December 2023 – Executive Director's Update

I hope this finds you all well and hopefully easing – or rushing if that’s the way it goes – into the holiday spirit as 2023 ends and we look towards the New Year. Together, we continue to lead public policy engagement, thoughtful science-based research, and stakeholder engagement for the entire U.S. packaging industry.  

As you know, 2023 was another busy year for AMERIPEN and for the packaging policy in the U.S. While no new full packaging producer responsibility laws were enacted, implementation and rulemaking for the existing four full laws in California, Colorado, Maine, and Oregon have gained significant momentum. This has demanded extensive focus and time of AMERIPEN staff and consultants to seek the best possible outcomes for your company and the U.S. packaging industry at large. Due to this, we expanded our contract with Serlin Haley to provide additional regulatory support and share related information with our members on a weekly basis. This is also why we developed and implemented our very successful six-part EPR webinar series. 

We also reinvested your membership dues into several other new resources this year, including federal legislative counsel, association legal counsel, a new association management system and website, and last, but certainly not least, The Markens Group, our new association management company. In addition, we released new research reports related to food waste, packaging trends, and state recycling market development (see more below). These, along with other resources and exciting research and stakeholder engagement opportunities we're planning for 2024, are pivotal to our ongoing proactive engagement at both the state and federal levels. Our aim is to advance and secure more balanced public policy approaches, ultimately adding significant value to both our work and your membership. 

Demonstrating strong support for our continued growth, we have added 16 new members in 2023! These include Alpek Polyester, Amazon, CJ Bio, D&W Fine Pack, ExxonMobil, Hallmark/Crayola, Henkel, Lactalis US Yogurt, Pharmavite, Reynolds Consumer Products, The J.M. Smucker Co., Alliance for Automotive Innovation, Consumer Healthcare Products Association, Food Northwest, National Electric Manufacturers Association and Western Plastics Association. It's been another great growth year for AMERIPEN, and we are thrilled that all these great organizations have joined us. 

Our growth and focus would not be possible without your membership and support. With your continued participation, we can provide key decision-makers with the best available information and policy guidance and enable more opportunities for you to engage with colleagues across the packaging value chain. The entire AMERIPEN team is grateful for the opportunity to work with such an engaged and intelligent membership and we appreciate the product and packaging expertise you bring to us, as well as your ongoing commitment to and support of AMERIPEN. 

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me anytime to talk about how we can benefit you, your company, and the entire packaging industry value chain. My door is always open.  

Happy Holidays to you and yours. 

Dan Felton
Executive Director
AMERIPEN