By Julie Zaniewski

We need to do better for our communities, and we can make a huge difference if we work together.

One particular thing that I value about team Dow is that we understand it takes bringing everyone to the table to find innovative solutions and make positive change. Everyday I’m inspired to see the impact our collaborations with companies and organizations have on greater society.

One recent collaboration was with Reynolds Consumer Products and an innovative manufacturing company, ByFusion. We used hard-to-recycle materials from the Hefty® EnergyBag® program in the Boise, Idaho area to create building materials that can be used to develop infrastructure such as park benches, bus stops and other outdoor structures. Through our collaboration we not only addressed the issue of hard-to-recycle plastic by diverting materials from the landfill, but we also found creative and circular uses for these materials.

The Dow Business Impact Fund supports this project through a competitive grant program that designates corporate funding toward projects that help address social problems through our technology and expertise.

I had an opportunity to talk to Lisa Burns, Senior Vice President of Sustainability for Reynolds Consumer Products, about this collaboration.

Can you provide background about the Hefty® EnergyBag® program? How did this project come to life?

Lisa:

The original pilot was initiated by Dow and the first permanent program was launched in the Omaha area in 2016. Every market we have expanded into has been an opportunity to test and learn how to communicate the collection, diversion and repurposing of hard-to-recycle plastics. Since this launch, the Hefty® EnergyBag® program has been established in the Atlanta area, Boise in addition to Omaha.

We first learned of ByFusion through Plug and Play, an innovative startup platform created through the Alliance to End Plastic Waste. Through that collaboration platform, the Dow team decided to begin work with ByFusion. Dow identified hundreds of potential uses for the Hefty® EnergyBag® program materials, after running a successful trial of transforming materials into ByBlocks, a construction-grade building material made entirely from recycled and hard-to-recycle plastics waste, the decision was made to move forward with our project in Boise.

How did Boise area residents learn about the Hefty® EnergyBag® program? How and why did they make the decision to participate?

Lisa:

We worked and communicated closely with the communities in Boise and the surrounding Ada County area; educating them on the waste that could be put in the EnergyBag. The residents were supportive of the program’s implementation and viewed it as complimentary to their existing recycling efforts. Our comprehensive social media approach was helpful in connecting with the community and keeping them engaged and informed.

Community involvement was integral to the success of this project. How did you collaborate with key stakeholders in the Boise area to make this collaboration successful?

Lisa:

We collectively presented the blocks as a chance to display the productive use of locally collected hard-to-recycle plastics. Local cities and counties saw the potential of the ByBlocks right away and sought out the best locations to demonstrate the innovation to their citizens. As these smaller builds become public, we expect more possible uses for the blocks to come rolling in.

DOW

DOW

Dow (NYSE: DOW) is one of the world’s leading materials science companies, serving customers in high-growth markets such as packaging, infrastructure, mobility and consumer applications. Our global breadth, asset integration and scale, focused innovation, leading business positions and commitment to sustainability enable us to achieve profitable growth and help deliver a sustainable future. We operate manufacturing sites in 30 countries and employ approximately 36,000 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $43 billion in 2024. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries.​​​​Learn more about us and our ambition to be the most innovative, customer-centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world by visiting www.dow.com.

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