Plastic Can-Rings Make Bid to Enter Circular Economy Via RingRecycleMe Program

On Aug. 14, Hi-Cone, a global supplier of plastic can-rings, announced the launch of the RingRecycleMe program in partnership with recycling technology company Avangard Innovative. The two companies aim to create a “circular approach” to get can rings in a “recycled production loop and out of landfills and the environment.”

Avangard Innovative specializes in recycling #4 low-density polyethylene (LDPE) used in bags, film, and lighter plastics. It will supply post-consumer recycled resin (PCR) pellets from its NaturaPCR recycling facilities to Hi-Cone for the production of its redesigned RingCycles packaging, which reduces the use of virgin plastic by half.

The #4 LDPE can-rings can currently be recycled in the United States and Canada, where mixed plastics are collected, said Hi-Cone’s announcement. Hi-Cone rightly points out in its “2020 Annual Report – The State of Plastic Recycling” that U.S. consumers “do not understand or trust recycling.” The company recognizes that more needs to be done to support collection services and recycling infrastructure.

Where ring carriers are not collected today, Hi-Cone has created a free recycling program to ensure that consumers can recycle them and give them a second life. Consumers now can send back their ring carriers — instructions can be found on RingRecycleMe.com — or by dropping them off at participating retail locations later this year.

Shawn Welch, Vice President of Hi-Cone Worldwide, commented: “Our partnership with Avangard Innovative is important to Hi-Cone because we’re working together to collect and use ring carriers to make new ones over and over again, furthering our commitment to reducing the use of virgin plastic and transitioning all ring carriers into 50% or more post-consumer recycled product.”

Rick Perez, CEO of Avangard Innovative, said, “We are excited to be a part of the RingRecycleMe initiative in partnership with Hi-Cone, as we both share a commitment to keeping plastic and other recyclables out of landfills and the environment. Our participation leverages proprietary technology to measure, manage, and monetize retailers’ sustainability programs, maximizing the volume of ring carriers and other LDPE plastics reclaimed, recycled, and transformed into post-consumer resin. By using the PCR pellets to manufacture new ring carriers, Hi-Cone and Avangard Innovative will effectively create a circular economy solution.”