TLMI Webinar: Connecting Packaging Design, Recyclability, and EPR

Packaging design plays a critical role in the plastics recycling process, with individual components influencing material identification, sorting, reprocessing, and end markets. In this session, PFE will explore how common packaging features, including labels, RFID tags, inks, and additives, can affect recyclability and how these features relate to the criteria used within Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks. Through a technical perspective, attendees will gain a better understanding of the relationship between packaging design, recycling performance, and the evolving regulatory landscape.

Speakers:
– Matt Levesque, Vice President of Testing & Consulting Division, PFE
– Kathryn Loranger, Quality Assurance Manager, PFE

Matthew Levesque – Vice President of Testing & Consulting Division
Matt began his career at PFE after earning a strong foundation in Plastics Engineering from UMass Lowell. Through his work at PFE, he gained extensive expertise in the plastics recycling sector, with exposure across the entire supply chain, from material performance and processing to regulatory compliance. This broad experience has given him a holistic perspective on recycling and established him as a recognized expert with deep and diverse industry knowledge.
Now serving as Vice President of Testing and Consulting, Matt plays a key role in advancing sustainability initiatives through collaboration with global organizations including the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), RecyClass, and others. As a contributor to the development and refinement of industry standards, he is dedicated to driving meaningful change and helping companies implement innovative recycling solutions worldwide. His commitment to the industry earned him recognition as an Honorable Mention for APR’s inaugural Recycling Leadership Award celebrating 30 years of the APR Design® Guide, an impressive achievement early in his career.

Katie Loranger – Quality Assurance Manager
Katie Loranger, Quality Assurance Manager, has over four years of experience leading quality systems and laboratory operations within the plastics recycling industry. A graduate of Wheaton College in Massachusetts with a degree in Physics, she combines scientific expertise with hands-on operational leadership to drive quality, compliance, and process improvement in sustainable manufacturing environments. Katie is a Certified Six Sigma Green Belt and holds a Google Analytics Certificate, strengthening her ability to apply data-driven decision-making, statistical analysis, and continuous improvement methodologies to recycling operations and laboratory management. As a qualified ISO/IEC 17025 Lead Assessor, she successfully built and maintained a fully accredited 17025 laboratory for more than four years, ensuring technical competency, regulatory compliance, and consistent testing standards. Her expertise includes recycled resin quality evaluation, contamination analysis, laboratory accreditation, process optimization, and quality assurance systems that support sustainable plastics recovery and circular economy initiatives.