SPE Recycling Techinca Interest Group

RACE - The Recycling and Circular Economy Conference Americas
2021-10-07 - 2021-10-08

RACE - The Recycling and Circular Economy Conference Asia
2021-07-15 - 2021-07-16

Plastic Bag Recycling: The Obaggo Journey
2021-04-13 11:00 - 12:00 UTC
Dave New, founder of Obaggo Recycling, will tell the story of his journey to bring a novel plastic bag recycling solution to the mass market. He will discuss the genesis of the idea, the trials and tribulations of prototype development, and the epic search for project support and funding. A fundamentally entrepreneurial story, Dave will talk about the world of start-up accelerators, b-plan competitions, and how he navigated a vast landscape of stakeholders, cheerleaders, and naysayers.
Dave has an MBA in Operations Management from Cornell University, and a BS in Computer Science from the University of Vermont. He has 35 years of experience in logistics systems design and implementation, and supply chain consulting, to companies like Mastercraft Boats, Thermofisher Scientific, Zippo, and dozens more. A life-long environmentalist and recycler, Dave was frustrated by his own forgetfulness and inability to properly recycle his plastic bags at the retail store bins. The idea of two separate supply chains for recycling, an inconvenient one for plastic bags, and a convenient (curbside) one for everything else, just didn’t seem optimal. Obaggo was born. When not transforming polyethylene bags into pucks, he’s often outdoors, climbing a mountain or hiking a trail.

SPE Plastics Processing Conference: The Virtual Edition
2021-04-06 09:00 - 12:00 UTC
The SPE Lehigh Valley Section is organizing technical sessions for the inaugural SPE Plastics Processing and Compounding Conference 2021. Conor Carlin, SPE VP Sustainability, will deliver a keynote address about the nexus of plastics and sustainability.
Though many in the plastics industry are familiar with the overwhelming benefits that polymeric materials provide, the public has become highly skeptical. And rightly so – when you see clogged rivers and dead fish, what are people supposed to think? Let’s rethink plastics among ourselves for a moment, at least in terms of how the public views it. By acknowledging the paradoxical nature of plastics’ efficiency, we can perhaps take a more holistic approach to design that utilizes the full value of a material’s properties while considering end-of-life implications. The nuances and complexities of modern plastics ensure that there are no easy answers. And though we have to make difficult choices, we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Join us for 2 days of excellent programming. You can view the entire technical program here.

WEBINAR: Less is More: How to Maximize Energy Savings in Plastics Processing - Part 2
2021-03-31 11:00 - 12:00 UTC
Pam Birkel is a Program Manager and Senior Strategic Energy Management Coach at Cascade Energy. Pam provides SEM coaching for multiple utility demand-side management programs. She has led dozens of commercial and industrial SEM projects, and in so doing, has worked with hundreds of end users. Pam is an excellent communicator and problem solver, with a keen understanding of how to incorporate energy-saving changes that will contribute to a company’s success.

WEBINAR: Less is More: How to Maximize Energy Savings in Plastics Processing - Part 1
2021-03-04 11:00 - 12:00 UTC
Josh Bachman is the Director of Customer Engagement at Cascade Energy, where he is responsible for business development and sales with Cascade’s demand side management and corporate customers. An engineer by training, Josh has over 20 years of experience in the energy efficiency industry, including leading Cascade’s engineering team and designing and launching Bonneville Power Administration’s award-winning Energy Smart Industrial program.

RACE - The Recycling and Circular Economy Conference Europe
2021-01-20

WEBINAR: Life Cycle Assessments: Why and How?
2020-11-18 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York)
Chris Koffler is the Technical Director for the Americas of Sphera’s Sustainability Consulting practice. In this role he is responsible for the quality of all sustainability consulting projects, methodological development, project oversight, and is the primary lead in key selected areas, such as the automotive sector.
Chris received his Doctorate in Engineering from the Darmstadt University of Technology in 2007. His PhD work was on Automotive Product Life Cycle Assessment. He has published numerous papers in the field of Life Cycle Assessment and frequently provides his expertise in peer and critical reviews.
Chris is the current Chair of the Joint SETAC/ACLCA LCA Interest Group Steering Committee and a member of the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment (ACLCA) Board of Directors. He has represented the U.S. in the development of various LCA-related ISO standards in the past and has taught Product Life Cycle Assessment at Yale’s School of the Environment and the Harvard Extension School.

WEBINAR: This is Not the Wild West: Sustainability Definitions, Standards, and Regulations
2020-10-13 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York)
With continued interest in and development of sustainable plastics, it is clear that not everyone is working with the same lexicon. Terms such as ‘degradable’, ‘bio-degradable’, ‘recyclable’, and ‘compostable’ are subject to misunderstandings, misinterpretations, or outright fraudulent claims. This webinar will address how ASTM standards are being used to create a common understanding based on science and testing. We will also address the commonalities and differences among standards, certifications, and regulations. This webinar is part of SPE’s ongoing “Sustainability & Plastics” series.
About the Speaker
Kelvin Okamoto is President of his own consulting firm, Green Bottom Line, that focuses on sustainable materials and packaging. Kelvin has over 30 years of experience in the plastics and packaging industries working on materials, equipment, process and packaging development and commercialization. Kelvin is also founder and CEO of Gen3Bio, a startup company focused on producing biobased chemicals and subsequent bioplastics from microalgae. Previously, Kelvin was Chief Technical Officer for bioplastics manufacturer Cereplast where his primary responsibilities included material formulation, technology strategy and evaluation, intellectual property coordination, quality control and regulatory certifications. Prior to that he managed materials and process development for Solo Cup (since acquired by Dart Container). He also worked for TaylorMade Golf, Trexel, Packaging Corporation of America (now Pactiv), Himont (now LyondellBasell) and GE Plastics (now SABIC).
Kelvin holds a Ph.D. Chemistry from Cornell University and a B.S. Chemistry from Stanford University. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, is an Honored Service Member of the Society of Plastics Engineers’ (SPE) and is the chair of the ASTM D20.96 subcommittee that deals with biodegradation and biobased standards for plastics. Kelvin is also on the USDA Biopreferred Program Technical Advisory Council and is a reviewer for DOE SBIR applications. Kelvin is a registered patent agent, holding 17 patents and nine additional patent applications. He is also a published author, having written a book on microcellular foam processing.
