Rigid plastics recycling surges 27%; Film recycling grows 3%
The recycling of post-consumer rigid plastics surged 276 million pounds, or 27%, in 2014 to reach a new high of over 1.28 billion pounds for the year, according to a report released at the 2016 Plastics Recycling Conference. The 2014 National Postconsumer Non-Bottle Rigid Plastic Recycling Report also indicated that the reported volume of recycled rigid plastics—tracked separately from bottles or film—is now four times greater than the volume reported in just 2007.
“This is really exciting news,” says Steve Russell, vice president of plastics for the American Chemistry Council. “The combination of more advanced sorting technologies coupled with expanded consumer access is making a positive difference, and we look forward to seeing growth in rigid plastics recycling continue.”
Moore Recycling Associates Inc., which authored the report, attributes much of the strong gain to a rebound from the 2013 Green Fence effort in China, improved bale quality, and growing standardization of plastics bales—the unit by which post-use plastics are sold after collection.