PureCycle Technologies, headquartered in Orlando, was the official sustainability partner for Synapse Orlando 2021, which took place on October 15th at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown. PureCycle worked with Synapse to help reduce the event’s environmental impact on the Orlando community. The innovative experience brings together entrepreneurs and tech innovators and was expected to attract more than 1,000 attendees this year in person and virtually. This partnership made a zero-waste footprint a Synapse priority and put sustainability front and center with the addition of a topical panel discussion (Orlando’s Planeteers: How Three Local Companies are Saving the Planet Through Innovation) on sustainability featuring PureCycle, IDEAS For Us, and EcoSPEARS.
“Investing in organizations and venues to help reduce their environmental impact in our own backyard is one way PureCycle can tackle the plastic waste crisis from a grassroots level,” Tamsin Ettefagh, Chief Sustainability Officer, PureCycle said. “We are thrilled to work with the team at Synapse Florida to achieve a PureZeroTM waste footprint for this year’s event. PureCycle’s mission is to transform plastic waste into an infinitely sustainability material and change the way society views and uses plastic. By engaging innovators, community leaders, and eco-driven residents we can inspire a movement that changes the game when it comes to plastic waste.”
“At Synapse Florida, we are always innovating in the way we bring communities together and seek to inspire others,” Lauren Prager, Vice President Community Engagement, Synapse, said. “We knew it was possible to host large scale events that would reduce waste, increase recycling and prioritize sustainability. With PureCycle as our official sustainability partner we are doing just that. Sustainability isn’t just about reducing our footprint for one event; we want our innovators to leave this experience inspired to change the way they view and use plastic. PureCycling plastic waste changes the recycling game, and we are excited to work with this Florida company this year.”
PureCycle collected all polypropylene plastic–designated as #5 plastic that is typically found in food containers and cups–from the conference. Throughout Synapse Orlando, there were bins labeled with the PureCycle logo to indicate where attendees can toss their plastic waste. PureCycle will sort out the No. 5 plastic waste to recycle and ensure all other plastic waste is recycled at other facilities. PureCycle had also worked with the Synapse team to identify No. 5 plastic products to stock the conference with to ensure a PureZero™ waste footprint on the Orlando area.
PureCycle uses a patented technology which removed virtually all contaminants from the plastic waste generated at the one-day conference to transform it into ultra-pure recycled plastic. This like-new plastic can then be used to create new consumer products that can be PureCycled over and over again, creating an infinitely sustainable product. Polypropylene plastic is the most used plastic in the world and yet, less than 1% of it is recycled because it is challenging to recycle.
