North American resin costs have climbed to historic highs, creating new pressure across supply chains and leaving many operations teams searching for answers. In a recent episode of the Packaging Perspectives Podcast from Packaging Strategies, Ric Lee, Stretch Sales Director at Atlantic Packaging, shares a practical approach to addressing these challenges. And that means starting on the pallet.
In his episode, Combating Rising Plastic Costs with Pallet Solutions, Ric explains how improving stretch film performance and standardizing load containment can significantly reduce material usage and cost. By focusing on how loads are wrapped, and not just what materials are used,companies can unlock measurable savings while improving consistency across operations.
Ric highlights Atlantic’s MUST Stretch Film Management System as one solution helping customers navigate rising costs. By setting and maintaining the correct wrapping standards, the system has helped reduce stretch film usage by an average of around 45%, while lowering overall costs by 15 – 35%.
The conversation also explores how a more disciplined, data-driven approach to pallet wrapping can support broader sustainability goals, including reducing plastic consumption and enabling closed-loop recycling systems.
For teams feeling the impact of rising resin prices, the episode offers a clear takeaway: meaningful cost and material reductions don’t always require new material, sometimes they start with optimizing the systems already in place.