Embracing sustainability with Operation Clean Sweep

No plastic pellet, flake, or powder left behind. That’s the goal of Operation Clean Sweep. One of New Berlin Plastics’ resin distributors, M. Holland, is totally committed to it and encourages members of its supply chain to do the same.

Operation Clean Sweep (OCS) was launched in 1991 to help every plastic resin handling operation achieve zero plastic resin loss. In the U.S., the Plastics Industry Association and the American Chemistry Council have been encouraging companies that manufacture, distribute, and use plastic materials to sign the OCS pledge and follow its guidelines.

If pellets, flakes, and powder are not properly contained and cleaned up they can enter the waste stream and can eventually find their way into streams, rivers, and oceans. There, they can be ingested by seabirds, turtles, and fish which affects their health and can lead to death.

Roland Wilson, Director of Logistics at M. Holland, is responsible for operational sustainability at the resin distributor. He outlines several of the areas where resin spills can occur:

“Bulk loading of resin from a railcar to a distributor, or from a truck to a molding facility, is done by hose. Some resin may be spilled on the ground, and can be very hard to recover,” he indicates. “You can prevent that by placing a catch pan under the truck or railcar to catch those bits of materials that may dribble out. We also recommend using straps to secure the hose to the railcar or truck when loading or unloading them, to prevent them from accidentally coming loose during those activities.”

Another common area of concern is when resin is being transported in super sacks (which contain 1,000 lbs. of resin) and smaller bags (which contain approximately 55lbs of resin) within a facility. They could be accidentally gouged or ripped open by a forklift. That can cause a floor spill which could become a safety hazard.

Having brooms and dust pans nearby to clean up resin spills is a best practice recommended by Operation Clean Sweep. What happens to the resin after it’s been cleaned up? It’s no longer virgin plastic. “It should be placed in a recycling bin, where it can still be reclaimed for some recycled plastic applications – not in a dumpster,” Wilson points out.

Grates and catch basins are the preferred way to keep resin from spilling on the floor and entering the floor drains. One molder, highlighted in an Operation Clean Sweep video, fabricated a plastic retaining ring for its blenders that prevents resin spillage when being filled. Others have installed special mats and cleaning devices to prevent resin that has stuck to the bottom of shoes from being tracked into the outside environment. 

Wilson emphasizes that taking extra care to avoid plastic resin spills is more than just an environmental issue. Cleanliness and good practices also make good economic sense. “In our business, plastic is money. It doesn’t do us any good to have it on the floor or in a garbage bin. It’s better to take the best care that we can of all that resin.”

As part of its commitment to Operation Clean Sweep, M. Holland encourages all companies in its supply chain to sign the OCS pledge. “One hundred percent of our bulk material and bulk truck movements are with carriers that have signed pledges on file. We also educate our partners on best practices. For example, we provide our third-party logistics firms with procedures on how to contain and prevent resin spills,” he adds.

Wilson is pleased with the groundswell of support he’s seen for Operation Clean Sweep from the manufacturers and molders M. Holland works with. “The need for it is very widely understood and well embraced. It doesn’t feel like companies are just paying lip service to it. When I go into the lobbies of some of our partner companies, I see the framed Operation Clean Sweep pledges signed by the employees. It’s a very successful initiative, in my opinion,” he declares.

In addition to supporting and evangelizing Operation Clean Sweep, M. Holland is also involved in other sustainability initiatives, including the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. Across the U.S., its employees also participate in the International Coastal Cleanup, which brings together communities worldwide to collect trash that pollutes waterways. 

In response to growing interest from large consumer product companies, M. Holland has also aggressively expanded its line card to include more resins made of post-consumer recycled plastic. Many organizations now have extensive commitments to ESG (environmental, social, and governance), a comprehensive approach to sustainability, and are being held to high standards by their investors and other stakeholders.

“They consume a lot of plastic and are very concerned about making sure they’re doing the right things like buying sustainable products whenever possible, reducing the amount of plastic used in packaging, and other initiatives to support the environment. Increasingly, they prefer to do business with partners who are also good stewards of the environment,” Wilson points out. 

“There’s no question that the world’s moving in the direction of sustainability. We’re excited to be at the forefront of this movement with programs like Operation Clean Sweep,” he concludes.