Sustainable Packaging
Industry Experts discuss all the new materials and ways that packaging can be more sustainable and how we can do our parts to help recycle and reuse. Sustainable Packaging is and will continue to affect us all in our daily lives. We have lots of fun and get down to the real data of what's working to help our planet!
Sustainable Packaging
Save $200 today on the Packaging Recycling Summit / Kim Overstreet and Matt Reynolds from PMMI
https://www.packagingrecyclingsummit.com/
Cory200 will save you $200!
This event is September 16-18 in Anaheim CA.
https://www.packworld.com/
Check out our sponsor Orora Packaging Solutions
https://ororapackagingsolutions.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-connors/
I'm here to help you make your packaging more sustainable! Reach out today and I'll get back to you asap.
This podcast is an independent production and the podcast production is an original work of the author. All rights of ownership and reproduction are retained—copyright 2022.
Welcome to Sustainable Packaging with Cory Connors. Today's guests are from PMMI Media Group and they run some incredible shows around the country, around the world, really. I'd like to have them introduce themselves here. So Kim Overstreet, we'll start with you.
Kim Overstreet:Hello, Corey. Thanks for having us. I'm Kim Overstreet. I'm the director of content with PMMI Media Group. So, that involves overseeing the five different brands that we have. In our, in our company.
Cory Connors:Oh, wow. Five brands. I didn't realize that it was that many. I'm excited to delve into that later, but, Matt Reynolds, how about you, sir? Can you tell us about yourself?
Matt Reynolds:Yes, sir. So good to see you again. I am the chief editor of packaging world. So that would be one of the five brands that, Kim was referring to. So, maybe a little bit more narrow than her scope, but, definitely packaging is a very horizontal industry as you well know. So there's nothing narrow about packaging or packaging world.
Cory Connors:That's right. It's very diverse and we've seen each other at many events and, it's always exciting to discuss what's going on in the world of media of packaging and, to learn about how we're explaining to everyone what's going on because there's constant changes, constant shows, constant events, and it's, it's an exciting time to be a part of packaging, especially sustainable packaging. But, Kim, I'd like to talk about this event that you're going to have, but I'd also like to discuss a little bit more about what is the PMMI media group? Can you go over that a little bit?
Kim Overstreet:Sure. So PMMI is our parent company. And for those of you who are not familiar with us, PMMI produces the Peck Expo trade shows. As you said, they're around the world at this point. PMMI is the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies. It's a membership organization for packaging and processing machinery and materials companies. So, we are a subset of PMMI, and as I mentioned, we have five different publications, Packaging World, Healthcare Packaging, Pro Food World, OEM, Mundo. Did I forget anybody, Matt?
Matt Reynolds:Under
Kim Overstreet:the
Matt Reynolds:auspices of Packaging World, we have a specialty brand called Contract Packaging, or it's Contract Manufacturing and Packaging, which there's a lot of overlap with Packaging World, as you can imagine, because they're both using the same equipment. They're both using the same materials. But my biggest audience is going to be brands and CPGs, and they are also using the contract packagers as suppliers to them for capacity on that equipment. So a little different way to slice pretty much the same ball of people.
Cory Connors:Yeah, and I've been to many of your events and, the pack expo event international is exciting and huge. And, but today we're talking about something a little more specific and, it's, the packaging recycling summit that's coming up here in September, in Anaheim, right next to Disneyland, I believe. And, Kim, can you tell us about that event? What's going on there? What can we expect?
Kim Overstreet:Sure, it is, September 16th through the 18th at the JW Marriott, Stone's Throw from Disneyland. yeah, and it's a, two day program, Monday afternoon, all day Tuesday, Wednesday afternoon. AmeriPen is actually having a workshop at the end of the program, which attendees are also invited to participate in that. And, I think actually I would have Matt give a little more background. This is our second year having the event. Matt can give you a little more background about how we came about, coming up with this program and why we're doing it.
Cory Connors:That'd be great. Matt,
Matt Reynolds:I'd love to hear
Cory Connors:more.
