Though many in the plastics industry are familiar with the overwhelming benefits that polymeric materials provide, the public has become highly skeptical. And rightly so – when you see clogged rivers and dead fish, what are people supposed to think? Let's rethink plastics among ourselves for a moment, at least in terms of how the public views it. By acknowledging the paradoxical nature of plastics' efficiency, we can perhaps take a more holistic approach to design that utilizes the full value of a material's properties while considering end-of-life implications. The nuances and complexities of modern plastics ensure that there are no easy answers. And though we have to make difficult choices, we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Conor Carlin is the first VP of Sustainability for SPE, elected to the Executive board in 2017 and again in 2020. A member of SPE since 2000, he serves as editor for SPE Thermoforming and Recycling Division publications. Carlin has contributed articles on plastics and sustainability for international industry press in the US, Europe, and Asia. He is the co-author and editor of the 2nd edition of “Plastics & Sustainability: Grey is the New Green” published by Scrivener/Wiley.

Carlin is also Managing Director of ILLIG North America, subsidiary of ILLIG Maschinenbau GmbH & Co., a Germany-based designer and manufacturer of thermoforming, tooling, and packaging systems.

Carlin has degrees from Boston University (BA, International Relations / French) and the FW Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College (MBA).

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