Badger Plug opens new site for packaging component recycling

Badger Plug Company has added a fourth location to its recycling program, which sees it help clients divert and reuse roll packaging components that would otherwise end up in a landfill.  

Newport, Indiana, joins the other North American centers where Badger Plug will accept and recycle an array of packaging components previously used for protecting roll products during shipping and storage. Badger Plug first started recycling these products in 1984 at the company's headquarters in Greenville, Wisconsin.

Tom Duffy, national sales manager, said: ‘As the program took off, it became necessary for us to add more locations. Wauconda, Illinois, and Henryetta, Oklahoma, became home to our second and third recycling centers.’

Duffy said the program has grown significantly over the years. ‘Badger Plug is now recycling over 40 million pounds of packaging components annually. That's a lot of material that would have ended up in landfills.’

Badger Plug Company has produced a lot of packaging components over the firm's 81 years in business, including metal, wood and plastic core plugs, wooden endboards and components for roll suspension. According to Duffy, the company has always been environmentally conscious. ‘Badger started recycling used packaging components nearly thirty years ago. It took some time to educate clients as to which components could be recycled,’ Duffy continued. ‘But we found the industry was more than interested in getting these products out of their local waste stream and back into a recycle or reuse venue.’

Duffy pointed out that many packaging components can currently be recycled. Wooden endboards, pallets, plastic sleeve plugs and interlocking clips/channels are the most popular recycled components. ‘One of our goals is to accept quality components that can then be offered for resale at reduced prices,’ Duffy said. ‘We inspect, or remanufacture if needed, every item before being approved for resale. Those components can then be purchased at a reduced cost, saving our customers money while helping protect the environment. That's a win-win for everyone.’

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