Conference Schedule
Paper and Plastics Recycling Conference 2023
Exhibit Hall Hours
Wednesday, October 19, 2022 - 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday, October 20, 2022 - 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Times, sessions and speakers are subject to change.
Session Topics
10:30 AM – 07:00 PM
Registration Open
Event Function
Grand Horizon Foyer
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Sustainable Packaging Workshop (additional fee required)
General Session
Grand Horizon C (Level 4)
In this session, recent trends in packaging are reviewed and factors that affect the sustainability of paper packaging are discussed. The workshop covers new package types that, while promoted as “more circular,” are questionable in terms of sustainability. The rapid growth of e-commerce and the implications for shipping packaging will be addressed, as well as changes in curbside recycling in recent years and the implications of adding new types of packaging. Different types of paper packages will be analyzed in terms of how they fare when sorted at the MRF (materials recovery facility). Finally, the impact on the recyclability of nonpaper elements, such as inks, labels, wraps and more, on packages are discussed.
01:00 PM – 02:00 PM
Hiring, Training & Retention
General Session
Grand Horizon C (Level 4)
Sponsored By
Despite high unemployment figures early in the pandemic, hiring and retaining employees has become much more difficult since then. In this session, you’ll hear how professionals in the waste and recycling sector have confronted these challenges. Learn about what’s worked for them and what has not as they have attempted to attract and retain employees to help provide essential services.
01:00 PM – 02:00 PM
Chemical Recycling
General Session
Glessner House ABC (Level 3)
Chemical recycling has the potential to complement mechanical recycling, but questions remain about the technology's environmental impacts. In this session, we discuss the role transparency will play in gaining acceptance for chemical recycling by discussing LCAs, mass balance and other certifications, policy strategies, outputs, recycling calculations and concerns about competition with mechanical recycling.
02:00 PM – 02:15 PM
Networking Refreshment Break
Event Function
Grand Horizon Foyer
Sponsored By
02:15 PM – 03:45 PM
Commodity Focus: PET
General Session
Glessner House ABC (Level 3)
Voluntary brand commitments and recycled-content mandates have increased demand and pricing for recovered PET, though the collection rate remains low. Panelists in this session discuss PET market dynamics and whether legislation can help to improve recovery of this material.
02:15 PM – 03:45 PM
Commodity Focus: High Grades
General Session
Grand Horizon C (Level 4)
Generation of printer’s grades and office paper has been slowing for several years and reached a new low during the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in supply and demand shifts and the repurposing of paper machines. This session looks at how the industry has adjusted operations and addressed fluctuations in supply and demand.
Speaker
Ron Gable
Senior Vice President Performance & Operations
PROSHRED Security, Redishred Capital Corp.
View Bio
03:45 PM – 04:00 PM
Networking Refreshment Break
Event Function
Grand Horizon Foyer
Sponsored By
04:00 PM – 05:30 PM
Opening Keynote: Economic Insights
Keynote Session
Grand Horizon AB
Sponsored By
Tom Joyce, managing director of MUFG’s Capital Markets Strategy group, heads a team that creates customized analytical content for multinational S&P 500 companies. His team provides in-depth analysis on the impact of economic, political, public policy and regulatory dynamics on the U.S., credit and foreign exchange rates and commodities markets. Over the last 15 years, he created and built the Capital Markets Strategy role, advising corporate C-Suite executives on the pervasive macro forces driving markets. He shares some of those insights with PPRC attendees in this keynote session.
05:30 PM – 07:00 PM
Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall
Event Function
Grand Horizon Ballroom DEFG
Sponsored By
05:30 PM – 07:00 PM
Exhibit Hall Open
Exhibit Hall Hours
Grand Horizon Ballroom DEFG
07:30 AM – 07:00 PM
Registration Open
Event Function
Grand Horizon Foyer
07:30 AM – 08:30 AM
Networking Continental Breakfast
Event Function
Grand Horizon Foyer
Sponsored By
08:30 AM – 10:00 AM
EPR & Sustainable Packaging Part 1
General Session
Grand Horizon AB
Sponsored By
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) has been gaining traction in the United States, with states as large as California and as small as Maine recently passing legislation that requires producers of packaging to foot the bill at end of life. However, not all EPR legislation is equal. Following a primer on EPR, you’ll hear a conversation about the pros and cons of this approach. Takeaways from this session will include: a better understanding of the different approaches to EPR and how the laws that have passed in the U.S. vary; a better understanding of ecomodulation and its role in EPR; different approaches to PROs; what concerns opponents of EPR; and what proponents of EPR support.
10:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Networking Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall
Event Function
Grand Horizon Ballroom DEFG
Sponsored By
10:00 AM – 07:00 PM
Exhibit Hall Open
Exhibit Hall Hours
Grand Horizon Ballroom DEFG
10:10 AM – 10:25 AM
Fast & Furious: A Look at The Future of Recovered Paper and Plastic Pricing Indexes
General Session
Grand Horizon Ballroom DEFG
Sponsored By
The Davis Index is a global leader in the aggregation and reporting of recovered commodity pricing data. Sean Davidson, CEO, will
share the thoughts behind the company’s new recovered paper and plastic indexes and what the future holds for these services.
