PLASTICS names 2025 Plastic Sustainability Innovation Award Winners

The Washington-based Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) recently announced the winners of its 2025 Plastic Sustainability Innovation Awards, which are meant to recognize outstanding innovations in plastics manufacturing that deliver environmental advantages in design, material and end-of-life management.

PureCycle Technologies Inc., Orlando, Florida, won the Sustainable Innovation in Design Award for its PureFive resin. The advanced recycler uses a dissolution recycling process developed by The Proctor & Gamble Co. that separates color, odor, other plastics and additives from postconsumer polypropylene (PP) feedstock to transform it into PureFive.

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According to PureCycle, this purification process helps close the loop on recycled plastics while making recycled PP more accessible at scale to companies seeking more sustainable materials in their products. In 2024, PureFive was successfully used in fiber, injection molding and thermoforming applications.

“PureCycle is honored to receive this award from the Plastics Industry Association,” says Tamsin Ettefagh, the company’s chief sustainability officer and vice president of government. “The path to solving the plastic waste problem is paved with innovations, and our team at PureCycle is proud to be part of that solution. With our dissolution-based recycling process, we’re focused on providing a sustainable, drop-in solution that empowers our customers to achieve their sustainability goals.”

GreenMantra Technologies Inc., Brantford, Ontario, earned the Sustainable Innovation in Materials Award for its Ceranovus specialty polymer additive. The company says it has developed the first commercially scaled molecular recycling technology, converting 100 percent plastic scrap into high-performance synthetic waxes and polymer additives.

Unlike standard recycled plastics, GreenMantra claims its Ceranovus additives are molecularly engineered through a proprietary process that breaks down long carbon chains in recycled polyolefins into tailored shorter-chain polymers and waxes, resulting in functional additives that enhance product performance, improve manufacturing efficiency and drive greater sustainability. GreenMantra adds that Ceranovus enables industries to incorporate more recycled content while maintaining, or even improving, material quality.

“We are thrilled to receive the Plastic Sustainability Innovation Award,” CEO Domenic Di Mondo says. “This recognition highlights the incredible work of the GreenMantra team and the real-world impact of our Ceranovus polymer additives. With proven commercial success in roofing, paving and drainage pipe applications, and clear environmental and market benefits, this innovation is reshaping how recycled materials are used in critical infrastructure. It’s a powerful example of how manufacturers can reimagine product formulations to enhance performance, improve processing efficiency and advance their sustainability goals. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished and energized by the opportunities ahead.”

London-based Greyparrot won the Sustainable Innovation in End-of-Life Award for its Analyzer product, an artificial intelligence- (AI-) powered material analytics system that enhances plastic recovery by providing real-time data on material composition in sorting facilities. The Analyzer identifies and categorizes material on conveyor belts, enabling operators to optimize infeed blends, improve product quality and reduce residue loss.

With 140 units deployed across 55 facilities globally, Greyparrot says the Analyzer has identified millions of dollars in recoverable plastics previously lost to landfills.

“Data is the missing link in unlocking a truly circular economy for plastics,” Greyparrot Chief Operating Officer Gaspard Duthilleul says. “Our AI waste analytics systems are introducing unprecedented waste data analytics at scale, to benefit the waste value chain. That insight is helping the waste sector recover plastic more profitably and helping brands measure and improve their packaging’s recoverability. This award is a powerful recognition of the role waste intelligence has to play in transforming plastic waste from a global pollutant into a valuable resource.”

PLASTICS’ Leadership in Sustainability Award, presented to the company with the best overall score across the three categories, went to Plymouth, Michigan-based Plastipak Packaging Inc. for its PPK Natura material.

According to Plastipak, PPK Natura utilizes CarbonSmart MEG, a technology derived from scrap carbon emissions through a proprietary carbon capture and transformation process. In the process, industrial carbon emissions, such as those from steel mills or other carbon-intensive industries, are captured and converted into ethanol, which then is processed into monoethylene glycol (MEG), a key building block for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin. MEG is combined with terephthalic acid to create PPK Natura, a high-performance PET resin with the same properties as virgin fossil-based PET.

Plastipak says the result is a fully recyclable material that retains the technical integrity required for a variety of packaging applications.

“We’re honored that PPK Natura has received the Plastics Sustainability Innovation Award,” says Pedro Martins, Plastipak’s executive managing director for Europe. “At Plastipak, we’re committed to packaging and recycling innovation that reduces environmental impact. Through the use of renewable electricity and forward-thinking design, we’re driving progress in carbon reduction and fossil resource conservation while helping our customers reduce Scope 3 emissions. PPK Natura is a testament to our leadership in sustainable packaging. This cutting-edge PET resin is made from carbon waste and delivers the same high performance as virgin PET, but with a lower carbon footprint. This award reinforces our commitment to a more sustainable future, and we’re just getting started.”

Scranton, Pennsylvania-based SnapSlide LLC received the People’s Choice Award for its RX Vial, a type of pharmaceutical packaging that combines child resistance with one-handed accessibility.

The company says the product is designed to empower individuals with limited dexterity and eliminate the struggle of traditional push-and-twist closures while maintaining Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC-) certified child safety. Beyond accessibility, the company says the product uses 25 percent less plastic than conventional vials while increasing shipping efficiency by approximately 20 percent.

“We are honored to receive this award,” SnapSlide CEO Rocky Batzel says. “SnapSlide represents what’s possible when sustainability and accessibility are treated as equal priorities—practical solutions that serve more people, with less impact on the planet.”

PLASTICS Senior Vice President of Sustainability and Policy Patrick Krieger congratulated the winners, saying, “These companies represent the innovation driving the plastics industry forward and advancing sustainability. Their achievements are a testament to the incredible progress being made across our industry.”