Navigating PCR procurement? A new tool could help.

Marissa Heffernan | Packaging Dive • April 21, 2026

The Northeast Recycling Council’s PCR Material Demand Hub centralizes resources to help packaging developers and buyers.


Dive Brief:

  • The Northeast Recycling Council launched a PCR Material Demand Hub to help companies, whether they make packaging or just purchase it, tap into domestic recycled content markets.
  • The hub includes information on numerous materials commonly used in packaging, including paper, plastic and aluminum. While the main focus is recycled content, there’s also information on waste diversion, reuse, carbon impacts and other life cycle assessment variables. NERC hopes to add to it in the future, including resources for creating contracts.
  • For those newer to PCR purchasing, the hub has a road map for getting started, as well as a Q&A on how to identify and buy plastic products with PCR. The hub draws on work from the Association of Plastic Recyclers in that area. 


Dive Insight:

Companies and organizations looking to buy postconsumer recycled content and help shore up faltering domestic recycling markets have a new place to go for support. The Northeast Recycling Council launched the PCR Material Demand Hub to help counteract the recent strain on recycling markets as some brands loosen recycled content goals and resin imports surge. 


Megan Schulz-Fontes, executive director of the Northeast Recycling Council, said it’s the latest iteration of past programs.


“We wanted to create a hub which pools all the resources that NERC had developed historically, as well as new ones that have come about since, to make it easier for organizations, whether they’re private or public, to purchase sustainable materials,” she said.

 

In the past, NERC had worked with APR on the Government Recycling Demand Champions Program, which focused on getting governments, nonprofits and academic institutions to buy recycled materials. By 2022, activity in that program had started to lapse, Schulz-Fontes said. 


“We had done a lot of outreach. It was my impression that it wasn’t a need as much anymore, because those organizations had established sustainable procurement programs,” she said. 


However, markets shifted, most notably for PET, and today, we all “see and feel the impacts of processor closures due to the cheaper imports coming in and the chronic oversupply of virgin,” Schulz-Fontes said. 


There was a need again. As APR relaunched and redesigned the Recycling Demand Champions program and the National Stewardship Action Council started its “Remade in America” pledge, Schulz-Fontes said NERC wanted to support those programs and also reinvigorate some of its own. 


The Demand Champions Program suggests that organizations commit to PCR use, establish long-term supply agreements and think outside the box by using PCR in non-standard formats. To support those goals, the hub has a directory of manufacturers, vendors and suppliers of a variety of products with recycled content, as well as a Recycled Content and Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Directory with all levels of governmental resources, purchasing specifications and certification standards. 


That Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Directory is based on work that former NERC Executive Director Lynn Rubinstein did to develop an environmentally preferable purchasing specifications document, which is helpful for those who are just getting started, Schulz-Fontes said.


In addition, the hub will link procurement professionals and others working in adjacent roles via an Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Network listserv called EPPnet. That’s also one of NERC’s older programs that needed new life breathed into it, Schulz-Fontes said. “We’re hoping that’s something that’s useful for folks,” she said. Anyone who is working directly on procurement is welcome to reach out to be added to the group.


Other directories that NERC’s hub link to are the EcoPaper Database; Intertek’s Sustainability Certification Directory; the Electronic Product Assessment Tool; SCS Global Services Certified Green Products Guide; EPA’s CPG Product Supplier Directory; and APR’s Buyers and Sellers Directory.


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Rowan University

By Sophie Leone • June 9, 2026
Rowan University, located in Glassboro New Jersey, was founded in 1923 and has since evolved into a public research institution that is ranked among the top 100 in the nation. As a fast-growing institution, Rowan is committed to high-quality affordable education. Rowan offers over 100 bachelor's programs and has 15 colleges and schools for students to specialize in their degrees. Rowan also has multiple institutes and center specializing in a plethora of multiple areas of study. One such institute is its Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Institute (AMMI) where cutting edge science and engineering is occurring to improve upon materials and the processes with which we make, utilize, and reuse them. AMMI was founded by Dr. Joe Stanzione, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Rowan. Dr. Stanzione recently received a two-year New Jersey DEP grant which would expand the university's glass recycling effort. The goal of this two-year project is to “grow the recently established Glass Education, Research, and Recirculation Program (GERRP) that is a partnership between Rowan's Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Institute (AMMI) and Bottle Underground.” GERRP works to recirculate waste glass and connect end-users on Rowans' campus and the surrounding local economy to the supply. “With its rich history in innovative glass science and revolutionary glass manufacturing, it makes sense to explore, implement, and grow game-changing glass recirculation strategies in Southern New Jersey, strategies that we hope can be emulated regionally and adopted globally,” states Joe Stanzione. NERC is excited to welcome Rowan University and the Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Institute to our growing academic community. We look forward to supporting their efforts in the glass industry. For more information on the Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Institute (AMMI) at Rowan University visit.

Andela Products

By Sophie Leone • May 27, 2026
Founded by Cynthia Andela, Andela Products is a leader in Glass Recycling. Since its inception, Andela Products has expanded into designing complete systems to pulverize, clean and screen post-consumer waste glass. Andela uses cost-effective systems to transform waste glass into usable, high-value materials. Andela provides multiple applications such as a Pulverizer, Crusher, Laminated Glass, CleanGlass Cleaup Systems, and Single Stream Recycling. The variety in systems allows Andela to reach a diverse network of businesses and expand their reach. In addition to equipment, Andela has a detailed library of resources and safety information on the recycled glass market. Providing the community, and those in the industry, with details on glassphalt, sand and aggregates, glass sand as soil amendments, PCR, best practices and much more. Andela features testimonials on their websites, showcasing the prestige and easy operational use of their equipment by customers. With some customers stating, “We are incredibly satisfied with the GP-MegaMini from Andela Products — it is efficient, reliable, and its performance has exceeded our expectations” and “We appreciate the ease of ordering wear parts and value the attention and service we receive from Andela Products, it’s a true partnership”. NERC is excited to welcome Andela Products into our growing glass community. We look forward to supporting an organization committed to innovation and advancing technology while promoting education and best practices. For more information on Andela Products visit.

Q1 2026 Northeast Commodity Values Increase Despite PET’s Continuing Decline

By Megan Fontes • May 26, 2026
Aluminum, Clear Glass, and Natural HDPE See Significant Gains in Outbound Tons Marketed in 2025