Integration Is Key at Multifilm Packaging

Waste was a good place to start. Magnusson says they did a "dumpster dive" that showed how much plastic film was being discarded that could be recycled or incinerated. The result was implementation of carefully sorted waste streams for plastic, paper, metal, batteries, wood and other materials. The addition of a re-pelletizer in 2012 now turns selected scrap film into resin pellets that can be extruded into finished product. In 2013, for instance, the company re-pelletized more than 55,000 pounds of material and intends to increase that volume significantly this year. "We consider ourselves a near-zero-waste-to-landfill operation," Magnusson says, "with the last couple of percentage points just not being feasible. We have always been advocates of source reduction through down-gauging due to our cast extrusion capabilities, but it was not a major effort like it is now."