Plastics Recycling Expert Witness
Dr. Charles A. Wilson

Meet our experienced plastics recycling expert witness.

Our Plastics Recycling Expert Witness is a Plastics Engineer and technical subject matter expert with a Ph.D. in Plastics Engineering with extensive experience investigating complex polymers, products, suppliers, and manufacturing problems. Combines hands-on processing knowledge with root-cause analysis, experimental design, statistical analysis, literature review, process calculations, and clear technical communication across medical devices, aerospace and defense, industrial manufacturing, and plastics recycling.  Recently retained as a technical expert witness in a commercial dispute involving plastics recycling equipment and claimed process capabilities. Authored an independent technical witness report and a detailed rebuttal report establishing the engineering basis for potential deposition and trial testimony.

​AREAS OF TECHNICAL EXPERTISE

• Plastics Engineering and Polymer Processing
• Injection Molding
• Single/Twin-Screw Extrusion and Frictional Melting
• Materials Selection and Compatibility
• Polymer Degradation, Odor, Moisture, Contamination, and VOC Generation
• Elastomers, and Polymer Composites
• Root Cause and Failure Analysis
• Manufacturing and Supplier Investigations
• Process Validation and Scale-Up
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
• DOE, GR&R, FMEA, MSA, and Statistical Analysis
• Technical Expert Witness Reports, Rebuttal Analysis, and Communication of Complex Findings

​LEGAL AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
 Plastech Recycling Ltd.
Litigation Engagement, Commercial Dispute 

• Retained to conduct an independent engineering analysis of a full-scale Plastech Mixer Melter designed to process a range of plastic feedstocks, including the post-consumer LDPE-rich bales at issue, into molten polymer for downstream production of an asphalt additive.
  

• Evaluated the equipment design and friction-melting mechanism; contractual acceptance criteria; the specified 800 kg/hr continuous throughput; 220 kW motor and melt-rate relationships; feedstock composition, moisture, and contamination; wet versus dry commissioning; oil dosing; VOC monitoring and ventilation; safety controls; and downstream extrusion integration. 
  

• Authored an Expert Technical Witness Statement and Report and a detailed Rebuttal Report addressing the opposing expert’s assumptions, calculations, process comparisons, and engineering conclusions. 
  

• Developed technically defensible opinions from project records, engineering calculations, polymer-processing principles, published literature, and accepted industry practices for potential deposition and trial testimony.

 
Dosing Reservoir O-Ring Rolling
Root Cause Analysis - Medical Drug-Delivery

• Investigated intermittent rolling of a silicone O-ring on a polypropylene reservoir plunger; a persistent condition associated with increased friction, leakage risk, and possible interruption of drug delivery.
• Made lubricant coverage visible, used force testing and comparative trials to connect nonuniform silicone-oil distribution with localized stiction, and developed a heated atomized spray approach that produced substantially more uniform coverage. 
  

• Selected and coordinated with an outside spray-application specialist, defined feasibility testing, and demonstrated zero O-ring rolls in the spray-treated test group, compared with repeated rolls using the existing application method; reduced silicone consumption by more than 90% in testing and produced an estimated savings of approximately $300,000 per year.
• Developed technically defensible opinions from project records, engineering calculations, polymer-processing principles, published literature, and accepted industry practices for potential deposition and trial testimony.

 
Ram Extrusion Surging
Root Cause Analysis - Conductive Silicone Gasket 

• Investigated periodic surging in one of two conductive silicone ram-extrusion formulations after equipment, operators, process settings, mixing, and incoming materials had failed to explain the Condition. 

• Traced the failure to transposed curing agents on rewritten shop-floor formulation sheets; verified the root cause by restoring the correct formulations and intentionally reproducing the surging through a controlled curing-agent swap.

 
Mil Vo Impact Breakage
Root Cause Analysis - Hard-Coated Polycarbonate Ballistic Eyewear 

• Led a failure investigation into intermittent cracking in coated polycarbonate eyewear and established how surface preparation, coating behavior, molded-in stress, and localized geometry interacted to initiate failure. 
  

• Used controlled process comparisons and close visual examination to identify the critical manufacturing conditions, support corrective actions, and improve product reliability while preserving ballistic performance requirements.

 
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 
Plastech Recycling
Independent Plastics Engineering Consultant/Technical Expert (4/2025 - present)
Needham, MA 

• Retained as an independent technical expert in a commercial dispute involving plastics recycling equipment and claimed process performance. 
  

• Conducted an independent engineering evaluation of a full-scale Plastech Mixer Melter designed to process a range of plastic feedstocks, including post-consumer LDPE-rich bales, into molten polymer for downstream production of an asphalt additive. 
  

• Evaluated equipment design and friction-melting behavior; contractual acceptance criteria; specified 800 kg/hr continuous throughput; 220 kW motor and melt-rate relationships; feedstock composition, moisture, and contamination; wet versus dry commissioning; oil dosing; VOC monitoring and ventilation; safety controls; and downstream twin-screw extrusion integration. 
  

• Authored the August 2026 Technical Witness Statement and Report and a detailed Rebuttal Report addressing the opposing expert’s assumptions, calculations, process comparisons, and engineering conclusions. 
  