Matt Reynolds:So, as there's an alphabet soup of events out there. We're just adding our own flavor in PRS packaging recycling summit. But as you've attended events, and I've attended events, you get this really broad spectrum of possibilities under the auspices or under the umbrella of sustainability. you've got material reduction and light weighting. You've got recycling. you've got compostability and composting, you've got, energy usage reduction or water reduction. There's just a million different ways to, skin the cat. So, and then on the other, if you look at a different dimension, a different, way to spin the pivot table, you also have different materials. It's not just packaging that's being recycled, or that is, relevant to this, you've got scope 1, scope 2, you've got the packaging itself. Where, some of it is brands producing, but some of it is materials that are coming from industry, from, duct work or, piping and these kinds of things. So on several different levels, we tried to narrow down our scope to what we know best and what our audience, which again is brands and CPGs, would be most, likely to. Gain information from in a very specific, very narrow, it's still three days, like two and a half to three days, like most events, but we're trying to condense the amount of ground we have to cover to be something where we're covering a very specific and not gigantic amount of ground, but covering it a mile deep, that one inch of real estate East and West. That's more of like a mile deep. and the idea was. Where were gaps, gaps in every event that I've gone to. we've seen a supplier speaking to their customer generally, or their customer speaking on stage to a group of their suppliers on how they can better serve them one way or the other. So we wanted to. Instead involve everybody in that circular economy. So that's everybody from the residence producers to the converters to the brand owner. Again, that's our central audience, but then you've got this huge air gap. of the consumer because the packaging goes to the consumer. It goes, it leaves the retail situation and then it disappears. And then it arrives at a miraculously, hopefully. so hopefully this air gap in between is what we were interested in and trying to bring the MRFs and trying to bring somebody like a rum key or somebody, waste management is speaking, trying to close that air gap and have information flow back and forth between the brand owner, who's producing the packaging. Again, Necessarily narrow, just packaging, not all materials. And then the materials recovery facilities and their reprocessors downstream who are ultimately, recovering that and in a perfect world, then that material flows right back through the system as PCR becomes a certain percentage of film or a certain percentage of a rigid package and then becomes packaging again. So that we're just trying to close that gap. And that was the genesis of PRS.
Cory Connors:Well, it sounds like you've really, found a niche that I think needs to be filled. and I totally agree with you that, this is what's missing at some events that I've been to is a deep dive into how can you make your packaging more recyclable? How can you make it so your consumer knows what to do with it? How can you make it so the MRF will actually recycle it and sort it out and get it out of the system and into, back into, new packaging materials? So, well done and kudos to you. And with AmeriPen involved, this sounds like you'll have, EPR legislation laws discussed and all kinds of things like that, that we're all really struggling to, identify right now. it's pretty overwhelming all the changes that have happened recently and continue to be announced and it just seems like something new every day Is being explained. So what a valuable event that you're having and we've got a big announcement As far as a discount code that kim's offered here kim. Can you tell us about that for our audience here?
Kim Overstreet:Yeah, we have a discount So 200 off registration for your audience. It's Cory200. I'm sure you'll have a place somewhere to put that information for people. But yeah, we really hope that people will join us in the Hannah, Anaheim. We're really looking forward to it. As Matt said, designing for recyclability. Talking about new technologies that are being used for sortation. EPR is part of the conversation in a number of different sessions this year. So it's going to be good.
Cory Connors:Important and, for the audience listening, Corey C. O. R. Y. And the number 200, so C. O. R. Y. 2 0 0, we'll get you 200 off. That's very generous reduction in cost. there Kim. Nice job. Thank you for that. We appreciate it. I know budgets are tight. some for a lot of us. so people that would go to this event would be, brand owners. very much. who else, Matt, who do you recommend? Who would you call and say, Hey, you got to be at this show?
Matt Reynolds:Well, as far as attendance, I think that's the center of the bullseye cause that's the center of the packaging, world bullseye. But I think you can't have that conversation without converters in the room. And the converters can't have that conversation without the residence producers or the fiber producers. We talk about plastic so frequently because that just happens to be the but it's. It's really all materials. It's pan material. If we were talking about fiber, we're talking about glass. I believe glass we're bringing in this time around carton board. so upstream, all of the suppliers and makers of that equipment, or excuse me, of those materials, we're even bringing in the equipment, folks, because one major, headache for brands and CPGs is these days is when that packaging designer says, okay, we're going to a mono material, flexible pouch instead of a multi layer well, maybe they've got a 20 year old poucher that. Hasn't doesn't have all the, bells and whistles to be able to account for the, less robust, perhaps more, rip prone or puncture prone model monolayer materials, or maybe they're, they're shrink wrapper is using mono all of a sudden. So that's a one kind of unique audience there. So the machinery OEMs we're bringing in, but then. From the material side going back to materials producers and the converters, they're getting a lot of their PCR. If we're talking about bottle to bottle or, true circularity, they're getting a lot of the PCR from the reprocessors who are buying bales from the MRFs. So that's just going the opposite way. Around the same area go around to get back to that brand owner. So well, brand owners in the center. It's everybody who has a part of that conversation. We want to have a seat at that table. and that was interesting what we brought up about AmeriPen because frequently we think of things in such a linear fashion, even though they're circular, they're flowing one direction. it's frequently, it's frequent that we hear Murph's, basically explaining to brands what they need from them, but it's a two way conversation because brands. have certain needs, they have to go to market, they have to stand out on a shelf, they have to, they have a, something like Tide might have a, have brand equity in the color of the, of, you can see the Tide on the shelf, it's got that orange, well, that's not a clear, PET thermal form, but or excuse me, it's not clear PET, but maybe there's a route for that. Maybe MRFs can help unlock certain channels and routes for that. So it's really everybody we're trying to get at the table. And with AmeriPEN being there also, that unlocks some legislation and so on that we, we didn't really have well represented the first PRS, but it's going to be a big part of this next one.
