Podcast: Tackling scrap and waste in plastics manufacturing with smarter sealing solutions
Key takeaways
- Scrap and waste in plastics are often accepted costs—but reducing them boosts safety, image, and profit.
- Powder leaks from poor seals are costly, unsafe, and tarnish plant appearance—yet are easily preventable.
- Sealing tech eliminates waste at the source, paying for itself in less than 30 days.
- Sustainability isn't just good PR—it delivers measurable cost savings and operational efficiency.
In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Laura Davis, the editor in chief of New Equipment Digest, speaks with Cody Kaufmann, business development manager at SEPCO, about the growing role of sustainability in plastics manufacturing. They explore the often-overlooked issue of scrap and waste on the plant floor and why many manufacturers have simply accepted it as part of the process. Cody shares how air seal technology is helping facilities eliminate waste at the source—improving safety, cleanliness, and operational efficiency. The conversation highlights both the environmental and financial benefits of rethinking traditional practices through smarter sealing solutions.
Below is an edited excerpt from the podcast:
NED: So to start off, when you look at plastics manufacturing in this environment, especially in film and packaging, what are some of the biggest sustainability issues that tend to jump out at you?
CK: Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest sustainability issue—well, really, the top two—are scrap and waste. They're not only the biggest issues within plastics manufacturing, but really the biggest issues that even consumers face with plastics. I'm sure your listeners are well aware of all the legislation and the things happening around banning plastic straws, cups, bags, and those kinds of things, which show that there is a scrap and waste issue with plastic consumer products, but that also connects certainly to the manufacturers.
So when we're considering plastics manufacturing, that’s the biggest downside I guess you could say of plastics manufacturing. What do we do with all the scrap? And what do we do with all the waste? So that is certainly the biggest issue—scrap and waste with respect to the plastics manufacturing issue we’ve got to address.
NED: Yeah, you know the fact that it's such a big issue. It seems like most manufacturers kind of just live with scrap and waste in their plants, and maybe don't realize how much of an issue it is. So, could you speak on how big of a problem it really ends up being for people?
CK: Yeah, sure. I think much of the time in manufacturing, specifically with plastics, but I think this is probably true with any manufacturing, scrap and waste are really just assumed to be a part of the process. The average kind of cost of scrap and waste in the process is just kind of built in. And just so long as those rates don't exceed that cushion that's kind of built in, everyone's happy.
But I think when it comes to plastics manufacturing, I think the problem has been—and still is, to some degree—that we're really only just now realizing the ramifications of what plastic scrap and waste are doing. Not just the environmental impact, but the health and safety impact, the efficiency and manpower impact to dispose of that scrap and waste, to do something with it. And even the impact to produce that scrap and waste.
And it sounds kind of funny to say you're producing scrap and waste, but anytime you're making something, if what you're making happens to be scrap and waste, you're actually utilizing resources to produce something that's never going to actually be used. I think it's going to always be a problem with manufacturing, that is scrap and waste, but specifically with plastics manufacturing. It has been something that manufacturers have just been living with. But I think we are starting to realize how big of a problem it actually is.
NED: Yeah, it's really interesting. And you kind of touched on this, but the fact that so many are just living with it, why is this problem something that just seems to fly under the radar for plants? Why are people just living with it? And if a facility is dealing with it at all, what is a traditional method or resource they're using to prevent scrap and waste?
CK: So, couple of reasons why I think it does fly under the radar a little bit. And I think the first of those is the fact that it's kind of a bottom line issue. It hasn't really in the past, and maybe currently, doesn't hurt quite enough financially for them to deal with it. So if it doesn't hurt, then it kind of just flies under the radar a little bit.
But secondarily, I think we haven't really cared enough to address it, right? And so there are some recycling programs that companies have put in place, and there are some ways that companies are trying to reuse the scrap that they're producing. But that being said, a lot of it still does just get thrown away. So, I think it flies under the radar, because again, it doesn't hurt quite enough, which is something that we're trying to address. And I think we'll talk about that a little bit. But also just the cultural issues of trying to make us care about scrap and waste. So those are the reasons.
NED: Yeah, I think that's a really good point, that if it's not hurting your bottom line enough, it doesn't matter. You keep going. So that's a really interesting point. Talking about an alternative to the problem would be a solution, and SEPCO offers some technology that can help fix this issue. Can you explain a little bit about what SEPCO brings to the table, and how it can fix this issue, and what maybe makes SEPCO's approach a little bit different than just recycling or reusing?
CK: Yeah, absolutely. SEPCO's envisioning ways not to just reuse or recycle the scrap in the waste, which is what is kind of traditionally and typically being used now. But we're envisioning ways that we can eliminate the scrap and waste. I think we want to ask the question: What if we don't have to do something with the waste in the scrap because we keep it? We keep it from happening in the first place. And I think this is where thoughtful and robust sealing technology comes in. And much of the waste that we see in plastics manufacturing really comes from improper equipment sealing, and it's because these companies are using powders and pellets, and they're making dust and powders. And so it's not a liquid, so oftentimes it doesn't get the same attention—sealing technology attention that that a liquid would, because it's just a powder. But powders need good seals, too.
So that's SEPCO's approach to it; we're looking at these powder sealing applications in much the same way we would look at a fluid sealing application. We're trying to eliminate all leakage and keep the scrap and the waste from even happening at all, so we don't have to even deal with it from a recycling program or reusing program. But we're going to eliminate it from the beginning.
NED: That's great. And I could imagine, with powder, that those particles are flying everywhere, whether you see them or not. So, by eliminating the scrap or preventing it from happening in the first place with your sealing technology, what are some of the downstream effects you've seen? Like housekeeping issues, safety issues, or just reduction in costs. What kind of benefits have you seen from this tech?
CK: As you have mentioned, powders do fly everywhere, and they get on the floor, and powders on the floor are slippery. So there's a safety issue, right? Definitely a downstream safety issue. Powders on the floor make piles, and they pile up, and it looks bad. We've heard from customers that it just kind of presents somewhat of a wasteful image, especially when they give shop tours and stuff. It just looks bad, right?
So it's dangerous. It creates a health and safety hazard. But it just doesn't look good, it doesn't present an image that manufacturers want to present, and every granule of powder on the floor is associated with some dollar amount, right? I mean, it costs money to put powder on the floor. So it's a cost issue, it's an image issue, and certainly a health and safety issue, for sure.
About the Podcast
Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast offers news and information for the people who make, store and move things and those who manage and maintain the facilities where that work gets done. Manufacturers from chemical producers to automakers to machine shops can listen for critical insights into the technologies, economic conditions and best practices that can influence how to best run facilities to reach operational excellence.