The Chatham Group is excited to announce a strategic enhancement to the vision of our CREST team. We had initially established the CREST group based on our communal expertise in the fields of Circularity, Regulatory, Environmental Health, Stewardship, and Technology. Our mission continues to evolve to meet the needs of both our clients and emerging markets.

Based on market research, and feedback from our clients, we have decided to transition the ‘E’ in CREST from ‘Environmental Health’ to ‘Energy’. This strategic shift is made possible due to the already interconnected nature of Regulatory Compliance, Environmental Health, and Product Stewardship. Our pillars of Regulatory and Stewardship are robust, and, in many ways, they naturally address our clients’ needs in the Environmental space.

By rolling the Environmental ‘E’ in with the ‘R’ and ‘S’ we have freed bandwidth to critically develop a new vertical, Energy. The direct inclusion of Energy reflects the growing importance of sustainable energy solutions, energy efficient technologies, and innovative energy management practices across multiple industries. Collectively, the CREST Group has experience with several key sectors of the Energy domain including existing nuclear and petroleum based energy programs, sustainable biogas and other organic liquid fuel feedstocks, EV batteries and other advanced battery technologies, minerals, mining, and other crucial raw material sourcing, and data center technologies and infrastructure.

CREST will now stand for Circularity, Regulatory, Energy, Stewardship, and Technology.

We believe this refinement of our mission statement will allow us to better meet our clients’ goals and hiring needs while not losing focus on our original key values. We hope this change signals our commitment to solving our clients’ needs in energy efficiency infrastructure, sustainable fuels, and advanced energy technologies.

We look forward to continuing our collaborative partnerships, building new partnerships, and we are excited for the opportunity to expand a new vertical without sacrificing our core identity.

Click to set up a consultation regarding the future of your business and/or career >>

Within the CREST initiative this month, we are focusing on the “T” for Technologies. In that light, I would like to introduce you to some exciting new technologies that companies have put in place recently to manufacture sustainably produced materials that are typically made globally from fossil fuels.

What Are Plastic Bottles and Caps Made Of?

As most people are aware, the vast majority of clear plastic containers for bottled water, soda and other liquid beverage containers are made from polyethylene terephthalate, or PET. Also, for bottle caps and closures, common plastic materials include polyethylene (PE), particularly high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE), as well as polypropylene (PP).

The Recycling Loop: Bottles vs. Caps

In most recycling facilities, the clear PET bottles are recycled back into traditional PET streams as recycled PET for plastic containers and other applications, often closing the circularity loop. The colored HDPE and PP caps, however, are most likely converted to some sort of durable good like decking material, irrigation tubes or other applications different from their initial use.

The main reason that recycling facilities ask recycling customers to keep the cap on the bottle when they recycle the PET container is that it helps keep the recycling streams separate.

From Eureka Recycling: “Why Keep the Caps on the Bottles?”

Eureka Recycling, a nonprofit zero waste organization and social enterprise recycler based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, asked this important question.

The main reason is for sortation. Everything in a materials recovery facility (MRF) like Eureka’s is sorted by size, weight, and shape. When a bottle cap is thrown into a recycling bin on its own, it is too small and too light for our equipment to handle it. A loose cap could float into the lightweight paper, fall into the small pieces of glass, or end up with the residual at the end of our line. In all three cases, that bottle cap will eventually end up in an incinerator or a landfill.

But, when you empty your bottle and put the cap back on, it stays with the larger PET bottle and gets sorted and baled to be shipped out to a processor who will ready the materials for manufacturing into new goods.

How Do They Separate the Two Plastics?

It seems like it would be difficult, but it’s actually quite simple. Bottles and caps are ground into flakes, washed vigorously, and then separated with a water bath float/sink process. PET sinks, while HDPE floats. Pretty ingenious!”

New Breakthrough: PET Caps

Now, that is changing as we are witnessing the first production of caps for beverage containers being made from PET.

