Reynolds Consumer Products, Dow, and ByFusion are announcing a new business agreement that continues their collaboration in the greater Boise area to divert hard-to-recycle plastics from the landfill. The announcement follows a successful demonstration project that began in July 2021 to collect plastic waste from the community through the Hefty® EnergyBag® program and convert the materials into ByBlocks®. This novel materials agreement signifies a substantial milestone for ByFusion’s Blocker technology as an effective mechanical recycling process and extends the collection for another year with the ultimate goal of increasing circular solutions in Idaho.
Since July 2021, the ByFusion pilot project has taken hard-to-recycle plastic materials collected through Boise’s existing Hefty® EnergyBag® program and has converted them into ByBlocks®, the first-ever construction-grade block made from plastics previously destined for landfills. The pilot phase aimed to create new, circular uses for up to 72 tons of hard-to-recycle plastics and within a year has exceeded that objective with 80 tons repurposed to date. “ByFusion is thrilled with the results from our ongoing partnership with the Hefty® EnergyBag® program and Dow,” said Heidi Kujawa, CEO, ByFusion. “After seeing the impressive results from the Boise community, I’m confident about our ability to meet our goal of placing a Blocker System in every city.”
The ByFusion demonstration project reveals how communities of all sizes can put their hard-to-recycle plastic waste to good use by converting it into a building material that meets community needs. In February 2022, the City of Boise unveiled a new park bench made of ByBlocks® in Manitou Park. Boisesourced ByBlocks® may also be used to create community infrastructure like create perimeter walls, privacy fencing, sound walls, bus stations, dumpster enclosures, storage facilities, and residential projects and much more. “After a successful first year, we now have a proven solution to prevent more plastic from ending up in landfills,” said Jennifer Ellis, City of Boise Public Works Commissioner. “We’re enabling sustainable development in Boise while encouraging recycling in our community. I’m grateful for our citizens who have participated in the Hefty® EnergyBag® program to collect plastic waste. Without their efforts, we wouldn’t have the materials needed to develop sustainably with ByBlocks®. I’m excited to see how the program’s continuation will impact further growth in Boise as well as expand plastic recycling in other areas.”
The Hefty® EnergyBag® program in the Greater Boise area began in 2018 as community members purchased the orange bags at stores in the community and placed hard-to-recycle plastics into the bags for curbside pickup with their normal recycling. Haulers pick up and deliver the bags to local recycling facilities as part of their routine service and schedules. “By partnering with Dow and ByFusion, we’ve seen how a local community can come together to collect hard-to-recycle plastics through the Hefty® EnergyBag® program and convert them into valuable resources,” said Lisa Burns, Senior Vice President, Sustainability, Reynolds Consumer Products. “Greater Boise has responded so favorably to the program and helped send 80 tons of plastic through ByFusion’s Blocker process. Across all Hefty® EnergyBag® projects in Boise, that brings the total material diverted to over 1000 tons since the initial launch in this community. I’m happy to see such a positive example of the program in action, and I’m eager to continue exploring new end-usage opportunities in other
communities.”
“Dow is proud to continue our work with Hefty® EnergyBag® and ByFusion in Boise,” said Danielle Chatman-Moore, Dow’s North American Sustainability Manager for Packaging & Specialty Plastics. “Extending the opportunity for a community to continue to capture valuable plastic material to provide a best-use alternative is inspiring. We are focused on imagining a better recycling system for everyone, where no valuable materials go to waste and this agreement enables this community to be active participants in the evolving circular economy.”