UFlex Announces Launch of New Global Initiative ‘Project Plastic Fix’; Screens ‘The Hudson Project’ Documentary with Plastic Patrol Event Drew Attention to Worldwide Plastic Pollution Problem & Solutions to Address the Challenge
NEW YORK, N.Y., Sept. 24, 2019 – UFlex, one of the largest polymer plastic companies in the world, and Plastic Patrol, an international movement that combines crowdsourcing and community activism to address single-use plastic pollution, recently screened the short documentary ‘The Hudson Project’ at the Core Club in New York City. Along with the film screening, the event highlighted the importance of open and productive conversation around plastic pollution to help identify solutions; included a panel discussion between Anantshree Chaturvedi, Vice Chairman & CEO of FlexFilms International and environmentalist Lizzie Carr, founder of Plastic Patrol; and announced the launch of UFlex Group’s new global initiative, ‘Project Plastic Fix’.
According to Carr, in just the last two years, Plastic Patrol has conducted hundreds of cleanups, reaching thousands of people globally and removing more than 320 ton bags of trash from the natural world. “The Hudson Project” follows her 170-mile paddle boarding expedition to draw attention to plastic pollution in America. Carr is dedicated to using her journeys to capture important data that educates the public on environmental issues and informs industry and government to find solutions to tackling the plastic crisis.
“We are just scratching the surface by litter picking,” Carr said. Through the Plastic Patrol app, trash collected on Plastic Patrol cleanups is documented and categorized. All data is analyzed by partner sciences to inform and develop solutions to the pollution problem. “Coupled with on the ground activism, crowdsourcing through the Plastic Patrol app is a way of understanding the type, location and amount of plastic we are finding. This gives us better knowledge of the trends and patterns we need to address this problem effectively and with the urgency it requires.”
What started as one person has become a global community, said Carr. In fact, the Plastic Patrol app now has more than 250,000 pieces of garbage logged across 68 countries. “Community is at the heart of Plastic Patrol and that’s what we are building, a like-minded community of people that truly care about this issue which ultimately is what will drive change. This is a global problem that requires global change – and this has to come at every level including industry and government, one person can make a difference but it will take systemic change to solve the problem.”
Project Plastic Fix by UFlex: Keeping Plastic in the Economy and Out of the Environment
“Lizzie is trying to eradicate single use plastic from nature – where it isn’t supposed to be, and as a plastics manufacturer, we are trying to achieve the same goal of making our environment plastic free,” said Anantshree Chaturvedi. “We believe that plastic is a problem that can be solved – it’s a global catastrophic risk that we can put behind us, but we have to engineer ourselves out of the problem. Although it’s a challenge, there are avenues, but technology alone isn’t enough. It will take a combination of technology, plastic and people to solve this problem. Corporate choices and citizen behavior are part of the solution.”
To that end, UFlex has launched Project Plastic Fix, a pioneering sustainability initiative designed to clean up plastic waste and convert it into products that have an economic value. In essence, “waste becomes wealth.” UFlex will eradicate plastic waste in four distinct ways through a mix of various methodologies it already practices, such as, Recycling plastic waste into granules further used to make over 10,000 household and industrial products like road dividers, outdoor furniture, dustbins and many more useful articles; Reprocessing plastic waste into fuel through a process called Pyrolysis that emits zero greenhouse emission; Collecting and converting plastic bottle waste into green, up to 100% PCR grade packaging film AsclepiusTM; and Converting plastic waste into 100% biodegradable biomass. UFlex’s Project Plastic Fix is the only project in the world that shall have the technology to make plastic recyclable as well as biodegradable.
Also making Project Plastic Fix unique and different is that waste collection will be done by individuals directly engaged by UFlex, thus eliminating the “middleman” that typically would see the largest benefit from these transactions. Importantly, Project Plastic Fix contributes to poverty alleviation as the person responsible for collecting and depositing the waste, receives the maximum return. To this, Chaturvedi commented, “Waste collection is more about economic value. When we think of waste management as an unimportant thing, it becomes a burden on all those who have to deal with it.”
The initiative is being piloted in India, Poland and Mexico, to begin with. UFlex will be looking at additional locations along the U.S. East Coast and in the United Kingdom later.
“I believe that while plastic cannot be removed from everyday living, it can be used responsibly. We can have a solution to use the plastic that the world has already manufactured and ensure that it gets recycled and reused in the economy, in a variety of ways, without affecting the ecology,” added Chaturvedi. “Project Plastic Fix advocates the message that the problem of plastic is fixable, achievable and there will come a time when we will look back and not believe that this problem ever existed.”
Emphasizing the issue of human behavior that adds to the plastic waste menace, Chaturvedi concluded, “A change in the way the consumer thinks and behaves will make a lot of difference. With Project Plastic Fix, the only requirement from the consumer will be waste sorting, while the rest can still be addressed with UFlex’ four different approaches. Just by making a small little effort of segregating our waste before disposing it, makes it a lot simpler for companies like ours to make sure all plastic waste falls right place. But these changes by consumers need to be made today!”