There are several potential advantages to this technological breakthrough, primarily with the improved recyclability of the overall package, bottle and cap. Now that the bottle and cap can be made from the same plastic material, one no longer needs to separate the bottle and cap when recycling the container. This also allows manufacturers to increase the amount of recycled PET or even 100% bio-based, carbon-negative virgin PET in the overall package.

Other advantages include:

• Lightweight design as PET provides better mechanical properties and a lighter cap or closure.
• Improved shelf life for the packaged product.
• In addition to the PET cap, we are also seeing another breakthrough with the first tethered PET caps.

Europe’s SUPD: Tethered PET Caps

In July of last year, Europe enacted the Single-Use Plastics Directive. The Directive (SUPD) mandates that plastic caps remain attached to beverage containers (up to 3 liters) after opening, aiming to reduce litter and improve recycling. This directive was put in place, to some degree, because loose caps are a common source of litter, particularly on beaches and in marine environments, and are often difficult to recycle.

According to research from the European Commission, plastic bottle caps are among the most common items of litter found on coastlines.

Moreover, Ocean Conservancy cited bottle caps as the fourth most collected item of waste worldwide in 2023 – the second most collected in North America. As a result of this and other research, many expect the United States to adopt a similar law to reduce litter from bottle caps domestically.

Tethered caps reduce litter by ensuring the cap remains attached to the bottle, preventing it from being discarded and becoming a piece of litter, and also facilitating easier recycling of both the bottle and cap together. By keeping the cap attached, both the bottle and cap can be recycled together, increasing the overall recycling rate of plastic packaging.

With tethered caps made from PET available in the near future, this provides the ultimate recycling advantage, especially if the US adopts a similar law as Europe.

Technology Spotlight: Methane Pyrolysis

The next process breakthrough we wish to introduce is the methane pyrolysis process. This process is currently being used to manufacture sustainably produced carbon black and hydrogen. Carbon black is an important raw material used in rubber compounds to provide reinforcement. Primary applications are tires and mechanical rubber goods such as belts and hoses as well as specialty applications such as inks and coatings. Carbon black is also used in plastic masterbatches to provide a black colorant as well as UV resistance.

The hydrogen produced from the process can be used in numerous high energy demand applications such as fertilizer for agriculture, fuel cells, petroleum refining, energy storage, electricity generation and more.

Traditional Carbon Black vs. Sustainable Process

Traditionally, carbon black is created through the incomplete combustion or thermal decomposition of hydrocarbon feedstocks such as oil, coal tar, or natural gas. These processes commonly release large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. With the methane pyrolysis process, one can manufacture environmentally sustainable carbon black, all while preventing over 2 tons of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere for every ton of carbon black produced.

If one uses natural or bio-derived feedstocks in carbon black production, one can reduce the carbon footprint even further, potentially leading to carbon-neutral or even carbon-negative outcomes, as these feedstocks absorb CO2 during their growth, offsetting emissions from their use.

How It Works: No Combustion = No CO₂

In the methane pyrolysis process, although the methane is heated, it isn’t actually burned. This means that there is no CO2 created in the process to manufacture the carbon black and hydrogen. In addition, with the use of 100% renewable electricity to power operations, that means that it is Clean Hydrogen.

A common method for producing clean hydrogen is through electrolysis, where electricity from renewable sources is used to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. Somewhat similar to the electrolysis process, the methane pyrolysis process uses renewable electricity to crack the natural gas molecule into carbon black and hydrogen.

The Role of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs)

Currently, renewable energy certificates, commonly known as RECs, can be used to provide the renewable electricity used in the methane pyrolysis process. Essentially, for every MWh of renewable electricity generated and delivered to the grid, a REC is issued. Individuals and businesses can then purchase the RECs to demonstrate their commitment to using renewable energy and reducing their carbon footprint. Some examples of renewable energy are wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and hydropower.

Clean Hydrogen, Low Emissions, Big Potential

The methane pyrolysis process to manufacture sustainably produced carbon black and clean hydrogen is virtually emissions-free and significantly reduces the carbon footprint, all while creating a path toward a potentially carbon negative production future.