Interview with Chandler Slavin of Dordan Manufacturing: Speaker at Sustainability in Packaging 2011

26 January 2011

Leading up to Sustainability in Packaging 2011, Chandler Slavin, Sustainability Coordinator, Dordan Manufacturing Co. Inc., gave us her thoughts on recycling challenges and trends, as well as what she's most looking forward to at the conference!

Chandler will be presenting at 3:40 p.m. in the End of Life/Waste Management session on Wednesday, February 23rd! Don't miss her!

What are the challenges that recycling thermoformed packaging faces in the US?

The likelihood that a package/material type i.e. PET clamshell will be recycled depends, in large part, on if the cost of post consumer collection, sortation, reprocessing and remanufacturing is competitive with the cost of virgin material/product production. Issues such as adequate supply (are there enough PET clamshells generated in the waste stream to economically justify the collection and recycling thereof?), adequate demand (what are the end markets for thermo-grade PET?), and efficient collecting and sorting technologies need to be considered if we want to incorporate thermoform containers into the recycling infrastructure.
For further explanation of the issues introduced above, check out this PlasticsNews article!

What are the big trends that you see in recycling in the next 5-10 years?

Because the demand for post consumer resin (RPET, for example), often exceeds the supply, I assume to witness the increased interest in recycling plastic packaging in the next 5-10 years throughout the entire packaging supply chain. Numerous retailers/CPG firms have announced interest in incorporating recycled content into their plastic packaging, setting the supply-and-demand relationship necessary to sustain the recycling of any packaging/material type into motion. I also look forward to seeing more closed-loop recycling systems developed, like the joint-venture Coca Cola PET recycling plant, NURCC, LLC.

A trend I would like to see in recycling in the next 5-10 years, however, would be to keep more of the post consumer plastics collected for recycling within the North American market by developing and nourishing local end markets for this recovered material. Because roughly 2/3rds of all plastics collected for recycling is purchased by international markets, I think it would be in all of our interests to work towards closing the loop in the context of building the North American recycling infrastructure.

Tell us why you are excited about Sustainability in Packaging 2011

Aside from leaving Chicago in the dead of winter for warmer climates, I am really looking forward to Sustainability in Packaging because I am participating inDr. Ramani Narayan's pre-conference workshop titled "Fundamentals of Packaging Sustainability." Narayan -- a professor at Michigan State University -- was literally the first "expert" I came across in my journey towards understanding "sustainability" as it pertains to plastic packaging. I have referenced his work time and time again, so I look forward to meeting him in person!

Dordan Manufacturing Co. Inc. is a Midwestern based, national supplier of custom designed thermoform packaging solutions for the consumer goods and electronics industries. Family owned and operated since 1962, Dordan specializes in providing the Total Packaging Solution to its customers through innovative package design, sophisticated engineering, and high quality thermoforming. With almost 50 years of experience, Dordan is proud to call itself an industry expert; contact us today to learn why!

More about Chandler
After graduating Suma Cum Laude from DePaul University with a degree in Ethics and Social Justice in 2009, Chandler was employed as Dordan Manufacturing's Sustainability Coordinator. Invited to be the co-lead of Walmart-Canada's PET Subcommittee of the Material Optimization Committee due to her research on recycling clamshells, Chandler continues to collaborate with stakeholders to increase the diversion rate of PET packaging. Chandler is an active participant in the Walmart Sustainable Value Network, contributes blog content to SupplierHub.com -- the closed portal website for private brand suppliers to Walmart -- and is the primary contact for Dordan's membership to the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. Chandler is the author of the high trafficked blog, recyclablepackaging.org, where she discusses her research and the intersection between ethics, packaging and sustainability.

Chandler embraces an integrated approach to sustainability; that is, one of economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Chandler's environmental sustainability efforts include making Dordan a zero-waste facility. Her social sustainability initiatives include working with District 200 schools to educate students about recycling; she has also arranged for a farmer to use a portion of Dordan's land in spring 2011 for the production of organics for the Woodstock community in hopes of preserving its longstanding culture of locally-sourced products.

Chandler plans to enroll in the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University where she will work toward an MBA in Sustainable Business Management in the spring of 2011.