Cretex Companies, Inc. Plastic Recycling Program Secures Bench for Local Elementary School

Reducing our impact on the natural world and serving the local community are both core values here at Cretex. Those two principles came together on April 4, 2024, when Cretex Companies, Inc. donated a bench to Champlin-Brooklyn Park Academy for Math and Environmental Science. The donation was made possible by the efforts of Cretex Medical employees over several months to divert hard-to-recycle plastics from landfills and use them to support a good cause.

The United States produces over 100 billion pounds of plastic per year, mostly for packaging (statistics at gitnux.org). One of the most difficult types of plastic to recycle is plastic films (e.g. shopping bags, newspaper sleeves, bubble wrap) because they are generally not eligible for curbside recycling programs.

In 2023, employees at the Cretex Brooklyn Park facility began participating in a program that targeted these types of plastics to be recycled through the NexTrex program, which converts these plastics into material for building eco-friendly outdoor products. 

Employees set a goal of collecting 500 pounds of films from the facility itself, as well as plastic films brought from home. In 6 months, not only did they meet their goal, but they exceeded it by 147 pounds! 

In recognition of Cretex reaching its goal, NexTrex constructed a bench out of recycled plastics that we could keep or donate to charity. We decided to donate it to a local elementary school.

About the School

Champlin-Brooklyn Park Academy for Math and Environmental Sciences is a public charter school that emphasizes math and environmental science. In addition to their nature center and math lab, they have an onsite greenhouse and gardens. The Kids for Saving Earth (KSE) club (pictured with the donated bench) meet after school to learn about how to live greener.