The plastic film covered in the report includes plastic bags, product wraps and commercial shrink film.
“This report shows that even though film recycling had not grown as we had hoped last year, there is a lot of opportunity to make a difference with our programs,” says Shari Jackson, director of the Flexible Film Recycling Group (FFRG), a product group of the ACC.
Today, more than 18,000 store drop-off locations are avaialble throughout the U.S. to collect plastic bags, wraps and film for recycling. Moreover, existing infrastructures for collecting commercial film can be greatly expanded to capture significantly more of this material from the increasing number of businesses seeking recovery options for shrink film and transport packaging.
To boost the recovery of film plastic, the FFRG says it is introducing a number of initiatives to expand education and access to film recycling to increase the recycling of the material over the next five years. Additionally, the FFRG is working to implement in the coming months a national multistakeholder collaboration known as the Wrap Recycling Action Program (WRAP). The FFRG says it hopes to launch the initiative later this year. A social component of WRAP is underway to help educate Americans about what film and wrap plastics can be recycled. Preliminary information is available at www.plasticfilmrecycling.org.
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SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC
An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).
“What is very encouraging about the report,” Jackson says, “is the information on the bale audits. We’re seeing that the majority of films collected for recycling are film product wraps and other film packaging. We’ve been working hard to educate people about their ability to recycle plastic film packaging beyond bags so it’s reassuring to see the bales reflect that our messaging is connecting and having an impact.”
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