In
connection with an industry-sponsored recycling pilot program, local waste company J. P. Mascaro & Sons announced that as part of its
contracted curbside recycling program, the Borough of Pottstown will be the
first community in the United States to handle and process flexible plastic
packaging ("FPP") as a recyclable, instead of landfilling that
material.
After
a nationwide solicitation by Materials Recovery for the Future
("MRFF"), an industry-sponsored research collaborative, Mascaro and its
TotalRecycle automated single stream recycling facility in Exeter Township,
Berks County, were chosen to head an innovative "Pilot Program" to
demonstrate the viability of processing FPP at automated material recovery facilities
and marketing the recycled product known as rFlex to end users.
Historically,
FPP (i.e., plastic bags, wraps, pouches, product packaging, etc.), which
represents a growing portion of the residential household waste stream, has not
been successfully recycled and had to be landfilled.
Seeking
to process and market FPP as a "recyclable" for the first time, the
MRFF industry and association members, including companies such as The Procter & Gamble Company, Target, The Dow Chemical Company, PepsiCo, Nestlé USA, Nestlé Purina PetCare, Amcor, The Walmart Foundation, KraftHeinz, and the American Chemistry Council, and many others, awarded a $2.6
million grant to Mascaro to install sophisticated optical sorting equipment at
its TotalRecycle facility to make the recycling of FPP possible.
Speaking
about the Pilot Program, Joseph P. Mascaro, Sr., the company Director of
Sustainability, said, "Our company is thrilled to have been chosen by the
MRFF for this Pilot Program; we have purchased and installed all the new
automated optical sorting equipment needed to recycle FPP; and we are excited
to add FPP to the Borough of Pottstown's existing curbside recycling
program."
Mascaro
added, "We chose the Borough to kick off this recycling pilot program
because of its proximity to our TotalRecycle facility and because it meets
important project requirements such as curbside recyclables being collected in
wheeled carts."
Collection
of FPP as a recyclable will begin in Pottstown this fall after Mascaro notifies
all Borough households of the types of FPP that will now be collected as
recyclables. There will also be an
informational display at Pottstown Borough Hall regarding this new program. Residents are eligible to start recycling these materials as soon as they receive the mailed notice.
It
is expected that the FPP Pilot Program will generate important data to show
interested municipalities that FPP recycling is possible and economical, and
that there is a market for the rFlex end product.
Company
President, Pat Mascaro, said, "An obvious benefit of this FPP Pilot
Program is the enhancement of our ongoing waste recycling and reuse efforts,
and it will further improve the sustainability of the integrated customer waste
service system that we have developed over the years and that is now in place
at J. P. Mascaro & Sons."
For
more information about J. P. Mascaro & Sons, its infrastructure, facilities
and comprehensive waste services, please visit the company website at www.jpmascaro.com.
Pottstown Mercury
Reading Eagle
KYW 1060