Enabling American consumers to make educated purchasing decisions and encouraging recycling habits is focus of new campaign
Leaders across the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) value chain have partnered for a national campaign to highlight the significant sustainability advantages of the packaging material while also raising awareness of the importance of recycling. They have teamed up for an episode of Public Television’s Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid and a series of national commercials that will air on cable television.
“The importance of debunking misconceptions of PET packaging and addressing the environmental advantages of PET containers is more important than ever,” said Laura Stewart, Executive Director, National Association for PET Container Resources. “This program offered us an excellent opportunity to reach a broad audience with a critical message – based in facts — that has been getting lost amid misinformation. The truth, as verified by two recent lifecycle assessments including one by McKinsey & Company, show the true impact of PET as the environmentally responsible packaging solution that can significantly contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, smog and acid rain compared to other primary beverage packaging materials.”
Participants featured in the program include Eric Roegner, President, Amcor Rigid Packaging, Charlotte Dreizen, Director, Sustainability and Environment, PLASTICS, Matt Daum, Ph.D., Director, Michigan State University School of Packaging and Assistant Dean of Corporate Relations and Strategy for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR), Laura Stewart, Executive Director, National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), Sally Houghton, Executive Director, Plastic Recycling Corporation of California (PRCC), and Kristin Kelley, Vice President, Corporate Communications and External Affairs, Amcor Rigid Packaging.
The five-minute video presentation, showcasing the facts about PET containers and the importance of recycling, will be available through more than 175 public television stations nationwide, beginning on August 14. The segment will be in rotation for the next year, ensuring widespread awareness about the advantages of PET and the importance of proper recycling practices.
Additionally, a sixty-second commercial will run nationally on FOX Business on August 24th and 27th during prime time. The same spot will be broadcast 400 times across the top 100 United States media markets through the end of August.
“We’re thrilled to tell this story through Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid and empower American for consumers to make educated, informed decisions,” notes Eric Roegner, President, Amcor Rigid Packaging. “The opportunity to tell the circularity story of the PET bottle – from design to manufacturing, into the hands of the consumer and then recycling it again and again and again – is something we believe is critical for our industry and critical for the health of our planet. PET packaging plays a pivotal role in our daily lives by preserving and protecting our food, packaging, and transporting goods, and ensuring the secure and effective delivery of medicine. Additionally, PET is 100 recyclable and can be made from 100 percent recycled material.”
“The facts speak for themselves, and they speak quite loudly,” adds Sally Houghton, Executive Director, Plastic Recycling Corporation of California. “Recycling is an essential part of building a more sustainable world. And when we recycle as a society, then we all win.”