Cory Connors:Very exciting. and Kim, you mentioned some speakers. can you talk about that a little bit? There'll be presentations. There'll be panels, maybe other kinds of things there.
Kim Overstreet:Yes, there will be plenty of, speakers. We have, as Matt said, we've got people from all different stakeholders in this, but some of our brands are, General Mills, Danone, Coke, Google. Fulgate, Palmolive, McCormick, Diageo. So we've got a lot of brands who are going to be in the room. there's also going to be a lot of opportunity for extended kind of networking and discussion between the speakers and the attendees and really getting in there and talking with each other about, what are some of their issues and, solutions and what things are what are they working on.
Cory Connors:Yeah, I can attest to the audience that your group does a great job of providing an atmosphere where people can talk and people can communicate. They can sidebar and have say, hey, let's get together on this project or whatever the case may be, because sometimes you'll go to a show and the turnover is so fast that there's just no opportunity to speak to the people that were on stage. And, so you guys have really. Done a good job with that. So well done. And it's very exciting. How, how many people do you think will be at an event like this? This is a smaller event than your pack expo events. A
Kim Overstreet:little bit. Yeah. A little bit smaller. Yeah. we're looking to have what two to 300 I think in the room. Last year we had another couple hundred, that I think were online. So it's growing.
Cory Connors:Well, the reason I ask is because I think sometimes at those large events, it's more difficult to connect and these smaller events are a lot more intimate, a lot more, opportunities to have a real discussion and to have a real, communication time with people that, you need to connect with in this industry. So what an opportunity to get to meet people that, can have a real impact on your, future as far as your company or your, packaging needs. it's awesome to get that, opportunity. we're hoping people, we're
Kim Overstreet:hoping people will leave with some, good ideas and solutions and connections.
Cory Connors:And can we discussed, next year, it'll be in, in Dallas, in the summer. Is that right? So that's
Kim Overstreet:in June in Dallas. Yeah.
Cory Connors:So I think, I'll plan to be there at that one. Unfortunately, I won't be up at this one, but I do look forward to hearing about how it goes and, Listening to some of the speakers virtually, if possible. so anything else that we need to know, how do we sign up for this event? Is it on your website?
Kim Overstreet:Yeah, packaging recycling summit dot com is where you go to check out every everything with the agenda and all the information you need is there as well as the registration.
Cory Connors:Thank you so much. Kim. I appreciate this. Matt. Anything else you wanted to tell us about this event?
Matt Reynolds:Yeah, well, when we're rattling off lists like Coke and Palmolive, Colgate Palmolive, it sounds, we are getting some of the big, 800 pound gorillas, but I want to make sure that we're, it shouldn't be, something that, that would be restricting small to medium brands too, that are, that may lack the full, the availability of like all the scientists and all the packaging designers and so on. One story from last year, I think was, There was a, somebody who came with a small regional product and it was being sold in a, what we would call a tin can, a steel can, and, wanted to make it more sustainable. But when they spoke to some of the experts in the room, it was revealed that's just about the most sustainable, when it comes down to life cycle analysis, once you extract that ore from the. From the ground. And once you start using that for a certain number of cycles, that is just about as sustainable as you get. And not to mention, you've got all of the shelf life of, the seals and can't so it's those kind of realizations. There's kinds of, it's just like a really small microcosm of what we think of as what will be what attendees will extract from a conference like this.
Cory Connors:Yeah, I totally agree. And, it's exciting to see these opportunities for, metal packaging, reusable packaging, monomaterials, all of these things that people are innovating in to make packaging more sustainable. it's a really interesting time. And for the first time in my 27 year career. People are really taking this seriously. And with the onset of extended producer responsibility laws, you better be focusing on this. And, so I think your conference is going to be very valuable. So, packagingrecyclingsummit. com September 16th through 18th in Anaheim. Be sure to sign up. The code again is CORY200. So thank you, Matt. Thank you, Kim. I appreciate this and looking forward to it. To this event. Thanks, Corey.
Kim Overstreet:We are too. Thank you.
