Embracing Sustainability: How Piedmont Plastics Employees Became Champions of Plastic Recycling
Recycling isn’t just a trend—it’s a critical step toward protecting our planet and building a sustainable future. At Piedmont Plastics, we recognize the long-lasting impact of waste, especially plastics that can take centuries to degrade in landfills. That’s why we’ve made environmental stewardship a core part of our operations, with a strong focus on reducing waste and promoting recycling throughout our facilities.
An Expert is just around the corner.
With over 100 years of combined product knowledge and industry experience, we are confident our plastics experts can help you find a solution for your application.
A Culture of Innovation: Turning Waste Into Opportunity
Piedmont Plastics team members Ying Thao and Bao Thao have brought new life to Piedmont’s sustainability efforts by reimagining how plastic banding can be reused. Drawing on traditional weaving techniques from their native Laos, they repurpose plastic strapping—typically used to bundle raw materials—into beautifully woven, durable baskets. These handmade creations are not only strong and functional (yes, they’re even dishwasher-safe), but they also reflect the creativity and care our team brings to environmental responsibility.
How You Can Start a Recycling Program at Your Workplace
Looking to start or enhance your company’s recycling efforts? Here are a few practical steps that can make a measurable impact:
1. Educate Your Team
Understand what types of recyclables your business produces—cardboard, shrink wrap, plastic banding, and more. Whether in a warehouse, office, or manufacturing facility, opportunities to reduce, reuse, and recycle are everywhere.
2. Establish a Recycling Program
Create clearly labeled recycling stations across your facility, making it easy and convenient for employees to participate. Consider logistics such as how materials will be collected, transported, and processed. Some recyclables may even bring financial return, which can be reinvested in employee events or green initiatives.
3. Communicate the Why
Reinforce your company’s sustainability goals through regular communication. Create a green team or sustainability committee to educate staff about recyclable materials, energy-saving tips, and your organization’s environmental impact.
4. Track and Celebrate Progress
Set benchmarks to measure the success of your program. Track how much material is recycled over time and share progress with your team to recognize their contributions and maintain momentum.
Piedmont Plastics' Commitment to Recycling and Environmental Responsibility
At Piedmont Plastics, we go beyond internal recycling efforts—we’ve implemented a company-wide recycling program focused on reducing industrial waste, including plastics, cardboard, and scrap materials. Our network of branches across North America is encouraged to develop localized sustainability strategies, allowing us to divert significant volumes of recyclable material from landfills each year.
Our program includes:
Plastics recycling initiatives at fabrication and distribution centers
Employee-led innovations like the Charlotte woven basket project
Partnerships with local recyclers to ensure materials are properly processed
Corporate sustainability goals that emphasize environmental performance across all operations
We’re proud to empower our employees to take ownership of environmental responsibility and find creative ways to repurpose and recycle.
Want To Learn More?
Whether you’re seeing mountains of cardboard or tumbleweeds of shrink wrap, now is the perfect time to take action. Piedmont Plastics is here to help!
Inquire Today!