Sustainability is no longer optional. As consumers, investors and governments prioritize environmental responsibility, companies are rethinking how they produce new products, manage resources and reduce waste. 

For that reason, meeting ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) goals have gained focus, providing a path to incorporate more eco-friendly practices while remaining competitive.

Using High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) can provide companies a surprisingly simple but practical solution to help achieve these ESG goals. Known for its strength and durability, HDPE is widely accepted at recycling facilities and can be repurposed multiple times without losing quality.

Though widely used in consumer products like milk jugs and shampoo bottles, HDPE also has numerous industrial applications that can help companies reduce their carbon footprint. 

For companies seeking practical, recyclable materials that support ESG goals, HDPE provides a reliable path toward sustainability.
 

The Environmental Benefits of HDPE Plastics

If you’re looking for a plastic material with strong potential to reduce your overall environmental impact, HDPE is at the top of the list. As one of the most widely recycled plastics worldwide, most recycling collection centers accept HDPE. 

Like other plastics, HDPE is composed of long chains of atoms called polymer chains. The dense, structured arrangement of these polymer chains lends HDPE the toughness to stand up to harsher conditions, like rough handling, exposure to chemicals and temperature cycling. 

It has a longer lifespan than polypropylene and other plastics, resulting in few replacements and a marked reduction in material waste over time. These qualities makes it an ideal choice for durable applications in industrial settings.

Because it can be repurposed and re-enter the supply chain multiple times, it reduces landfill waste and lessens the reliance on petroleum-based virgin plastic production. 

This makes HDPE an environmentally resilient choice with numerous applications.
 

Supporting ESG Goals with Sustainable Plastic Solutions

Partnering with Liberty Plastics can help your company meet key environmental standards because it offers several environmental benefits:

• Ease of Recyclability: HDPE is one of the most widely recycled plastics, accepted by most material recycling facilities. Its recyclability supports a circular economy, reducing waste and conserving resources. 
• High demand for recycled HDPE: The demand for recycled HDPE has increased as manufacturers aim to meet sustainability goals and recycled content mandates. This high demand underscores the material's value in sustainable production, according to research published in 2024 in Procedia CIRP. 
• ​Durability and Longevity: HDPE's durability extends the lifespan of products, reducing the need for frequent replacements and minimizing environmental impact over time.

By replacing materials like corrugated cardboard or polypropylene (PP) plastic with HDPE plastic, you can enhance your sustainability efforts. Thanks to its durability, your operation will consume less material. At the end of its lifespan, it can be processed by regional recycling facilities. This reduction in material waste and commitment to recyclability can help lower your overall carbon footprint.

The Role of HDPE in Circular Economy Initiatives

Using HDPE plastics for commercial and industrial applications has strong potential to meet ESG goals because they can easily be reclaimed and repurposed into new items at the end of their useful life.

Here’s how HDPE fits into that cycle known as the circular economy: 

As mentioned above, HDPE is widely accepted at material recycling facilities across the country. There, these materials get sorted, baled and shipped to a plastic recycler, where it is cleaned and pelletized in a process called compounding. These pellets are then sold to manufacturers who would put that material to another use. 

The circular economy of HDPE plastic provides other benefits:

• Value as a commodity: Recycled HDPE holds value for local collectors, as it has seen high demand in recent years, often leading to short supplies.
• Processing is largely domestic: Nearly 94% of all recycled plastic in North America is processed domestically, according to the 2022 U.S. Post-Consumer Plastic Data report by the Association of Plastic Recyclers, which minimizes the environmental impact of shipping overseas.
• ​Durability through recycling: One test case shows with proper processing, HDPE can be recycled up to 10 times without significant changes to its properties.

How it works is by using catalysts that break HDPE polymer chains into shorter segments, that allows the material to be recycled multiple times because the process doesn’t diminish its overall quality. 

“We are using waste plastic as our source instead of fossil fuels. Instead of drilling for oil and polluting the environment, we’re using stuff that would otherwise be incinerated or left in a landfill,” explains Geoffrey Coates of Cornell University. 

As these cutting-edge converting methods become more accessible, HDPE will emerge as a key solution to waste reduction efforts.
 

Meeting ESG Goals using Wave-Core™ solutions by Liberty Plastics

Liberty Plastics can be part of your solution for meeting your company’s ESG goals. The following are some of the environmental benefits of our flagship product, Wave-Core: 

Exceptional durability: HDPE has a well-earned reputation for being the strongest plastic on the market, making Wave-Core the material of choice for protective uses. 

• The Ultra Wave-Core product line is engineered for extra ruggedness and durability, making it the right choice for packaging, palletizing and protective uses. 

Reduces material waste: Wave-Core is frequently used as a more sustainable replacement for PP and corrugated cardboard because it can be used and reused many times over without splitting or cracking, while resisting moisture and frost. 

• Our mid-grade product line, Wave-Core Standard is ideally suited for rugged, reusable bins for sorting and transferring materials. 

• Wave-Core Flex, which is designed to roll and wrap, perfect for protecting spools and bulky shipments. 

Ease of recyclability: Wave-Core is made entirely of HDPE Plastic, making it fully recyclable. Once your Wave-Core item has reached the end of its useful life, a plastics recycler can convert it back into pellet form for repurposing. 
 

Practical Steps for Integrating Recyclable Plastics into your Operation

Assess Material Needs: As part of your facility’s overall efficiency audit, evaluate current materials and packaging to identify areas where durable options like HDPE can provide longer-lasting solutions. Issues like cracking plastic and soggy cardboard can be silent killers of productivity -- issues that can be reversed with HDPE plastic. 

Partner with HDPE Suppliers: Source materials from suppliers with expertise in HDPE, ensuring that they meet quality standards and are fully recyclable.

Establish a Closed-Loop Recycling System: As you integrate HDPE into packaging and material handling, set up clear end-of lifecycle procedures that are simple for employees to understand and practice. This ensures these products get collected and routed for recycling without being mistakenly discarded: 

• Clearly mark products with recycling symbols and disposal instructions so employees and customers know where they should go.

• Partner with reliable collection facilities to ensure spent materials are routed to plastics recyclers for the next phase.

Monitor and Report: Track the lifecycle of HDPE materials to evaluate waste reduction and recycling rates, and incorporate this data into your ESG reporting to demonstrate progress.

Let us partner with you on your path to eco-friendly innovation.

Practicing sustainability doesn’t have to be costly or complex. Achieving your ESG goals can be as straightforward as adopting Wave-Core™ by Liberty Plastics and partnering with a local recycler.

Wave-Core is exceptionally durable and fully recyclable, made entirely from HDPE plastic. Companies that incorporate Wave-Core into their operations can quickly start seeing benefits, including reduced waste and extended product life cycles. Because it’s easily recycled and converted at the end of its lifecycle, it’s a material that supports the circular economy. 

To learn more about how Liberty Plastics can help your company meet its ESG goals, contact us for ideas and guidance.