Plastic Retail Bags and Recycling A Sustainable Alternative to Regulation September 18, 2015 Presented By: Phil Rozenski Senior Director of Sustainability NOVOLEX

Who is NOVOLEX?

Our North American Locations

Some of Our Products

Plastic Bags, A Green Industry

Custom Checkout Systems Plastic Retail Bags QSR Packaging Systems Quick Service Carryout Bags

7 30,900 American Jobs 1,000 in Virginia $1.3 Billion in Annual Payroll $172.3 Million in Value Added to Virginia Provides Manufacturing and Recycling Jobs 380 Facilities 5 Facilities in Virginia Millions Invested in Recycling Education Overview of the Plastic Retail Bag Industry

8 Most plastic retail bags are made from a by-product of natural gas. 0.4% EPA data shows that plastic shopping bags make up just 0.4% of the U.S. municipal waste stream. Plastic retail bags are 100% recyclable and can be recycled through retail take- back bins. The Better Alternative: Plastic Retail Bags are More resource-efficient Take up less landfill space Generate fewer greenhouse gas emissions Environmental Facts About a Misunderstood Product

Making Bags More Sustainable

Store Take-back Recycling Programs

Bag-2-Bag® Recycling Program Making a Good Product Greener We have more than 30,000 plastic bag recycling points Our facilities recycled more than 20 million pounds of post- consumer plastic bags last year We believe that plastic bags should be reused and recycled - as a recycler the environment is our business

Consumer City Recycler Retailers & Grocers Benefits of Store Takeback Programs

Reverse Distribution

Washline

Processing and Storage

Industry Leading Job Producer

Zero Discharge / Recycle Our Water

90% Reuse Rate For those not reused, recycling works. 18 Greatest Challenge to Recycling is Reuse

Gray is the New Green

Why Sustainability Is Important

Plastic Retail Bag Bans and Taxes: Threaten thousands of U.S. manufacturing and recycling jobs Incentivize consumers to shop outside of the ban region—a particular issue for shops located near border regions Increase shop-lifting Create bureaucratic red tape for small business owners and more administrative challenges Present storage challenges for small store owners with limited space for bulkier bagging options Impose a regressive tax on low-income families. Do not save cities money, either in litter cleanup or waste collection 21 Alternatives Have Negative Impacts

Plastic Retail Bag Bans and Taxes: Force customers to use alternatives that generate more greenhouse gases Can even introduce more plastic into landfills after reusable bags and thicker plastic retail bags are discarded Do not reduce litter or waste—or the costs of litter cleanup and waste collection Consume more water, which is needed to manufacture alternatives to plastic retail bags Distract local officials from tackling more serious environmental problems 22 Environmental Consequences Avoided

Thank you. Questions? 23

Source Citations 24 James & Grant, Centre for Design at RMIT University, Australia: “LCA of Degradable Plastic Bags,” 2003.LCA of Degradable Plastic Bags U.S. EPA: “2011 Municipal Solid Waste Report,” May Municipal Solid Waste Report Boustead Consulting & Associates: “Life Cycle Assessment for Three Types of Grocery Bags—Recyclable Plastic; Compostable, Biodegradable Plastic; and Recycled, Recyclable Paper,” 2008.Life Cycle Assessment for Three Types of Grocery Bags—Recyclable Plastic; Compostable, Biodegradable Plastic; and Recycled, Recyclable Paper U.K. Environmental Agency: “Life Cycle Assessment of Supermarket Carrier Bags,” February 2011.Life Cycle Assessment of Supermarket Carrier Bags APCO: “National Plastic Shopping Bag Recycling Signage Testing,“ March 2007.“National Plastic Shopping Bag Recycling Signage Testing Moore Recycling Associates: “2011 National Postconsumer Plastic Bag & Film Recycling Report,“ February National Postconsumer Plastic Bag & Film Recycling Report City of Denver, CO: “Denver, CO Chief of Sustainability,“ September 2013.“Denver, CO Chief of Sustainability Environmental Resources Planning LLC: “Planning Report Brief: Plastic Retail Bags in Litter,” 2013.Planning Report Brief: Plastic Retail Bags in Litter Wright, Timothy. The Providence Journal: “Timothy B. Wright: The oceans face much bigger problems than plastic bags,” February 18, 2014.Timothy B. Wright: The oceans face much bigger problems than plastic bags Chemical Market Associates: “Analysis of Natural Gas,” February Chemical Market Associates: “Analysis of Recyclability,” February Reason-Rupe: “May 2013 Public Opinion Survey,” May 2013.May 2013 Public Opinion Survey NOVOLEX: “Bag the Ban,” 2015.Bag the Ban NOVOLEX: “NYC Myth vs Facts,” 2015.NYC Myth vs Facts Green Builder: “Deck Durability,” April 30, 2013.Deck Durability International Association for Food Protection: “Assessment of the Potential for Cross-contamination of Food Products by Reusable Shopping Bags,” August 2011.Assessment of the Potential for Cross-contamination of Food Products by Reusable Shopping Bags Edelman Berland: “Reusable Bag Study,” April 2014.Reusable Bag Study