SWANA and the US Plastics Pact have embarked on an all-new partnership, advancing the goal of bringing together stakeholders. The US Plastics Pact will host an in-person event for its activators in November, co-located with the brand-new SWANA conference, RCon鈩�. 听鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 be more excited about bringing together these two events,鈥� stated SWANA CEO Amy Lestition Burke, MA, FASAE, CAE. 鈥淩Con is a new experience and we welcome the US Plastics Pact to join us for it. Co-locating these events will give our members the opportunity to connect directly with brands and vice-versa.鈥�
鈥淪olving the challenges around plastic packaging demands connection and collaboration at every stage of the system,鈥� said Jonathan Quinn, CEO of the US Plastics Pact. 鈥淏y co-locating with SWANA, we鈥檙e bringing together the recycling, resource management, and packaging communities in a way that hasn鈥檛 been done before. I couldn鈥檛 be more excited for attendees to connect strategies, spark new ideas, and accelerate the progress we all want to see.鈥�
RCon takes place in Columbus, Ohio, November 12-15, 2025, and the US Plastics Pact event will occur November 11-12. 听Participants will have the opportunity to register for either event or both events. The Plastics Pact event will include breakout sessions of its committees, meetings to discuss its roadmap, and tours of local manufacturing and recycling facilities. RCon will include technical sessions, keynote presentations, peer learning, experiential learning, courses, and more. Registration for RCon will open on May 20, and the call for proposals is currently open.
鈥淏ringing our US Plastics Pact Activators together in person was a top priority for 2025,鈥� said Quinn. 鈥淲hen we saw what SWANA was building with RCon and everything Columbus has to offer as a leader in sustainability and innovation, it was clear this was the right place, and the right moment, to come together.鈥�
鈥淭his partnership gives action to the concept of full systems thinking,鈥� Lestition Burke shared. 鈥淲e need to make connections in order to bridge the gap between designing for recycling, recycling, and connecting supply and demand of products. SWANA members are managing municipal waste and recycling programs, running collections, and operating compost facilities and MRFs, while the US Plastics Pact activators are striving to make their products and packaging recyclable, compostable and reusable. Co-locating our events will provide the opportunity to connect these important pieces of the value chain.鈥