The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) has tripled its number of Recycling Demand Champions (RDC) and is looking for its next class of companies to make sustainability commitments.
APR, in cooperation with The Recycling Partnership, announced June 10 that 10 new members have been added to the RDC program, bringing the total number to 15.
The RDC program, launched in November 2025, recognizes companies that make use of post-recycled content (PRC). Nominees are evaluated on eight criteria surrounding PRC use and similar factors such as the use of third-party authentication.
“Consistently using plastic recycled in North America supports our cities’ and towns’ recycling programs while reducing plastic waste,” the organization said in a statement.
APR owns Resource Recycling Inc., publisher of Plastics Recycling Update.
The inaugural class of companies from last fall included Amcor, Charter Next Generation, Kraft Heinz, Novolex and Triton Group. They are joined this month by:
- Churchill Container
- Growscape
- Hi-Cone
- Inteplast Group
- ISOFlex Packaging
- PakTech
- Plastic Ingenuity
- Pregis
- Revolution
- Reynolds Consumer Products
APR leadership said participation matters because of the current state of PET plastic recycling. The organization said virgin PET plastic production is at an all-time high despite prices being lower this year than in 2019. That’s led to less recycled PET use, which APR said has contributed to the closure of seven PET recycling plants nationwide in the past 15 months. As a result, the United States has lost about 25% of its capacity to recycle PET.
Participants recognize the importance of their commitment and urge others to take part.
“Kraft Heinz is proud to be recognized for our commitment to North American post-consumer recycled content use, including moving our U.S. Kraft Mayo portfolio to rPET in 2024,” said Chris Max, the company’s associate director for packaging innovation. “As we continue to support the circularity of our packaging, and reduce virgin plastic use, we remain committed to using North American PCR.”
APR is accepting applications for its next class of RDC honorees, both in the makers and buyers categories. Visit the RDC website for details.
