AFMInc Launches Pilot Heatsheets® Recycling Program

September (PETALUMA, CA) AFMInc President and Chief Operating Officer, Stephanie Deigan, has announced a recycling pilot project she described as "well underway." The intent of the project is to develop and provide extensive guidelines to running events of all sizes for the recycling of their plastic waste, including AFM's highly visible Heatsheets-on-a-Roll™ finish line and aid-station heat-reflective plastic blankets.

Six marathons of various sizes, representing a wide range of U.S. recycling markets, were selected from AFMInc's Heatsheets customer base to participate in this fall's pilot project, including: the Portland Marathon, October 5th in Portland, OR; the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, October 5th in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN; the ING Hartford Marathon, October 11th in Hartford, CT; the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon, October 12th from Schenectady to Albany, NY; the IMT Des Moines Marathon, October 19th in Des Moines, IA and the Nike Women's Marathon, October 19th in San Francisco.

AFMInc founder and CEO David Deigan reflects back upon the "aha" moment that convinced him that something had to be done: "Our product is one of the most prominent products at the finish line of long distance running events, especially marathons. A couple of years ago, at the Chicago Marathon, I noticed there were three or four dumpsters full of Heatsheets destined for the landfill, and it was really a wake-up call. I was genuinely shocked by what I saw, so I started trying to figure out what we, as a company, could do to change our impact on the sport."

Deigan added: "The challenge was the non-recyclable metallized Mylar® material the Heatsheets were made from." The search for, and testing of, alternate materials started shortly thereafter, and ultimately led Deigan to the proprietary formulation of low density polyethylene that today's recyclable Heatsheets are made from.

This past spring, AFMInc's board became convinced that an aggressive approach to recycling was essential, and that work needed to begin immediately. Reaching out to Eco-Logistics, a consultancy focused on helping participant sporting events become more environmentally responsible, the senior Deigan asked for help developing a systematic approach for recycling Heatsheets. Thus, the pilot project was born.

Participating events will receive direct guidance from Eco-Logistics waste management expert Lee Barrett, including Barrett's personal involvement with local solid waste management companies and film plastics processors to ensure the objectives of the program are achieved. Barrett will also provide the link between events to allow best practices to be shared. PR support will be provided to each pilot event by Lee's partner, Keith Peters.

AFMInc and Eco-Logistics will take the findings from the pilot projects and develop detailed recycling protocols to address the opportunities and challenges running events of all sizes will face as they develop programs for recycling LDPE. Recycling protocols should be available by the end of the year on www.Heatsheets.com.

AFMInc looks forward to expanding its Heatsheets recycling program to include the nation's mega-marathons next year.

For more information about the Heatsheets recycling pilot project, contact Keith Peters at (307) 690-6803 or Keith@Eco-Logistics.com.