Earth Day Every Day. Celebrating 51 years!

With so many things changing around the world due to COVID-19, it is important now more than ever to take care of our planet.

Today, April 22, the world will join together in celebration of Earth Day. This globally recognized event will feature three days of climate action that anyone can participate in. On April 20, Earth Uprising hosted a global youth climate summit which consisted of panels, speeches and discussions with youth climate activists including Greta Thunberg.  

 On April 21, Education International lead the “Teach for the Planet: Global Education Summit.” The multilingual virtual summit spanned several time zones and featured prominent activists from every continent, focused on the crucial role that educators play in combating climate change and why we need transformative climate education now. 

 And finally, today on April 22, EARTHDAY.ORG hosted its second Earth Day Live digital event beginning at 12 PM Eastern Time. Workshops, panel discussions and special performances focused on Restore Our Earth™ covering natural processes, emerging green technologies, and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems. More topics will include:  climate and environmental literacy, climate restoration technologies, reforestation efforts, regenerative agriculture, equity and environmental justice, citizen science, cleanups and more. World climate leaders, grassroots activists, nonprofit innovators, thought leaders, industry leaders, artists, musicians, influencers and the leaders of tomorrow will come to push us towards a better world.

To explore any of these and more Earth Day events, visit www.earthday.org.

Earth Day at MRP Solutions

The premise of Earth Day is in full effect every day at MRP.  We know that plastic packaging offers many benefits, particularly in situations like the current COVID-19 pandemic. However, we also know that it’s important for manufacturers like us to protect the Earth during the production process and be mindful of what happens to plastic packaging once it has been used.

The MRP team is a great advocate for the Earth. At each manufacturing facility, there is a dedicated sustainability team that focuses on ways to enhance an already sustainable production process. From utilizing hydroelectric power, and energy efficient lighting to renewable energy chillers and efficient air compressors, MRP facilities are operating safely and efficiently. Additionally, materials are reused and recycled throughout the production process, with goals to continually reduce waste.

To enhance our sustainability efforts, MRP Solutions is a member of the Association of Plastic Recyclers. Through this organization, we are working to support collection of recyclable materials, including our closures, for reuse. Click the video below to see the journey of a cap from the store shelf to a newly created recycled product.

Recycling Journey of a Plastic Cap from APR on Vimeo.

MRP Solutions is also proud to have signed the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, joining a worldwide collaboration of businesses and governments committed to rethinking the way we design, use and reuse plastics to create a circular economy for plastic. Since 2016, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative has rallied businesses and governments behind a positive vision of a circular economy for plastics. At the heart of the New Plastic Economy initiative is a vision of a circular economy for plastic, in which it never becomes waste or pollution. 

Did you know you should leave the cap on?

At MRP, all of the closures that we produce are recyclable. However, it takes more than tossing closures into the recycling bin to effectively ensure that these closures make it through the recycling process to become Post Consumer Recycled Resin, (PCR). As more and more customers become interested in offering not just recyclable products to consumers but also products made from recycled content, it’s more important than ever to ensure the availability of PCR. We can all help contribute to this by simply recycling – properly.

One recycling myth is that you need to remove caps from bottles prior to placing them in a recycling bin. However, this is not true. While some people think removing the caps helps with sorting at the recycling facility, the opposite is in fact true. If you feel like you’ve heard a different story, you’re probably right. The advice around this issue has changed in recent years. According to the Association of Plastic Recyclers, the reason consumers were previously asked to take the cap off is because the cap is made from a different kind of plastic than the bottle, meaning that the bottle and its cap could not be recycled together.

Now though, advances in technology mean that bottles are ground into flakes before being vigorously washed in the recycling process. The washed cap material is then separated from the bottle material during a water bath float/sink process. The caps will sink, and the flakes will float. Both materials are then recycled into new items. Industry groups now strongly encourage consumers to leave that cap on.  The Association of Plastic Recyclers created a video illustrating the recycling process to show how keeping caps on helps to ensure proper sortation. Click HERE to watch, and be sure to keep your cap on the next time you toss that bottle into the recycle bin.