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Market Development Committee

  • APR Committee Work

    • The Market Development Committee (MDC) developed out of the former Olefin Rigids Committee and works to:

    1. Promote understanding of post-consumer resin (PCR) market differences in terms of MRF sortation, resin, processing technology, or material form throughout the value chain from collection to recycled resin markets
    2. Support post-consumer recycled resin end markets and help level the playing field with respect to low-cost virgin and off-spec resins through:
      • Voluntary PCR usage through the APR Demand Champions program
      • Education around PCR usage and potential content applications
      • Monitoring and support of mandatory PCR content requirements
      • Development of model PCR rates for packaging (including secondary and tertiary) and durable goods

    The Market Development Committee manages the APR Recycling Demand Champions program, a voluntary program designed to help increase and stabilize end market demand for recycled resins.

    The MRF Sub-committee and the Chemical Recycling Research Working Group sit under the Market Development Committee umbrella. These are long-standing groups and their activities are reported out in the MDC, as are updates to the APR PCR Certification program, which supports the use and verification of PCR and provides chain-of-custody transparency.

    Long-Term Working Groups

    MRF Sub-Committee

    The MRF Sub-committee represents an integral component of the plastics recycling marketplace. A core objective of this sub-committee is to ensure the MRF perspective is well-represented at APR, and to foster strong communication between MRFs and others in the plastics recycling industry. It also explores the relationships between packaging design, MRF sortation, and recycled plastics commodity market requirements through education and defined projects as identified. Sortation protocols and model bale specifications are reviewed in the MRF Sub-committee. Members include MRF, reclaimer, sortation, converter, and brand companies.

    Chemical Recycling Research Working Group

    The Chemical Recycling Research Working Group is focused on identifying how chemical recycling technologies potentially complement mechanical recycling to accelerate the circular economy, consistent with APR’s position. Specifically, the working group looks to educate recycling industry stakeholders in areas specific to APR’s mission and member expertise as pertains to chemical recycling. This potentially includes data and analyses around identified post-consumer material volumes, collection, aggregation, transport, material specifications, recycled markets, and package design. Recent projects include a report that models pyrolysis’ potential role in flexible film recycling. Chemical Recycling Research Working Group members include reclaimers, MRFs, converters, chemical recyclers, chemical companies, and APR Board member representatives.

    Short-Term Working Groups

    Join APR members across the value chain working to support PCR markets. While Market Development Committee members are chosen via election, working groups carrying out specific projects are typically open to volunteers from the APR membership. If you’re dedicated to PCR market development, consider contributing to working group projects such as:

    • Updating the framework of the APR Demand Champions program to better reflect the current marketplace
    • Reviewing potential product categories and PCR content rates to help inform APR staff discussions with state and federal regulators
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