media release

Date: October 6, 2016
Contact: Liz Novak, Director of Marketing and Communications, +913.345.1005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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IAPD Announces 2016 Environmental Excellence Award Recipients

Overland Park, KS — The International Association of Plastics Distribution (IAPD) is pleased to announce the following recipients of its annual Environmental Excellence Award:
Best Overall Program — Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products
Gold — Cope Plastics, Inc.; Curbell Plastics, Inc.; and Laird Plastics
Silver — Cast Nylons Ltd.; EnCore Products, a Division of Elmer’s Products, Inc.; and Piedmont Plastics
Bronze — Colorado Plastic Products; Finger Lakes Extrusion Corporation; Isik Plastik A.S.; and Palram Americas, Inc.
The recipients were honored at the opening general session at the 60th Annual IAPD Convention today in Phoenix, AZ, USA by IAPD President Kevin Short and IAPD Vice President Mitch Opalich. ​

The awards were established by the IAPD Environmental Committee in 2008 as a way to celebrate the environmentally responsible practices of IAPD member companies, including recycling, conservation, community outreach, employee engagement and more. The award application assigns a point value to sustainability practices in each of these categories. Awards are determined based on a point system. There were a record-breaking number of applications this year and more awards received than ever. ​

Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products received a Best Overall Program award for earning the most points. The company had identified opportunities and initiatives that would reduce waste and energy consumption while increasing their global product offerings, which resulted in a multimillion dollar investment in their Scranton, PA, USA facility. The first phase of the project involved the development and introduction of two ECO (recycle) grades of performance plastics, TIVAR® ECO UHMW-PE and DURAPRO™, as well as an aggressive post-consumer buyback program. The results include: an increase in production of the two ECO products of 87 percent between 2013 and 2015, a 75 percent increase in buyback from customers over the same time period, a 20 percent reduction in air emissions with additional improvement expected and a significantly improved yield on their products, which has saved the company thousands of dollars in energy costs, labor time, reprocessing and landfill costs. ​

Cope Plastics, Inc.; Curbell Plastics, Inc.; and Laird Plastics received a Gold level award because the company earned more than 150 points based on their environmentally conscious practices. The four companies that received a Silver level award earned between 125 and 149 points. The three companies that received a Bronze level award earned between 100 and 124 points.

Notable among the award recipients are Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products; EnCore Products, a Division of Elmer’s Products, Inc.; Colorado Plastic Products; Finger Lakes Extrusion Corporation; Isik Plastik A.S.; and Palram Americas, Inc., who submitted applications for the first time this year.

“IAPD is proud to honor the accomplishments of these 11 companies with the Environmental Excellence Award. Life cycle analyses show that performance plastics are often the most environmentally friendly material to use for applications and as shown in the examples from Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products, the manufacturing of those plastics can also be done in an environmentally responsible manner,” said Susan Avery, CAE, IAPD Chief Executive Officer.

Any IAPD member company is eligible to apply for the IAPD Annual Environmental Excellence Awards. Applications are collected online in the months prior to the convention.

In addition to the awards program, the IAPD GreenSceneTM program honors all member companies that are engaging in environmentally friendly practices. IAPD GreenSceneTM members are determined based on receiving at least 100 points on the GreenSceneTM application.

About IAPD

The International Association of Plastics Distribution (IAPD) is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2016. Established in 1956, IAPD brings together distributors, fabricators, manufacturers, manufacturers’ representatives, recyclers and service providers in an environment which encourages a free flow of ideas and information that help members build their businesses. Every program and service we provide is designed with the simple goal of helping our members increase profitability. Membership in IAPD is an affordable business investment. IAPD provides training, connections with customers and suppliers and information about developments that impact the industry. What makes IAPD unique is a commitment to educating customers and other key end-users about plastics. In other words, IAPD works with members to build the demand for plastics. Central to this effort is the reinforcement of the value of distribution. For more information, visit www.iapd.org.
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This release and more are available in IAPD’s Press Room.

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