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
PSI Session: OCC/Mixed Paper
General Session
Grand Horizon AB
Old corrugated containers (OCC) demand continues to rise after record consumption in 2021 and notable containerboard projects in the works, resulting in historic pricing. This session looks at the dynamics shaping markets for two broadly generated recovered fiber grades.
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Commodity Focus: Polyolefins
General Session
Grand Horizon C
Sponsored By
Prices for recovered HDPE and PP reached new highs last year, fueled in part by problems with virgin production and brand-owner demand. Panelists share their thoughts on where markets for these plastics, as well as for LDPE and LLDPE, are headed and the factors that are influencing them.
12:00 PM – 01:30 PM
Networking Lunch in the Exhibit Hall
Event Function
Grand Horizon Ballroom DEFG
Sponsored By
12:30 PM – 12:45 PM
Fast & Furious: Chemical Recycling Technology
General Session
Grand Horizon Ballroom DEFG
Sponsored By
Last year, Honeywell introduced its UpCycle Process Technology, which uses molecular conversion, pyrolysis and contaminants management technology to convert end-of-life mixed plastics into feedstock for the production of plastics. Hear more about this technology and the company’s partnerships in the U.S. and Europe in this session.
01:30 PM – 02:45 PM
Moving Materials Revisited
General Session
Grand Horizon C
Sponsored By
Trucking and container shipping began presenting challenges during the pandemic that were exacerbated last year and continued into 2022. We follow up our conversation from 2021’s event on this topic, looking at what has changed and what remains the same in the areas of trucking and ocean shipping. Speakers will offer advice for how to manage these transportation-related headaches and insights into when the situation might change.
Speaker
Gregory Edwards
Director of Sales - Strategic Export Accounts
Virginia International Terminals, LLC
View Bio
01:30 PM – 02:30 PM
EPR & Sustainable Packaging Part 2
General Session
Grand Horizon AB
This session explores mandated and voluntary efforts on the part of brands to include more recycled content in their packaging. We’ll look at the role certifications can play in providing transparency to brands’ efforts to achieve recycled content and at how EPR is contributing to growing demand for recycled-content and sustainable packaging.
Speaker
Cherish Changala-Miller
Vice President of Sustainability & Public Affiars
Revolution
View Bio
02:30 PM – 03:00 PM
Networking Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall
Event Function
Grand Horizon Ballroom DEFG
Sponsored By
02:40 PM – 02:55 PM
Fast & Furious: Exploring the Recyclability of Rigid Paper Containers
General Session
Grand Horizon Ballroom DEFG
Sponsored By
Sonoco recently has expanded its postconsumer recovery and recycling opportunities for paper cups at its Hartsville, South Carolina,
paper mill complex to be used to produce paperboard. Michael Pratt, senior sustainability specialist at Sonoco for the United States
and Canada, has been on the forefront of advancing the recyclability of polycoated fiber-based containers at Sonoco facilities and
shares how his team aims to expand paper cup recycling to all Sonoco mills that utilize residential mixed paper.
03:00 PM – 04:00 PM
MRF Technology
General Session
Grand Horizon AB
Sponsored By
Whether it's an expansion project, a new build, or a retrofit, the technology implemented in a MRF requires a strategic plan for successful integration. Our panelists will discuss their approach to new technology and the strategy behind it.
03:00 PM – 04:00 PM
International Trade
General Session
Grand Horizon C
Sponsored By
International trade in recyclables has been complicated by market challenges as well as regulatory requirements that have changed the demand at consuming destinations, as well as transportation related issues that sometime inhibit the movement to those destinations. This session looks at how North American suppliers of recovered paper and plastics have responded to these challenges and changes and what other changes could be on the horizon.
04:00 PM – 04:30 PM
Networking Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall
Event Function
Grand Horizon Ballroom DEFG
Sponsored By
04:30 PM – 05:30 PM
Plastics Consumers Session
General Session
Grand Horizon C
Plastics are used extensively in commercial and consumer packaging, pipe and sundry other products. In this session, speakers share their approaches to using PCR to replace virgin plastics in the production of their products, supply challenges they have encountered and how they work proactively with suppliers to ensure PCR of sufficient quality and quantity.
04:30 PM – 05:30 PM
Mill Buyers Panel
General Session
Grand Horizon AB
Sponsored By
Bill Moore of Moore & Associates facilitates the discussion in our ever-popular Paper Mill Buyers session, which features the perspectives of mill buyers from the U.S. and beyond. Panelists share their approaches to sourcing recovered fiber, quality concerns, the effects trends are having on demand for their finished products and how they shape recovered paper demand.
05:30 PM – 07:00 PM
Networking Reception in the Exhibit Hall
Event Function
Grand Horizon Ballroom DEFG
Sponsored By
