NEW YORK, April 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Long Island University in partnership with the Global Council for Science and the Environment (GCSE) and the Office for Science and Technology of the Embassy of France in the United States hosted the International Summit on Plastic Pollution: From Research to Action from April 5 to 6 on the University’s Brooklyn campus.

The summit followed the landmark resolution to end plastic pollution endorsed by 175 nations at the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi on March 2, 2022. It is the first summit in North America discussing concrete solutions aimed at reaching the goals of the UN’s proposed agreement.

“Long Island University is proud to partner with leading global institutions and apply our research capabilities to the effort to curb plastic pollution,” said Long Island University President Kimberly Cline. “We are committed to teaching our students that innovation and collaboration have the power to impact the world.”

Long Island University is ranked in the top 7% of research institutions in the U.S. by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Its prestigious faculty includes scientists who rank in the top 2% globally of researchers in their chosen field. Dr. Alexander More, director of the Long Island University Honors College, is a world-renowned environmental scientist and fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and was a primary organizer of the summit.

“Plastic pollution is directly tied to pollution from oil, from which it’s made,” said Dr. More, associate professor of environmental health at Long Island University. “To remove one, we need to remove the other from our economy and ecosystem, and we need to do so for our health and the environment.”

Researchers and policy leaders at the summit traveled from around the world to present groundbreaking innovations for replacing and removing plastics from the global economy, understanding health impacts, and opportunities for governments, research institutions and universities to collaborate and support long-term research initiatives and actionable policy proposals.

“Even if the number of scientific publications on plastic pollution increased exponentially in the last decade, there are still large gaps of knowledge. More transatlantic research collaboration is needed,” said Mireille Guyader, counselor for science and technology at the French Embassy.

Jesse Ausubel, Chair of the Richard Lounsbery Foundation Outpacing Plastic Pollution through Science and Innovation, delivered the keynote address. Among his many accomplishments, Ausubel helped organize the first UN World Climate Conference in 1979, and he initiated the Census of Marine Life, Barcode of Life Initiative and International Quiet Ocean Experiment.

Other distinguished speakers included Senator Angele Preville and Deputé Philippe Bolo of the French Parliament; United States Senator Sheldon Whitehouse; Juliet Kabera, Director General of the Rwanda Environment Management Authority; Amy V. Uhrin, Chief Scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Division; Muriel Mercier-Bonin, Research Director of the French National Institute for Food and Environment; Eric Chassignet, Director of the Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies; Wolfgang Ludwig, Director of the Centre of Education and Research on Mediterranean Environments; Philip Landrigan, Director of the Global Public Health Program and Global Pollution Observatory; and Paul Mayewski, Director of the Climate Change Institute.

“Plastic pollution is growing at a staggering pace posing challenges to human and ecosystem health,” said Michelle Wyman, executive director of the Global Council for Science and the Evironment. “Cooperation by the scientific community and nations to accelerate solutions and mitigate most especially single-use plastics is imperative to curb the impacts from this growing global threat.

Plastic Pollution is accumulating at an alarming rate in our environment and bodies. Aquatic ecosystems are expected contain three times as much plastic by 2040 if no action is taken. Microplastics have been found in every ecosystem on the planet—from Mt. Everest at the top of the world, to Marianas Trench at the bottom of the ocean—and in March scientists found microplastics in human blood for the first time.

“As researchers our goal is to constantly search for new ways to collaborate and share data that helps inform policy to address the greatest challenges facing society today,” said Dr. Randy Burd, senior vice president for academic affairs at Long Island University. “We are pleased to host some of the world’s foremost environmental science and policy experts to support sustainable solutions for the future.”

About Long Island University
Long Island University, founded in 1926, continues to redefine higher education, providing high quality academic instruction by world-class faculty. Recognized by Forbes for its emphasis on experiential learning and by the Brookings Institution for its “value added” to student outcomes, LIU has a network of over 285,000 alumni, including industry leaders and entrepreneurs around the globe. Visit liu.edu for more information.

SOURCE Long Island University

CONTACT: Ryan Kelley, Long Island University, O: 516.299.2591, E: Ryan.Kelley@liu.edu

PURCHASE, N.Y., Jan. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA) announced today a $35 million investment with Closed Loop Partners that will create the “Closed Loop Local Recycling Fund,” an innovative circular economy initiative to advance new small-scale, modular recycling systems in communities across the U.S. The fund aims to increase recycling in areas with no or limited access to recycling, reducing waste and unlocking a new supply of recycled plastic (rPET), among other valuable materials, to support PepsiCo’s pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) sustainable packaging goals.

