Date: October 28, 2009
Source: American Chemistry Council and Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers
Plastic Bottle Recycling Reaches Record High of Over 2.4 Billion Pounds Annually
Plastic bottle recycling by consumers increased 75 million pounds in 2008 (up 3.2%), to reach a record high of more than 2.4 billion pounds for the year, according to figures released jointly today by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR).
The 19th annual National Post-Consumer Plastics Bottle Recycling Report also found that the results reflect a continuing increase in the pounds of bottles collected for recycling each year since the industry survey began in 1990. The recycling rate for plastic bottles rose nearly 3 percent to reach 27 percent.
"These numbers show us that consumers are increasingly interested in recycling plastic bottles," said Steve Alexander, Executive Director of APR. "Valuable recycled plastic materials go on to become useful products, such as new bottles, carpeting, fleece jackets, and durable outdoor lumber," Alexander said.
Over the last two decades, America's plastics and recycling industries have invested over $2 billion in developing technologies and the infrastructure to recycle plastics in communities across the nation. Most recently, these efforts have focused on increasing awareness of recycling opportunities among consumers and expanding access to away–from–home recycling bins.
APR, which represents more than 90 percent of the postconsumer plastics recycling capacity in North America, has initiated a series of recycling workshops and webinars for recycling officials to help increase the volume of plastics available for recycling. In addition, APR works closely with packaging and consumer product companies on design for recycling of new containers and works with industry to minimize contamination of the recycling stream.
ACC has partnered with the California Department of Parks and Recreation and the nonprofit Keep California Beautiful to place more than 500 recycling bins on 19 locations along the California coast. ACC recently expanded its partnership efforts by teaming up with the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) to place recycling bins at heavily–trafficked rest stops.
"We are pleased to see plastics recycling continue to grow," said Steve Russell, Vice President, Plastics, for ACC, "and we will continue working to increase awareness and access to recycling. This year's continued increase confirms that people recognize plastics are a valuable resource – too valuable to waste."
The full 2008 report is available in the "Publications" section of ACC's website and APR's website (www.plasticsrecycling.org).
Data on PET recycling referenced in the report was separately funded and published by APR and the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) (www.napcor.com). A separate report, entitled 2008 Report on Post-Consumer PET Container Recycling Activity, is available on APR's website.
Learn more about recycling plastics bottles, including tips for consumers available here (www.plasticsinfo.org/recycling).
Locate resources for municipal recyclers.
Contact: Jennifer Killinger (703) 741-5833
Steve Alexander (202) 316-3046
Email: jennifer_killinger@americanchemistry.com
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