• Developed technically defensible opinions using project records, engineering calculations, polymer- processing principles, published literature, and accepted industry practices for potential deposition and trial testimony.

 
Independent Consulting
Independent Plastics Engineering Consultant (2/2023 - 4/2025)
Needham, MA 

• Developed recycling processes for low-slope commercial roofing and other difficult-to-recycle polymer systems.
  

• Worked with manufacturers and industry stakeholders on material evaluation, process development, equipment selection, commercialization planning, grant preparation, and intellectual-property development. 
  

• Evaluated processing approaches for separating and recovering polymer-rich and bituminous materials, with emphasis on practical scale-up, process economics, contamination management, and integration with downstream manufacturing.

Insulet Corporation
Senior Supplier Engineer, Plastics (12/2020 - 12/2022)
Acton, MA

• Supported U.S. and Asia-based injection-molding suppliers for high-volume medical-device manufacturing, with responsibility for supplier performance, process capability, component quality, and manufacturing reliability. 
  

• Led a root cause investigation into intermittent silicone O-ring rolling in a polypropylene drug-delivery reservoir. Used comparative testing and force measurements to connect nonuniform lubricant distribution with localized stiction, then developed and validated a heated atomized silicone-spray application that substantially improved lubricant coverage. 
  

• The improved process produced zero O-ring rolls in the spray-treated test group, reduced silicone consumption by more than 90% in testing, and generated estimated annual savings of approximately $300,000. 
  

• Worked cross-functionally with engineering teams and an outside application specialist to move the concept from feasibility testing toward production implementation.

Atkore Corporation
Senior Plastics Engineer (12/2019 - 12/2020)
New Bedford, MA 

• Improved extrusion-line throughput, scrap performance, and process consistency for polymer wire and cable manufacturing. 
  

• Implemented crosslinked polymer compounds and supported process development, troubleshooting, and manufacturing optimization for extrusion operations. 
  

• Collaborated with mechanical, controls, and IT teams to improve line performance and install plant-wide process data logging and analytics for better identification of process variation and production issues. 
  

necoPlastics/CleanTech Open
Independent Plastics Engineering Consultant (3/2019 - 12/2019)
Needham, MA, Columbus, OH, Los Angeles, CA 

• Provided technical consulting support for development of lightweight polymer-modified aggregate for hot-mix asphalt applications. 
  

• Evaluated and selected processing equipment, supported equipment testing and verification, and helped define manufacturing controls for the developing process. 
  

• Contributed to formulation development, process scale-up, and intellectual-property development for new polymer-based materials and recycling applications.
  

Raytheon Corporation
Senior Materials Engineer (12/2016 - 2/2019)
Andover, MA 

• Led materials, process, supplier, and root cause investigations supporting aerospace and defense manufacturing programs. 
  

• Received Raytheon Supplier Recognition for Outstanding Customer Responsiveness for Root Cause Analysis. 
  

• Served as Materials Cross-Functional Team Lead for a 10 kV undersea cabling system, including supplier capability assessment, polymer material design for long-term service, encapsulation process development, corrosion-mitigation testing, laboratory qualification, and technical risk evaluation. 
  

• Led root cause and corrective-action efforts involving polymer materials and manufacturing processes, using structured problem-solving, testing, process data, and Six Sigma methods to identify failure mechanisms and support corrective action. 
  

• Presented technical findings, test results, and process recommendations during external customer reviews.

 
Honeywell Corporation
Senior Materials Process Engineer (4/2010 - 10/2016)
Smithfield, RI

• Led root cause, failure-analysis, process-development, and continuous-improvement projects involving polycarbonate eyewear, coatings, molding, manufacturing variation, and new product development. 
  

• Earned Honeywell Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification and was the first participant in the organization's program to advance directly from Green Belt to Black Belt. 
  

• Received Honeywell's Bravo Gold Award for technical leadership in the Elemental Eyewear brow-breakage investigation and a Special Recognition Award for outstanding team performance and customer focus. 
  

• Led the investigation of intermittent cracking in hard-coated polycarbonate ballistic eyewear, identifying the interaction between surface preparation, coating behavior, molded-in stress, and localized geometry that initiated failure. 
  

• Developed durable hard-coat technology for military ballistic-impact applications and led development of Honeywell's first optical-grade coated lens made from 100% recycled polycarbonate. 
  

• Reduced manufacturing and material costs by 89%, generating approximately $300,000 in annual savings, and achieved approximately $850,000 in additional annual savings through material and process optimization. 
  

• Managed a $1.2 million film-insert-molding development program for next-generation face-protection products. 
  

• Applied Lean Six Sigma tools including DOE, FMEA, MSA, GR&R, and Minitab to improve process capability, product quality, and manufacturing performance.

 
EDUCATION:

• Ph.D., Plastics Engineering | Research Associate and Project Lead

University of Massachusetts Lowell 

• M.S., Environmental Engineering | Research Assistant

Northeastern University 

• B.S., Electrical Engineering | Research Assistant

University of Massachusetts Amherst
 
CERTIFICATIONS:

• Honeywell Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
• Raytheon R6 Sigma Specialist
• Recipient, Most Innovative Design Award, WERC National Environmental Design Competition

Contact charles