville, Ky., and Visalia, Calif. Facilities, which are both also ISCC PLUS certified. By purchasing certified-circular polymers, Pregis helps drive the demand for using plastic waste as a valuable feedstock.
