Thank you to our panel of judges for taking the time to read through and score all submissions.

Tory Flynn, Chief Sustainability Officer & Communications; Hillenbrand

Karen Laird, Editor of Sustainable Plastics; Crain Communications

Ed Daniels, Director of Strategic Programs; REMADE Institute

“Quantum” Lightweighting Technology 

A two-step lightweighting technology that eliminates unnecessary material and weight in the finish of a PET bottle. By removing more than 50% of the material and weight from the finish, the Quantum™ technology reduces manufacturing costs and GHG emissions, resulting in energy savings and lower carbon emissions compared to bottles with a traditional finish. Quantum™ technology also allows for up to 100% recycled material use and provides a fully recyclable package. The Quantum finish accepts the same closure our customers use today. 

PowerPost™ lightweighting technology 

PowerPost™ technology is the most advanced lightweighting technology for hot-fill beverages on the market today. PET bottles created using PowerPost can be made with up to 100% recycled material and are fully recyclable. PowerPost technology reduces waste by delivering a bottle nearly one-third lighter, with 30% energy reduction and 30% carbon savings over most 20 oz (600 ml) bottles available today. 

PepsiCo 2.5 L PET returnable, reusable, and refillable bottle  

Amcor, in partnership with GEEP, PepsiCo’s exclusive bottler in Mexico, created a 100% recyclable and refillable 2.5 L polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle. Based on Amcor’s lab testing and when compared to one-way or single use bottles, this PET bottle can be refilled up to 25 times before being recycled.

Amcor’s life cycle assessment from cradle (raw material) to gate (production) of the PET returnable bottle against a common glass bottle demonstrates an overall carbon footprint reduction of 78%. 

Avient Corporation

Color Prediction Service (CPS) 

A digital tool to help assess the impact of colored, recycled resins (PCR) prior to laboratory trials. This is the first digital tool of its kind which helps recyclers, converters, and brand owners to have a reliable and fast color “design from recycling.” 

The tool can enable a higher usage of mid to strong-colored PCR grades in high-value applications and will shorten the development time of new products based on PCR.

Envision Plastics

EcoPrime® Fit for food contact HDPE and PP PCR 

EcoPrime® is a post-consumer recycled HDPE resin (HDPE PCR) and recycled PP resin (PP PCR) with a FDA LNO for direct food contact up to 100% content for conditions of use C-H, for HDPE PCR and A-H for PP PCR.

 EcoPrime® is made of postconsumer containers that started out as food packaging, and leveraging Envision Plastics’ patented, post-extrusion, and chemical-free devolatization process to decontaminate and clean the recycled resin, it is safe to be used again in direct food contact. 

Our fit for food contact material has replaced over 100 million pounds of virgin resin in single use plastics.

ExxonMobil

ExxtendTM technology for advanced recycling  

In December 2022, we started up a large-scale advanced recycling facility in Baytown, Texas with the capacity to process 80 million pounds of plastic waste per year. Working with our joint venture Cyclyx, municipalities, customers, and others, we are improving the collection and sortation of plastic waste. 

Based on a third-party certification that we have received from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC), we are able to take credit for plastic waste that we take in as feedstock and attribute that share to certified-circular polymers that we can sell to customers. This ISCC “PLUS” certification scheme relies on what is known as a mass balance approach.

Solvay

Amodel® Bios PPA 

A new partially bio-sourced long-chain PPA made from non-food competing biomass and produced using 100% renewable electricity, presenting the lowest GWP among PPAs, the highest Tg (135°) among bio-based PPA, lower moisture absorption than 6T PPA, high elongation and weldline strength, excellent surface finish and colorability and exceptional dimensional stability and chemical resistance. 

Congratulations to our 2022 Innovation In Bioplastics Award Winner!

Anellotech

Anellotech won the award for the development of the first 100% bioPET bottle made from loblolly pine and other biomass feedstocks, potentially lessening the industry’s reliance on petroleum and natural gas as feedstocks. 

Anellotech’s patented Bio-TCat™ technology converts non-food biomass into benzene, toluene and xylene (including paraxylene used in making PET), which are chemically identical to their petroleum-based counterparts and result in a product with 70% lower greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum-based PET.

Sustainable Innovation in Design

Awards an innovation in material, product, equipment, or process design that appeals to sustainability aspects such as recyclability, anti-liter, compostability, etc.

Sustainable Innovation in Material

Awards an innovative material that perpetuates the circular economy  - often by providing a new life for renewable or recycled feedstocks, or by creating circular processes at end-of-life (i.e., recycling, composting, reuse) for products.

Sustainable Innovation in End of Life

Awards an innovation that improves circularity of plastic's end of life options - typically in recycling or biodegradability.

Innovation in Bioplastics Award

Announced during our annual social media campaign, Bioplastics Week, this award recognizes one outstanding innovation in unique and creative applications of bioplastics materials, products, or processes by a company.

Re|focus Sustainability Innovation Awards

These awards provide a platform for sharing and celebrating some of the great work being done across the globe to push sustainability in manufacturing forward. These awards are designed to recognize outstanding innovations in plastics manufacturing that further environmental advantages in design, material, and end-of-life management.

Five awards are given each year: 

Leadership in Sustainability Innovation Award

Awards the "front-runner" in all areas of the judging criteria. This winner can be an applicant of any of the three categories.

Sustainable Innovation in Design Award

Awards an innovation in product, equipment, or process design that appeals to recyclability, anti-litter, compostability, and innovation in equipment allowing for new product design

 Sustainable Innovation in Materials Award

Awards an innovation in or use of bioplastics, recycled content, and additives for upcycling

Sustainable Innovation in End of Life Award

Awards an innovation in recycling or composting process or equipment

People's Choice Award

All nominations for the Innovation awards qualify to be a part of the People's Choice Award contest. All proposals will be shared on PLASTICS' social media channels and the nominee with the most votes wins

Judging Criteria

A panel of judges composed of authoritative sources in plastics manufacturing, materials, and sustainability who are qualified to determine what truly represents the state-of-the-art innovation will select one award winner for each of the categories. Both the Innovation in Bioplastics and the Sustainable Innovation Award nominations are judged by the same criteria: 

• Innovation: How novel is the idea being proposed? 
• Environmental impact: How significant is the environmental benefit? 
• Market impact: How scalable is this innovation? How significant would the market impact be if it were to reach commercialization?