YAKIMA, WASH. — Kwik Lok Corp, a leader in bag closures, has joined more than 70 brands, retailers, NGOs and government agencies across the plastics value chain as part of the US Plastics Pact. The first North American pact of its kind, the US Plastics Pact is a collaboration led by The Recycling Partnership, World Wildlife Fund and Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
As a member of the US Plastics Pact, Kwik Lok will seek to bring one voice to US packaging through coordinated initiatives and innovative solutions for rethinking products and business models.
“We have real challenges ahead, and it is up to all of us to find impactful, tangible solutions — that is why we are so excited to join a group of organizations committed to innovating in plastics reduction,” said Don Carrell, chief executive officer of Kwik Lok. “We take the responsibility of creating new products and new technologies to reduce plastic’s impact on our environment seriously and look forward to working with others to improve the lives of our employees, customers and communities.
As part of the US Plastics Pact, Kwik Lok has agreed to help deliver against the coalition’s four goals:
- Define a list of packaging to be designated as problematic or unnecessary by 2021 and take measures to eliminate them by 2025.
- By 2025, all plastic packaging is 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable.
- By 2025, undertake ambitious actions to effectively recycle or compost 50% of plastic packaging.
- By 2025, the average recycled content or responsibly sourced bio-based content in plastic packaging will be 30%.
“Together through the US Plastics Pact, we will ignite system change to accelerate progress toward a circular economy,” said Emily Tipaldo, executive director of the US Plastics Pact. “The US Pact will mobilize systemwide change through support for upstream innovation and a coordinated national strategy. This unified framework will enable members to fast-track progress toward our ambitious 2025 sustainability goals. Members’ full participation will be vital to reaching our shared goals.”
Kwik Lok said it plans to establish a “roadmap” in 2021 to identify key milestones for achieving the US targets and realizing a circular economy in which plastic never becomes waste.
Specifically, Kwik Lock said it is working to reduce its portfolio-wide energy usage by 20% by 2025. To date, the company already has saved more than 1 million kWh in energy since completing building renovations and operational upgrades in 2015 and has decreased energy consumption by 12%. Kwik Lok said it also has launched three sustainable product innovations, including its Eco-Lok product in 2019, formulated with a plant-based biopolymer called NuPlastiQ that requires up to 20% fewer greenhouse gas emissions to produce than standard plastic bag closures.
