Flexibles APR Design® Training & Tour
Monday, April 28: Evening Reception
Tuesday, April 29: Training & Tour
Houston, Texas
Register by Monday, April 14 or Before Space Fills Up
Non-Members: $1,150 USD
Members: $950 USD
Registering three or more people at at time?
Use the code Design10 to receive 10% off your total registration fee!
Flexible plastic packaging performs some amazing functions, but its properties also make it one of the most challenging formats to recycle. To understand why, delve into the films and flexibles recycling process with us—from collection to sorting to processing—through a combination of classroom learning and a private, guided tour of one of the largest and most advanced mechanical film recycling facilities in the world: Natura PCR.*
Learn the systems and processes, why restrictions exist, and what the future might look like. Led by APR COO Curt Cozart, who has filled critical roles in most of the US post-consumer PE recycling capacity over the past 35 years, this efficient one-day training session is designed to maximize your time and deepen your understanding while giving you opportunities to talk with other attendees.
If you design, use, manufacture, collect, or otherwise want to understand the challenges inherent in recycling flexible packaging, join us to tackle one of today’s biggest challenges in plastics recycling: how to design and recycle flexible packaging for today and tomorrow. Walk away with best practices and tips for designing packaging made with films and flexibles so that it can be recycled in existing and future programs. We welcome both technical and non-technical audiences, including:
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- Package design engineers
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- Sustainability managers
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- Product and marketing managers
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- Procurement managers
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- And more!
*Please note competitors of Natura PCR and/or their equipment vendors may not be eligible to attend the tour.
Book Your Room by Monday, April 14
Make your hotel reservation by Monday, April 14 to receive the discounted room rate of $129 per night at:
Houston Marriott Westchase
2900 Briarpark Dr.
Houston, Texas 77042
This hotel is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from all three of Houston’s major airports:
George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), and Ellington Airport (EFD).
The Houston Marriott Westchase offers complimentary on-site parking.
Agenda
Monday, April 28
7:00 PM—Welcome Reception at Hotel
Tuesday, April 29
7:30 AM—Breakfast
8:00 AM—Training begins:
- Review of what it means to be “recyclable”
- APR overview (including connection to How2Recycle label)
- Collection processes: store drop-off and curbside, including watchouts and recommendations for success as well as European collection for comparison
- What a reclaimer processing curbside collected material would look like
- Update on North American flexible recycling policy and economics
12:00 PM—Boxed Lunch
12:15 PM—Shuttle departs from hotel to Natura PCR
1:00 PM—Tour of recycling facility, with headsets for improved audio
3:30 PM—Shuttle back to hotel
4:15 PM—Closing discussion
5:00 PM—Program ends, can depart for airport
Who Leads the Training?
Curt Cozart is Chief Operating Officer at APR, as well as president and owner of Common Sense Solutions, Inc., a consulting company specializing in plastics recycling plant design, project management, and operations. He has worked in the plastics recycling industry since 1991 when, as a project manager for Mobil Chemical Company, he built the first North American film recycling plant dedicated to LLDPE stretch film. Since that time, he has participated in the construction and operation of much of the North American PET, HDPE and film recycling industry. Curt holds a BS in mechanical engineering from The United States Military Academy at West Point.
