Scott Saunders grew up in the Southeast and has spent most of his life in Alabama, building a career in the recycling industry that now spans more than three decades.
Born in Atlanta, he moved as a child to Troy, Alabama, then settled in Montgomery, where he has lived for more than two decades, roughly 45 miles north of the KW Plastics facility he now oversees. He studied business and finance at the University of Alabama and Troy University and by his own count has been with the company for 32 years.
His entry into recycling was practical rather than ideological. “The plastics business was new. It was exciting,” Saunders says, and it offered opportunities that simply didn’t exist in more established sectors. While still in college, Saunders worked for a sister company, driving forklifts and handling receiving duties after classes. He returned to Alabama in the mid-1980s and spent several years in metal recycling, including battery recycling, before moving into plastics in 1994, when post-consumer recycling was still in its infancy. What drew him in was opportunity: the plastics business was new, unsettled and expanding quickly, offering a chance to grow alongside an industry that was still defining itself.
Today, as general manager at KW Plastics, Saunders remains deeply involved in industry leadership. He serves on the boards of the Association of Plastic Recyclers and ReMA, and sits on the advisory board supporting Colorado’s EPR law implementation. At this year’s Plastics Recycling Conference, he’ll take the stage to discuss the growing role of post-consumer polypropylene and polyethylene in automobiles, particularly as electric vehicles open new design opportunities without the heat constraints of combustion engines.
After decades in the business, Saunders still sees recycling as a long game. Markets take time to develop, infrastructure has to come first and success, he says, depends as much on patience as it does on innovation.
What song or band always makes you crank up the volume in your car?
Luke Combs. He’s a country artist who’s really come on the scene in the last seven or eight years.
You’re given a magic wand that fixes one problem in the plastics recycling system overnight, what do you change?
I would change the perception of the industry from negative to positive. And I’d immediately create interest and programs in communities that don’t currently have curbside recycling. Most of the country still doesn’t have programs in place.
What’s your guilty-pleasure TV show?
“Landman,” it’s a Taylor Sheridan show, part of the “Yellowstone” universe. It’s about an oil executive dealing with all kinds of things out in West Texas. Billy Bob Thornton stars in it and it’s very good, very interesting.
What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
Right out of college, I worked for a large company that loaned money for inventory. I had to go check inventory, and if the merchant was out of balance, I’d have to wait and demand a check. Nobody wanted to see you coming. It was almost like working for the IRS. It was terrible.
When did you last do something for the very first time?
I used AI about two weeks ago for the first time. I was on the road, bored after dinner, uploading videos and making them do funny things. I thought it was great. My wife and kids didn’t think it was quite as funny as I did.
What’s a piece of business advice you think is overrated?
The focus on quarterly results. I think that really hurts businesses in the long run.
Which movie have you seen more times than any other?
“Big Jake,” an old John Wayne western.
What do you always have in your fridge?
Iced tea. Always iced tea. I’m not a coffee drinker.
What’s your most controversial food opinion?
I’m a pretty traditional, middle of the road kinda guy. I mean a steak should be medium rare and pizza should be Italian. And no, pineapple doesn’t belong on it.
What’s the most recent book you gave up on?
I honestly haven’t read a full book in a long time. Since social media, I mostly read shorter pieces.
