Berry Global Partners to Use More Recycled Plastic
Berry Global Group is a Fortune 500 company based in Evansville. (photo provided)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowEvansville-based Berry Global Group Inc (NYSE: BERY) is partnering with Georgia-Pacific Recycling to create what the companies call a closed-loop system to recover, segregate and reprocess post-consumer resin. The southwest Indiana plastics firm is also reporting a solid financial outlook as it closed out 2019.
Berry and GP Recycling say together they want to create a sustainable stream of PCR to supplement and eventually displace virgin resin made from crude oil.
PCR, a technical term for recycled plastic, offers companies a more sustainable packaging option. Berry Global says the recycled plastic would be used for specific applications.
“As the demand for PCR continues to increase, it is critical we find ways to supplement the market of recycled content through multiple methods, be it mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, or other methods and processes,” said Tom Salmon, chairman and chief executive officer of Berry Global.
Georgia-Pacific Recycling, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific, says it will use its national network of recycled material suppliers and logistics providers to procure and transport the post-consumer plastic material to be recycled.
Berry will reprocess the plastic material to incorporate into its portfolio of polyethylene film and polypropylene products.
“We are excited to recover these PE films that we ourselves manufacture and give them a second life, providing not only a recycling solution for our customers but also a stream of recycled content for them,” Salmon said.
The companies say they plan to begin material collection in the first quarter of 2020 and start reprocessing in the second quarter.
As far as the financial picture, Berry Global is reporting fourth-quarter net income of $47 million, compared to $88 million during the same period a year go. For the year, Berry reported net income of $363 million, compared to $421 million the year prior.
Berry says net sales were up 43% to just over $2.8 billion, due in part to the $6.5 billion acquisition of RPC Group Plc in July 2019.
“Our financial profile remains strong and will continue to be enhanced as we deliver synergies and benefits from our RPC acquisition coupled with our organic growth improvement initiatives,” said Salmon. “The acquisition of RPC has transformed the company, creating a leading global manufacturer with an unmatched, diversified global product offering and delivery capability, creating significant value for our customers.”
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