Connecticut campaign increases recycling of plastic film packaging

Study shows an increase in the quantity and quality of film packaging collected in the Hartford, Connecticut, area.

A 2017 consumer awareness campaign in Connecticut has led to an increase in the quantity and quality of recycled plastic film packaging, such as bags and wraps, in the greater Hartford area, according to a recent report.

Connecticut began its Wrap Recycling Action Program (WRAP) in early 2017 as a partnership among its Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), the Connecticut Food Association, grocery stores, plastics makers and other recycling advocates. Through various communications efforts, including advertising and media coverage, the campaign encouraged consumers to recycle plastic film packaging at retail stores and to keep it out of curbside recycling bins.

Connecticut officials say the state’s program was built on best practices and lessons learned in previous WRAP campaigns. These best practices are designed to leverage existing recycling infrastructure for plastic film packaging, which includes more than 20,000 drop-off locations across the country, predominately at major grocery and retail stores.

Connecticut’s campaign focused on the greater Hartford area. Following months of outreach, audits of material collected at retail stores found   an 11 percentage point increase in the amount of plastic bags collected, a 7 percentage point increase in the amount of “other film” collected and a 23 percentage point decrease in nonfilm packaging “contamination.”

A post-campaign survey of adults in the greater Hartford area found:

  • a 9 percentage point increase in respondents who heard to recycle flexible plastics at grocery stores (63 percent versus 54 percent);
  • significant increases in those who said they knew which items to take back to stores (e.g., plastic bags, 15 percentage point increase; plastic bread bags, 17 points; plastic newspaper bags, 13 points); and
  • a 10 percentage point increase in those who said they take plastic film packaging back to stores either “most of the time” or “always/all of the time” (40 percent versus 30 percent).

“These results are very encouraging and will help us meet Connecticut’s goal of diverting 60 percent of our waste from disposal by 2024,” says Sherill Baldwin of DEEP. “The WRAP campaign builds on RecycleCT’s “What’s In. What’s Out” campaign and reminds us to keep plastic bags and wraps out of curbside recycling bins and to bring them back to retail stores for recycling.”

In addition to the report, the campaign released five short videos featuring the campaign’s retail partner, Price Chopper. The videos highlight the benefits to retailers of collecting and recycling plastic film packaging.

In its next phase, Connecticut’s WRAP campaign will encourage people, companies and local governments to help increase demand for products made with recycled film packaging. “If we aren’t buying recycled, then we’re not really recycling,” Baldwin says.

“Like WRAP campaigns conducted in other areas, Connecticut demonstrated that a dedicated team of recycling advocates can make a difference,” says Shari Jackson of the Flexible Film Recycling Group, part of the American Chemistry Council, which helped fund the campaign. “We look forward to continuing to support Connecticut and DEEP in elevating the importance of increasing demand for products made with recycled film.”

More information on plastic film packaging recycling and WRAP is available at http://plasticfilmrecycling.org.

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