Abstract
Plastic packaging is ubiquitous in our modern society, serving as the primary material for delivering products to the consumer. While these materials offer numerous advantages such as durability, cost-effectiveness, safety, and versatility, their end-of-life situation leaves much to desire.
We will explore hurdles and approaches to increase the recyclability of plastic packaging, how APR approaches design for packaging, and how that design may apply to recycling processes under development and new materials.
Bio
Scott Trenor, Ph.D.
Technical Director
Association of Plastic Recyclers
Dr. Scott Trenor is the Technical Director at The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR). He leads efforts on APR programs in design for recycling, recyclability testing protocols, and global harmonization of packaging design protocols.
Prior to joining APR, he was a Principal Scientist & Global Sustainability Lead at Milliken & Company’s Plastics Additives and a Senior Scientist at Kraton Polymers. With over 20 years of experience in the polymer industry, his functional experience ranges from the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel polymers and additives to technology scouting, acquisition, and licensing. His focus has always been on driving R&D efforts in sustainability-enabling technologies.
Scott earned his Ph.D. in Macromolecular Science and Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2004 and a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from UF in 1998.