Report examines changing recycling stream

A report sponsored by the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC’s) Plastics Division and released in March provides insights into recent and anticipated changes in municipal solid waste streams and what they could mean for the recycling industry.

“Making Sense of the Mix: Analysis and Implications for the Changing Curbside Recycling Stream” focuses mainly on plastics and is designed to promote greater understanding among government, material recovery facility (MRF) operators and waste management firms that are working to generate value from postconsumer materials.

Over the last decade, recyclers have had to adjust to a range of changes, from the sharp decline in newsprint to the adoption of larger carts and single-stream collection. The report provides a look at factors that have shaped today’s waste stream and trends that are likely to influence the waste stream in the years ahead. These include growing consumer demand for recycled content in products and packaging; the potential removal of organics, such as food waste, from municipal solid waste; growing interest in mixed waste processing facilities; and the globalization of recycling markets.

“Plastics makers recognize the critical role that recyclers play in the value chain and in sustainable living,” says Steve Russell, vice president of plastics for the ACC, Washington. “The evolving waste stream can create both challenges and opportunities for recyclers, and we want to help them succeed.”

Oregon-based Green Spectrum Consulting LLC and Resource Recycling Inc., Portland, Oregon, authored the report.