Western Plastics Association

What Western Plastics Association does

The Western Plastics Association (WPA) is a nonprofit trade association founded in 1974 (originally as the California Film Extruders and Converters Association, or CFECA) and headquartered at 1107 9th Street, Suite 1011, Sacramento, California. WPA represents an alliance of plastic producers, converters, suppliers, and downstream customers across the Western United States and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario, and celebrated its 50-year milestone in 2024. The association's stated mission is to create a unifying force for the plastics industry in the West, educating policymakers and the public about the economic and environmental contributions of plastics while monitoring legislative and regulatory developments.

WPA's core service offerings are organized around four pillars: (1) Legislative Representation & Reporting, delivered through weekly California governmental representation supported by bill-tracking services from Serlin Haley and lobbying through Houston Magnani, with coverage of single-use plastics, bags, labeling, packaging, PFAS, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) nationwide; (2) Networking Opportunities, structured around quarterly dinner meetings and a minimum of six annual events, plus an annual conference and a Canada Golf Outing; (3) a Resource Hub providing newsletters, programs, and legislative information; and (4) targeted Legislative Update Webinars on high-impact regulatory topics such as SB 54 implementation, California's $500M Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund, chemical recycling, and compostable packaging. The technology stack supporting delivery is conventional web content (westernplastics.org), email newsletters, and LinkedIn—there are no proprietary AI/ML or software products.

The business model is subscription/recurring membership dues paid by producers, converters, suppliers, and downstream customers, supplemented by event sponsorship from equipment and materials vendors such as Extrusion Automation (Syncro), Comexi North America, National Plastics Color, and Reifenhauser. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; prospective members complete an application and contact the association directly. The go-to-market motion is community-led and event-driven, relying on in-person gatherings, webinars, and direct outreach to recruit and retain members across the regional plastics value chain. No revenue, headcount, dues, or member-count figures are publicly disclosed, and only one staff member (Legislative Affairs Director Laurie Hansen Sheets, 25+ year tenure) is identified in the input data.

Name

Western Plastics Association

Legal name

Western Plastics Association

Website

https://westernplastics.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Western Plastics Association is a Sacramento-based nonprofit trade association founded in 1974, serving plastic producers, converters, suppliers, and downstream customers across Western US states and Canadian provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario) via membership dues, legislative advocacy, and recurring networking events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Association Services

NAICS

Plastics Product Manufacturing (3261), All Other Plastics Product Manufacturing (326199)

SIC

Plastics Products, Nec (3089)

akta.pro primary industry

Recycled Plastic Compounds (PCR/PIR) (IMANABAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sustainability Testing, Certification & Compliance (LCA, Recyclability/Compostability Testing, FSC/PEFC) (IMALAMAK)

Keywords

• Trade association services
• Legislative advocacy
• Industry networking events
• Plastics industry representation
• Regulatory compliance support

Headquarters

HQ city

Sacramento

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: WPA generates revenue through annual membership dues from plastic producers, converters, suppliers, and downstream customers operating in the Western States and Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Western Plastics Association is a regional trade association providing governmental representation, legislative monitoring, networking, and industry education services to plastic producers, converters, suppliers, and downstream customers in the Western United States and Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. Its core deliverables include weekly legislative representation in California, bill-tracking coverage of single-use plastics, bags, labeling, packaging, PFAS, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations, plus quarterly meetings and at least six annual networking events.

Product overview

Western Plastics Association is a trade association offering a unified membership program for plastic producers, converters, suppliers, and downstream customers across Western States and Canadian Provinces. The core offerings include Legislative Representation & Reporting Services (governmental advocacy and weekly legislative updates on plastics regulations), Networking Opportunities (quarterly meetings and six annual networking events), a Resource Hub (newsletters, programs, and industry information), and event programming including Legislative Update Webinars, Annual Conferences, Quarterly Dinner Meetings, and Canada Golf Outings. These services work together to provide industry representation, education, and business development opportunities for members.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Membership Program

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Serlin HaleycoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSerlin Haley provides bill tracking services for WPA, monitoring legislation across single-use plastics, bags, labeling, packaging, PFAS regulations, and EPR nationwide on behalf of association members.
• Houston MagnanicoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHouston Magnani provides lobbying services and governmental representation for WPA, helping the association advocate on legislative issues affecting the plastics industry in California and other western states.
• Extrusion Automation LLC (Syncro)minorOthersSponsor of Western Plastics Association.
• Comexi North AmericaminorOthersSponsor of Western Plastics Association.
• National Plastics ColorminorOthersSponsor of Western Plastics Association.
• ReifenhauserminorOthersSponsor of Western Plastics Association.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Flexible Packaging Association: Trade association serving flexible packaging manufacturers and converters, including film extrusion — the segment WPA was originally founded to represent as CFECA. Direct peer in mission, though focused on a specific plastics product format.
• Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE): Global professional society for plastics scientists and engineers. Comparable as a plastics industry membership organization providing technical content, events, and networking; differs in its technical/individual-membership orientation versus WPA's company-level membership model.

Emerging players

• Compost Manufacturing Alliance: Industry program certifying compostable products and packaging. Comparable in addressing compostable packaging regulation and standards, a topic WPA actively covers in legislative webinars and conferences.
• Vinyl Institute: US trade association representing vinyl/PVC manufacturers and downstream users. A product-vertical trade body comparable to WPA in advocacy and regulatory monitoring function, but narrower in product scope.
• Sustainable Packaging Coalition: Industry working group advancing sustainable packaging design and policies. Comparable to WPA's regulatory and sustainability programming (compostable packaging, labeling, EPR), with overlap on the downstream-customer member segment.
• Association of Plastics Recyclers (APR): Industry organization focused on plastics recycling and recycled content. Comparable to WPA's emerging sustainability programming (chemical recycling, mass balance, California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund), but specialized rather than horizontally focused.

Broad incumbents

• Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS): National US trade association for the plastics industry, providing legislative advocacy, industry data, and networking across the full plastics value chain. WPA explicitly notes it works with PLASTICS, making it the most directly comparable national counterpart to WPA's regional model.
• American Chemistry Council (ACC): Trade association representing chemical manufacturers including plastics resin producers. Comparable to WPA as an industry advocacy body, but operating at a national level and focused on chemistry producers upstream of WPA's converter-heavy membership.

Regional players

• Canadian Plastics Industry Association: Canadian national plastics industry association representing producers, converters, and recyclers. Highly comparable to WPA given WPA's explicit Canadian footprint (BC, Alberta, Ontario), though CPIA covers all of Canada and lacks WPA's US presence.

Others

• Recycling Partnership: Nonprofit working to improve recycling systems across the US. Adjacent peer — not a direct trade body, but operates in the same plastics sustainability and policy ecosystem where WPA's members are increasingly active.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/western-plastics-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Western Plastics Association