Plastic Management
CPChem supports efforts to reduce plastic waste in the environment and backs numerous initiatives effecting meaningful change in this area. Our company is committed to ensuring plastics continue to deliver much needed societal benefits while minimizing our footprint.
For more than 20 years, CPChem has been a member of Operation Clean Sweep® (OCS®), a global initiative targeting zero plastic loss to the environment. We are proud of the success of our plastics management programs and ongoing commitment to keep plastic out of the environment. In the U.S., all CPChem operations follow enhanced OCS® Blue membership guidelines, which involve a deepened commitment to pellet loss reduction and additional program requirements like the sharing of best practices, additional reporting, and cross-industry collaboration. Our OCS® Blue membership demonstrates our company’s progress and perseverance in keeping plastic waste out of the environment.
Being part of the global OCS® community means our company is committed to preventing plastic loss to the environment throughout manufacturing and distribution processes. Each segment of the plastics industry, including our customers and service providers, has a role to prevent losses to the environment during production and transportation.
As part of our plastics management programs, we are dedicated to sharing best practices and increasing our involvement with our value chain to ensure that valuable plastic materials are kept where they belong. Learn more about what we are doing to eliminate pellet and flake loss to the environment. View our pellet management best practices.
“Simply put, plastics should not end up in unintended places in our environment. We are very proud of our track record and commitment to sustainability programs. We are always seeking ways to improve our results, and joining Operation Clean Sweep® Blue is yet another significant step as our company and our industry work to eliminate plastic waste from finding its way into unintended places. We are pleased that the procedures and safeguards we have put into place at all facilities are working effectively to minimize and eliminate pellet spills.”
— Benny Mermans, Vice President, Sustainability, CPChem Company
Our Commitments Around the World
In 2019, we became a member of Operation Clean Sweep® Blue (OCS® Blue). OCS® is a product stewardship program of the American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division and Plastics Industry Association with the goal of achieving zero pellet and flake loss to the environment. OCS® Blue represents an even more rigorous commitment than OCS®, which the company has been a member of since its inception in 2000.
In 2018, we committed to OCS® in Europe covering our sale and distribution activities of Polyethylene pellets throughout the European region. In 2019, we worked with the Singapore Chemical Industry Council to adopt OCS® in Singapore and were one of the first companies to commit to the new regional program.
As OCS® programs expand across the world, we are committed to being a leader in advancing efforts to end plastic pellet pollution.
Details of our Internal Program
We operate four plastic production facilities and seven Performance Pipe facilities in the United States. We also participate in the operation of joint venture operations in Singapore and the Middle East to produce plastics. In addition to these operations, we sell and distribute to customers in over 140 countries around the world.
See our plastic management performance in our Environmental, Financial and Social Data tool, updated annually.
OCS® considerations have been in our company for more than 20 years, and they have become part of our operating philosophy. As part of our commitment to transparently communicating our pellet management practices, we have elected to publicly share data on production capacities, pellet recycling efforts and pellet releases, which we began publishing in 2019. View our most recent Sustainability Report to learn more about pellet management at CPChem.
In 2021, CPChem introduced a companywide plastic management standard across our global operations and value chain. As part of our commitment to OCS® and plastic management programs, we established best-practices and maintenance procedures for our operations, and we require all employees to complete annual OCS® awareness training.
Additionally, we complete routine inspections and assessments of our facilities to ensure the integrity of our plastics recovery systems and equipment. See details of how we are enhancing our internal program:
- Deploying pellet and flake best practice teams to identify opportunities for continuous improvement
- Embedding specific pellet management language into our Operational Excellence documents and publishing internal guidance documents and expectations on pellet management activities
- Plastic handling facilities reviewing operating and maintenance procedures to ensure best practices are utilized for emergency and routine maintenance
- Development of OCS®-specific training materials for employees and contractors working in our plastic production and handling facilities
- Performance of regular site assessments to ensure effectiveness of pellet and flake management programs
- Tracking and reporting plastic loss outside our facilities
Our program will be self-audited, and our management systems will be audited through our Operational Excellence audit process as well as the third-party Responsible Care Audit processes on their regular frequency.
Visit the Operation Clean Sweep® website for more information.
Engaging our Value Chain
Our plastic pellet product is shipped to our customers via rail in hopper cars, bulk trucks, sea bulk containers, Gaylord boxes or 25kg. bags. We encourage our customers and service providers to implement pellet management practices that ensure zero pellet loss to the environment.
Below are examples of our actions with our value chain:
- Assessment of plastic loss prevention measures of the warehouses and terminals where we operate
- Proactively communicating to our customers, transportation partners, and other commercial associates about OCS® and pellet management best practices
- Tracking railcars returned without caps and communicating to our value chain partners the importance of keeping caps on to prevent loss of material during transportation
- Encouraging other member companies to pledge OCS® Blue via the OCS® Newsletter
- Placing OCS® tip stickers on railcars that inform customers and service providers of pellet management best practices.
View our Plastic Management Best Practices
Visit the Operation Clean Sweep® website for more information.
