Champions for Change Program

Cooperative Testing—Generating Results!

Inviting consumer product companies, technology companies, suppliers, converters and others to test new bottle compositions directly with commercial plastics recyclers.

These cooperative initiatives:

  • Help ensure that new materials and designs are compatible with the existing plastics recycling infrastructure;
  • Help promote technology transfer so that the recovery of plastic materials keeps pace with new packaging designs; and
  • Help sustain the economics of an industry supplying valuable post-consumer recovered material to markets worldwide

How to Become a "Champion"

Provide on company letterhead, a letter of intent stating that your company wishes to participate in cooperative testing with the recycling members of APR.

OR

If you have engaged in cooperative testing with APR members independently— please inform APR with whom you are working. This ensures that APR’s Technical Committee can make recommendations on the necessary processes.

If you are interested in working with APR, a list of volunteer companies and contacts will be provided, if your company isn’t working with an APR member already.

Stipulations

  • Your company may choose what recyclers it engages in testing.
  • Your company may restrict the dissemination of proprietary information.
  • These programs welcome joint-confidentiality agreements.

However

APR companies MUST be allowed to make GENERALIZED COMMENTS to the
APR membership concerning challenges that new packages may create for the
existing plastics recycling infrastructure.

Before You Get Started

For those testing PET bottle compositions, be sure to request the following document:

Design for Recyclability for PET— Criteria to Consider When Evaluating the
Recyclability of a PET Variant in the PET Bottle Stream — A guide to the questions that should be investigated when introducing a new PET package to the marketplace to help ensure that its recovery is less challenging at each level of the plastics recycling infrastructure.


Additional Program Elements Include:

  • Agreement between the APR member and Champion to assigned action items, completion of items and requisite payment of associated expenses.
  • Agreement on the processing steps to be included and the critical properties/processing parameters to be evaluated.
  • Agreement as to what results will be shared with the APR membership prior to the evaluation.
  • The Champion agrees to provide sufficient representative material for all agreed to testing.

The APR member will process the test material to at least a flake or pellet form, evaluate its impact on processing systems and determine final product composition and performance.

Regular Reporting

APR members request that periodic presentations be made covering activities and results at APR Technical Committee meetings held three times each year. Presentation times can be arranged with the APR Technical Committee Chairman.

Endorsement

  • The Champions for Change program in no way constitutes a certification or endorsement of any packaging application.
  • APR will NOT certify the recyclability of any bottle.
  • APR will NOT mandate the handling of new bottles to its members.

APR Recognizes Significant Contributions

APR WILL recognize companies that accept the invitation with awards designed to praise participation in the program.

The Partners For Change Award will be presented at APR meetings.

Should a Champion produce or convert a bottle or package to maximize its recycling potential, based on data from cooperative testing programs, the package and company could receive APR’s Design For Recyclability Award.

Public relations covering these events will be conducted with the packaging, plastics and environmental press.

APR will, if the Champion requests, consider the Champion’s data for the issuance of a Confirmation Letter. The Confirmation Letter contains the following opinion on the compatibility of the Champion’s innovation on the plastic bottle recycling stream: “we conclude that at the levels of presence and with results described in your submission, your material would not have a significant negative impact in today’s recycle stream”.