Senior Vice President of Supply Chain & Manufacturing, Trex
Search every verified Zachary Lauer interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Zachary Lauer, Senior Vice President of Supply Chain & Manufacturing at Trex, discussed the company's recycling and manufacturing operations on the Sustainable Packaging Podcast in September 2022. Lauer stated that Trex is expanding to a new facility in Little Rock, Arkansas, to access more recycling material and get closer to customers. He said that 95% of the material used in Trex's decking products is post-industrial or post-consumer recycled content, and that the company diverted more than a billion pounds of plastic over the previous five years, including more than 360 million pounds of plastic film in 2020 alone. Lauer described Trex's process as combining discarded plastic bags, wraps, and reclaimed wood to produce a product warrantied for 25 years. He noted that the company works to capture film from retail stores, distribution, and manufacturing, and that it recycles 100% of its water in a captive process. Lauer also mentioned Trex's school recycling competition, which rewards communities and schools with products made from recycled materials. He encouraged listeners to contact him via LinkedIn or email at [email protected] with ideas for new recycling initiatives.
“At Trex, 95% of the material that goes into our decking products is post-industrial or post-consumer recycled content. We're trying to divert as much material from the waste streams as possible and make a valuable product.”
“Over the last five years, we've diverted more than a billion pounds of plastic. In 2020 alone, we upcycled more than 360 million pounds of plastic film from landfills. Each year, Trex uses more than 1.5 billion plastic bags in our eco-friendly outdoor living products.”
“The genius of Trex is in our process where we combine discarded plastic bags, wraps, and reclaimed wood to produce a product that can withstand harsh outdoor conditions and is warrantied for 25 years.”
“We're growing and moving to the Midwest to Little Rock, Arkansas for our next facility to access more recycling material and get closer to our customers. We're continuously looking to develop the future of recycled materials.”
“We work very hard to set up supply chains where we can capture film from retail stores, distribution, and manufacturing. We encourage people to return their bags to stores because we pick them up and recycle them into valuable products.”
“Most of the film we receive, especially from distribution and consumers, is pretty clean. Our process can handle a certain amount of contamination, but some films like agricultural films require more processing, which we balance with energy use for sustainability.”
“Most of the ways films are cleaned is through water solutions, but at Trex, we recycle 100% of our water in a captive process, which is amazing and part of how we modernize our facilities sustainably.”
“We use a lot of reclaimed wood from landfills, manufacturing dust, and fibers, as well as woods that don't have other purposes like orchard woods and walnut trees, which can't be used in mulch due to natural herbicides.”
“We've had to create supply chains to draw all this material into our manufacturing opportunities, which is a massive reverse logistics operation to convince people to save and return materials for recycling.”
“We encourage and reward recycling through programs like our school recycling competition, where communities and schools can win Trex products like picnic benches and birdhouses made from recycled materials.”
What happens to most of the plastic you drop off at the grocery store recycling box? It gets turned into a wood replacement ...
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