Recycling of plastic wraps, bags, film surges 11% in 2013
Rigid containers dip slightly due to China's Green Fence
The recycling of postconsumer plastic film packaging surged 116 million pounds, or 11%, in 2013 to reach a reported 1.14 billion pounds, according to a national report released today at the 2015 Plastics Recycling Conference. This marks the highest annual collection of plastic film—a category that includes product wraps, bags and commercial stretch film made primarily from polyethylene (PE)—for recycling, since the survey began in 2005.
The 2013 National Postconsumer Plastic Bag & Film Recycling Report also found a 74% increase in polyethylene film collected for recycling since 2005. Moore Recycling Associates Inc., which authored the report for the American Chemistry Council's (americanchemistry.com) Plastics Division, attributes the gain to a combination of increased collection and more comprehensive reporting.