You try to be sustainable and not generate food waste. But at times, you can’t avoid the problem of having packaged food go bad before it gets out of your plant or the warehouse—or maybe it’s recalled for a labeling error, and it’s now expired. What to do? I asked Ray Hatch, CEO of Quest Resource Holding, who’s had extensive experience in food service industries and waste management to talk about the options, which, unfortunately, are not many.

Nestlé Waters North America will use 25 percent recycled plastic for packaging in U.S. products by 2021, trying to increase its role in addressing the country’s recycling challenges.

Starbucks and WestRock completed a pilot to recycle fiber from 25 million coffee cups for new cups.

Recycled paper company Sustana invested in pulping equipment to remove polyethylene liners from the cups and save the fiber, which was mixed into paperboard at WestRock’s mill in Evadale, Texas. Large rolls went to Seda packaging company for printing, cutting and forming.

Anheuser-Busch InBev and DS Smith Plastics are winners of the 2018 Excellence in Reusable Packaging Award for innovations that reduced CO2 impact.