“As companies – including PepsiCo – set ambitious goals to use more recycled content in their packaging, there is more need than ever for partnerships and investments to increase recycling in the U.S. We need to develop the infrastructure that makes recycling available to more Americans so we can recover the high-quality material that can be used in our packaging,” said Jason Blake, Chief Sustainability Officer and SVP at PepsiCo Beverages North America. “Through pep+, our end-to-end strategic transformation, sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. As the exclusive investor in the Closed Loop Local Recycling Fund, we are actively driving the changes needed to transform the US recycling system and move towards a circular economy.”

Closed Loop Partners will use the investment to deploy small-scale modular Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) in underserved communities that currently lack access to larger municipal MRFs. This gap in access is typically due to a lack of funding or geographic proximity to facilities that process the materials. The smaller, local MRFs lay the groundwork for the future of recycling, introducing a new way to meet and adapt to the various needs of communities across the U.S. These modular recycling systems are smaller and less capital intensive than traditional large-scale recycling facilities, reducing the need for the costly transportation of recycled materials to larger MRFs outside of the area. The small-scale MRFs will help recapture valuable recyclables––paper, plastic, glass, and metals––reducing waste sent to landfill and unlocking a new supply of recycled materials. Each individual system creates the capacity to recycle at least 8,000 tons per year of materials, including keeping 400 tons of rPET in circulation every year. They are also expected to yield higher quality plastic while also reducing the costs and greenhouse gas emissions associated with the longer distance transportation of the materials.

This investment reinforces PepsiCo’s desire to create a world where packaging never becomes waste and to increase recycling rates in the United States. It aims to support PepsiCo’s goal to cut virgin plastic from non-renewable sources across our food and beverage portfolios by 50% by 2030.

“This first-of-a-kind investment from PepsiCo ushers in a new future for local recycling, empowering communities across rural America and small cities to reduce waste and harness the value of their recycled commodities,” says Ron Gonen, Founder & CEO of Closed Loop Partners. “By closing the loop on these commodities, which can then re-enter local manufacturing supply chains, we are better equipping communities with the tools needed for resilience against a globally changing climate, while also creating new revenue opportunities and jobs. We look forward to continuing our long-standing partnership with PepsiCo to build and strengthen circular supply chains.”

This announcement comes on the heels of a $15 million PBNA investment in Closed Loop Partners’ Leadership Fund, a private equity fund that seeks to acquire and grow companies, including those in the packaging value chain, to strengthen recycling infrastructure and build circular supply chains that keep materials out of landfills. These investments are part of a long history of PepsiCo partnering with Closed Loop Partners to make strides on material recovery and infrastructure advancements:

In 2021, PepsiCo became a founding partner of Closed Loop Partners’ Composting Consortium, managed by their Center for the Circular Economy. The Consortium brings together leading voices in the composting ecosystem in the United States to identify the best path forward and pilot industry-wide solutions to increase the recovery of compostable food packaging and drive toward circular outcomes.
In 2014, PepsiCo became a founding member of the Closed Loop Infrastructure Fund, which has provided investments that cities, counties, and businesses in the U.S. use to take the steps necessary to move recycling to the next level, including new trucks for pick-up/hauling and cutting-edge technology to make materials recovery facilities work more efficiently.
Through American Beverage’s Every Bottle Back Initiative, PepsiCo is an investor in Closed Loop Partners’ Beverage Fund, which seeks to improve the collection of the industry’s valuable plastic bottles so they can be made into new bottles using rPET. This fund partners with other beverage companies, as well as nonprofits and NGOs like The Recycling Partnership and WWF to reduce their plastic footprints, improve recycling access, provide education to residents, and modernize recycling infrastructure in communities across the country.
As the Closed Loop Local Recycling Fund begins investing in community recycling, municipalities across the U.S., as well as local haulers, can reach out to Closed Loop Partners if they are interested in exploring a small-scale, modular MRF in their community.

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $70 billion in net revenue in 2020, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker, Tropicana, and SodaStream. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 23 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. “Winning with Purpose” reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of our business strategy and brands. For more information, visit pepsico.com.

About the Closed Loop Local Recycling Fund at Closed Loop Partners
The Closed Loop Local Recycling Fund is a circular economy initiative managed by Closed Loop Partners and funded by PepsiCo, aiming to finance and deploy small-scale, modular Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) to increase recycling in communities with no or limited access to recycling, reduce waste and unlock a new supply of recycled plastic. Closed Loop Partners is a New York-based investment firm comprised of venture capital, growth equity, private equity, project-based finance and an innovation center focused on building the circular economy. The firm’s business verticals build upon one another, bridging gaps and fostering synergies to scale the circular economy.

To learn about the Closed Loop Local Recycling Fund, visit Closed Loop Partners’ website.