Closing the Loop: How Liberty Plastics Keeps HDPE Scrap in Circulation
At Liberty Plastics, we believe in the potential of a circular economy.
In 2024, we put that belief into action by making a focused change to our operation. And we’re proud to say it made a measurable difference.
We began collecting and reprocessing trim waste and off-spec plastic materials through an internal reprocessing and repelletizing program. The result: 4.5 million pounds of post-industrial scrap plastic were reprocessed and reintroduced into production as a new value added alternative to straight virgin product. That’s 4.5 million pounds that didn’t get shipped off to a landfill or an outside disposal facility.
Even better, the material that would have been discarded still has a long life ahead of it in the form of new future products as High-Density Polyethylene is one of the post recyclable plastics in the market when collected through traditional recycling collection systems. Wave-CoreTM is known for its unparalleled durability, being made from resins resilient enough to be used and reused across multiple product cycles. That’s where plastic becomes part of the solution in creating a higher value “cradle” to “cradle” product vs. a lower valued “cradle” to “grave” product.
Circularity doesn’t happen all at once. It takes shape one practical step at a time. We’re proud of doing our part to move it forward.
Liberty’s mission to reduce waste
The circular economy sits at the heart of Liberty Plastics’ operating principles. Our parent company, Liberty Diversified International (LDI), is committed to building climate resilience and investing in sustainable practices grounded in ESG and EHS principles.
At the plant level, that commitment translates into practical action. We’re continually looking for ways to reduce material waste, improve production efficiency and support circular manufacturing practices.
Our proprietary repocessing and repelletizing program (as in repelling waste) checked all the boxes. We repurposed 4.5 million pounds of plastic while contributing to LDI’s 2% reduction in landfill waste.
An inside look at an underrated renewable resource: HDPE plastic
When people think about renewable resources, plastic rarely rises to the top of the list.. It’s often dismissed as petroleum-based and disposable. But that view oversimplifies what plastic is and how it can function in a circular system.
Sustainable materials shouldn’t be defined solely by where they come from, but by how long they stay in circulation. With plastics, composition matters. It’s the difference between single-use materials and plastics that are designed for durability, reuse and recovery.
At Liberty Plastics, the resins used to manufacture Wave-Core fall into the latter category.
First and foremost, High-Density Polyethylene or HDPE is 100% recyclable, unlike many plastic types used in industrial and logistics applications. The material can be reprocessed repeatedly without limiting performance.
Second, HDPE is highly resilient and impact resistant, thanks to its dense molecular structure. Because it has an extended use life, fewer replacement materials need to be manufactured and purchased over time.
As a result, Liberty is an active part of the value-bearing recycling market. Once produced, the material retains value through long-term use and repeated recyclability. That supports circularity well beyond its first application.
How Liberty’s proprietary reprocessing and repelletizing program works
We created the reprocessing process to keep valuable HDPE material in circulation while reducing waste -- all without disrupting production quality or performance.
First, we capture trim scrap and off-spec HDPE materials at the source during manufacturing rather than discarding. This includes trim waste and parts that don’t meet final specifications but still meet material integrity standards.
Then we reprocess the material in-house, while verifying for quality so we can reintroduce it into manufacturing new products while maintaining the level of product performance you expect.
How does HDPE circularity work in the real world?
HDPE is classified as a #2 resin, commonly found in everyday products like milk jugs and detergent bottles. That classification is critical, because recyclers that accept plastics are highly likely to accept #2 materials into traditional recycling collection systems.
That is driven by the strong secondary markets for HDPE, enabling it to be recycled into multiple new products rather than diverted to landfill -- which is often the fate of other plastic types deemed as recyclable. All the while, it retains the performance properties of its source material.
This combination of recyclability and material performance has helped HDPE earn its place in the circular economy.
Achieving circularity one step at a time
Circularity built through practical decisions that grow the amount of materials that stay in use.
Liberty Plastics’ reprocessing and repelletizing program is one of those decisions. By reclaiming and reintroducing 4.5 million pounds of HDPE back into production, we’ve reduced landfill waste, preserved material value and strengthened a closed-loop manufacturing process.
Progress happens one step at a time. And this is one we’re proud to take.
Learn more about how Liberty Plastics can help you support long term performance through HDPE material selection.