Thomas Busard has spent his entire 50-year career with Plastipak Packaging. First with their HDPE container manufacturing, then just three years later, with the early commercialization of the PET carbonated soft drink bottles in 2-liter (with base cups). During this time Tom has held positions of increased responsibility across the company’s global business areas, including Regional Operations, Corporate Engineering, International Manufacturing & Operations, Global Procurement, Resins Procurement and Chief Procurement Officer. Tom currently serves as Plastipak’s Chief Polymers and Recycling Officer Procurement Officer. In 1989 Tom was assigned to start up Plastipak’s plastics recycling affiliate, Clean Tech Inc. and as Clean tech closes in on 33 years in the recycling business, he continues to serve as President of Clean Tech Inc. today.

In addition to being a Global manufacturer of PP, HDPE and PET preforms and containers, Plastipak is also a virgin PET resin producer in Europe, and has recently done extensive work in the areas of Enhanced Recycling including BHET, Bio materials, and rPET content virgin PET.

Throughout his career Tom has been very active in a number of industry organizations. He is a past board member of both the MRC (Michigan Recycling Coalition) and APR (Association of Plastics Recyclers). Tom has been a board member of NAPCOR (National Association for PET Container Resources) for 25+ years and currently serves as Chairman of NAPCOR.

From his singularly unique perspective as the Chair of NAPCOR, a reclaimer (PET and HDPE), as a huge converter (PET and HDPE), as a virgin PET resin producer in Europe, and with one of the largest PET purchasing footprint budgets in the world, and as a major supplier to the largest PET-consuming companies....there could be no better perspective from which to judge the PET industry and its current and future contribution to a sustainable future.