Key Biographies
Anantshree Chaturvedi, vice-chairman and CEO, FlexFilms International has been with the organization for almost a decade, working from the ground up in every unit of UFlex. He learned the trade both domestically and internationally as a trainee and apprentice in India, Mexico, Poland, Egypt, Dubai and in the United States. Chaturvedi spearheaded the expansion of UFlex in the United States and currently heads the NAFTA region for the films business. He is responsible for global product stability, R&D and new product development, and HR protocols; and serves as chief cultural officer for all standards of operation at UFlex and its subsidiaries globally. Chaturvedi graduated from the prestigious Babson College with a triple major in finance, global strategic management and economics.
Lizzie Carr (a.k.a., “Lizzie Outside”) is an environmental activist, adventurer, author, social media personality and the founder of non-profit plastic pollution control organization Plastic Patrol. In May 2016, she made history by becoming the first person to paddle board the length of England’s waterways, solo and unsupported. She completed the 400-mile journey in 22 days, plotting more than 3,000 photos of plastic waste she encountered. In May 2017 she became the first female to solo stand up paddle board across the English Channel, a record breaking seven-hour long crossing highlighting micro-plastic contamination in our oceans. In September 2018, Carr took her activism to America and became the first person to successfully paddle board the Hudson River. To date, Carr and her army of volunteers globally have removed more than 320-ton bags of garbage from nature and 250,000 pieces of garbage across 68 countries globally have been logged through crowdsourcing on the interactive Plastic Patrol app.
About UFlex
UFlex is India’s largest multinational Flexible Packaging Materials & Solution Company and a global player in Polymer Sciences. Since its inception back in 1985, UFlex has grown from strength-to-strength to evolve as a truly Indian Multinational with consumers spread across the world. Uflex today has state-of-the-art packaging facilities at multiple locations in India with installed capacity of around 1,35,000 TPA and packaging film manufacturing facilities in India, UAE, Mexico Egypt, Poland and USA.
Integrated within its core business profile are allied businesses like Aseptic Liquid Packaging, Engineering, Cylinders, Holography and Chemicals which further gives Uflex a superior edge over competition. Uflex caters to markets spanning across the globe in over 140 countries like USA, Canada, South American countries, UK and other European Countries, Russia, South Africa, CIS, Asian and African nations.
UFlex offers technologically superior packaging solutions for a wide variety of products such as snack foods, candy and confectionery, sugar, rice & other cereals, beverages, tea & coffee, dessert mixes, noodles, wheat flour, soaps and detergents, shampoos & conditioners, vegetable oil, spices, marinades & pastes, cheese & dairy products, frozen food, sea food, meat, anti-fog, pet food, pharmaceuticals, contraceptives, garden fertilizers and plant nutrients, motor oil and lubricants, automotive and engineering components etc. All UFlex plants are accredited with ISO 9001, 14001, HACCP & BRC certifications. The company is a part of the D&B Global Database and winner of various prestigious national and international awards for its products’ excellence including the recently won Dow’s 2018 30th Awards for Packaging Innovation and the Sustainability Awards 2018.
Some of UFlex’s clients on the global turf include P&G, PepsiCo, Tata Global Beverages, Mondelez, L’Oreal, Britannia, Haldiram’s, Amul, Kimberly Clark, Ferrero Rocher, Perfetti, GSK, Nestle, Agrotech Foods, Coca-Cola, Wrigley, Johnson & Johnson amongst others. For more details, click on: www.uflexltd.com
About FlexFilms
FlexFilms is the global film manufacturing arm of India’s largest multinational flexible packaging solutions and one of the largest polymer plastic companies in the world, UFlex Limited. With state-of-the-art film manufacturing facilities at strategic locations across the globe, the company is expanding its worldwide footprint with new plants in Hungary, Nigeria and Russia. FlexFilms offers a range of packaging and high-performance specialty films.
Focused on developing sustainable innovations and solutions for brand owners and flexible packaging industry, FlexFilms has taken its green thumb to greater heights with the addition of a range of eco-friendly films to its robust product portfolio.
About Plastic Patrol
Plastic Patrol is a global movement that started as a mission to fight plastic pollution on inland waterways from paddleboards and to clean up the planet. Its mission is to make sure rubbish stays out of nature.
Founded in 2016 by Lizzie Carr, Plastic Patrol has grown rapidly and organically throughout the world. It now operates across the UK, Europe and USA through our team of recognized partners delivering clean ups and global army of volunteers. In last two years they have operated over 130 clean ups, reaching thousands of people and removing over 280 tonnes of rubbish from the natural world.
The movement runs free clean ups with a difference – litter picking whilst trying a new activity AND collecting valuable data on rubbish. Litter picking must be combined with data collection to create lasting, evidence-based change. Everything collected on Plastic Patrol clean ups, and by its global community, is documented and categorized in the Plastic Patrol app. It now has more than 250,000 pieces of garbage logged across 68 countries.. All data collected is analyzed by partner scientists at the University of Nottingham to inform and develop solutions to the pollution problem.
Source: Uflex Limited
