APR report provides policy recommendations to improve plastic recycling

The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), Washington, has issued a report on the progress of plastic recycling in the United States that compiles research and analysis from across the $236 billion recycling industry, including more than 9,000 community recycling programs and more than 100 postconsumer recyclers. The report, titled “Recommit, Reimagine, Rework Recycling,” finds that plastic recycling is responsible for more than 200,000 U.S. jobs and is a scalable solution for reducing plastic waste.

The APR says the report presents an important clarification on data provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the discussion on U.S. recycling rates, explaining that 80 percent of rigid plastic packaging is made from either polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or polypropylene (PP). According to the APR report, 21 percent of these types of plastic are recycled based on EPA data. However, according to the EPA’s 2018 figures, the latest available, the overall plastic recycling rate was only 9 percent. The APR notes that the EPA’s statistics “include containers, packaging and durable goods meant to last many years as well as nondurable goods not intended for recycling like garbage bags.”

Misleading data such as the EPA figure discourage Americans who overwhelmingly support recycling, the APR says.  

The report also includes the latest data for PET and HDPE bottles, which had recycling rate of 28 percent in 2020. With more supply of recyclable plastic material from consumers, the APR says U.S. plastic recyclers could boost PET and HDPE bottle recycling rate to more than 40 percent with minimal additional investment and using existing processing infrastructure in the U.S.

Growing the recycling rate for the plastics commonly used in packaging is necessary as demand for recycled material “is stronger than ever,” according to the report. “This higher demand is driven by a variety of factors, including brand sustainability commitments and legislative activity. Postconsumer resin (PCR) is increasingly seen as an essential packaging component for brands hoping to position themselves as leaders in sustainability.”

According to the report, “Plastic recycling is a chain of interconnected processes, and achieving a circular economy for plastic depends on every link of the chain working well together.” Therefore, the report concludes that meeting that high demand and continuing to sustain and grow recycling will require companies to manufacture plastic products and packaging that are compatible with recycling, consumers to put recyclables in the recycling bin and robust recycling infrastructure to collect, sort and process that material.

To achieve these ends, the report provides policy recommendations such as ensuring that all new products and packaging are made to be compatible with recycling; increasing and strengthening community recycling programs and creating harmonization among the types of plastic that are collected in those programs; and encouraging the consideration of the true cost of disposal and the low costs to landfill.

The report also notes that furthering the circular economy for plastic will reduce plastic waste as well as aid decarbonization efforts as using PCR to manufacture new products is linked to significant reductions in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

“APR’s state-of-the-industry report tells the true story of plastic recycling in the United States,” says Steve Alexander, APR president and CEO. “This is an industry that processed almost 5 billion pounds of postconsumer plastic material in 2020 despite a pandemic and related lockdown, and we have every expectation that number will continue to grow.” 

He adds, “Increasing the recycling rate is important because demand for recycled material, a key driver of the recycling chain, is stronger than ever, spurred by a variety of factors including brand sustainability commitments and legislative activity.”