Plastics Groups Release Annual Report on Plastic Bottle Recycling

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) and the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR) have released their annual report on the recycling rate of plastic bottles in the United States. The two associations note that close to 2.5 billion pounds of plastic bottles were recycled in 2009, a 2 percent increase from 2008’s figures.

Key points in the report are the following:

•    The annual increase in pounds of plastic bottles recycled was 1.9 percent.
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•    The 20-year compounded annual growth rate for plastic bottle recycling was 9.4 percent.
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•    PET bottles collected decreased by 7 million pounds to 1.44 billion pounds.
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•    HDPE bottles collected rose by 44.9 million pounds to 981.6 million pounds.
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•    The HDPE bottle recycling rate increased to 29.2 percent in 2009 from 29.0 percent in 2008 with an increase in amount collected for recycling and increase in resin used for bottles.
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•    Exports of domestically collected HDPE bottle material increased to 234 million pounds, 23.8 percent of domestically collected material with around 85 percent of the exports leaving North America.
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•    Imports of postconsumer HDPE to the United States decreased by 72 percent to 40 million pounds, which, with increased exports, resulted in decreased production and capacity utilization of domestic reclamation plants.
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•    Polypropylene (PP) bottle recycling totaled 27.0 million pounds, an increase of 27 percent over 2008 figures; with 48 percent of the total processed domestically as deliberate PP material, as opposed to mixed material flake.
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The20th annual National Post-Consumer Plastics Bottle Recycling Report also marks the 20th consecutive year that Americans have increased the pounds of plastic bottles that have been returned for recycling.

To grow the recycling rate, the APR, representing more than 90 percent of the postconsumer plastics recycling capacity in North America, has initiated a series of recycling workshops and webinars. In addition, APR has been working 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, representing plastic resin manufacturers, has partnered with a number of groups to boost collection levels.

The complete report is available by clicking on the following link -- 2009 United States National Postconsumer Plastics Bottle Recycling Report.

Data on PET recycling referenced in the report was separately funded and published by APR and the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR). A separate report, entitled 2009 Report on Post-Consumer PET Container Recycling Activity, is available by clicking here.