CSR Activities

It is common knowledge that recycling rates in the US are significantly lower than other countries. For the past two years, IVXP & AP set out on a journey to help increase these rates. We worked with the local Decatur City Recycling Center to understand their needs and limitations of recycling in the area. Understanding those limitations, we wanted to focus on promoting and educating the importance of recycling and the best place to start was in our local schools.

IVXP and AlphaPet belong to a group called Partners in Education (PIE), we partner with a local school, Cedar Ridge Middle School (CRMS) to work with the more than 750 students. Our school didn’t have a formal recycling program. We developed an educational recycling program that focused on three things: 1- Indorama Ventures- who we were and what we manufactured in their community; 2--what recycling means, and 3- why it should be important to all of us. The program included three different competitions:

1. Competition against the grades - which grade could collect the most pounds of recycled material during the five weeks.
2. Second Chance Competition- create a new and different use for something that would’ve thrown in the garbage. In 2018 we added a new category “Best Use of Recycled PET”.
3. End of School year competition- collect 9000 pounds (2017) and 11,500 pounds (2018) of recycled material.

For five weeks, 15 Indorama Ventures Xylenes & PTA and AlphaPet Employees teach about recycling, and then hold a huge rally in the gymnasium, where we invite both local and state officials, TV stations and local newspaper reporters attend.

The recycling program that we have initiated at CRMS has earned them a nomination to receive a CLAS (Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools) Banner School Award. It is a very high honor to be nominated to receive this award.

In 2017, CRMS collected more than 12000 pounds of recycled materials and currently have collected over 6000 pounds.