The push for more supply

A panel at the 2025 Plastics Recycling Conference agreed that resins used in durable goods, such as polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), hold tremendous potential in advancing the overall plastics recycling market in the United States. However, work must be done to increase material supply and fight misconceptions.

Additionally, the panel discussing durables March 24 in National Harbor, Maryland, suggested standardized curbside collection legislation as one solution that could boost supply for recyclers and cut down on confusion among the public.

RELATED: Positioned for future gain | Leading from the front

“We have 15,000 communities in this country and 9,000 different recycling programs, and everyone takes something different,” said Steve Alexander, president and CEO of the Washington-based Association of Plastics Recyclers. “There’s no standardization in what you can collect in material.

“Some communities take polypropylene. Most take high-density (polyethylene). But the point is that we confuse the consumer, so we don’t have a steady stream of material. And then we tell the consumer that material that doesn’t go back into products they see is not recycled.”

Alexander questioned why higher quantities of products like recycling bins and pallets are not made of recycled-content plastic, adding that plastic pallets can last 10-12 years, while wood pallets last, on average, 7-8 months. “What we want to do is continue to expand market opportunities for material that’s out there.”

He said there is a perception that the U.S. does not have the capacity to recycle more of the plastics found in durable goods, but APR-affiliated reclaimers alone have enough capacity to double the current recycling rate for rigid polyethylene terephthalate (PET), PP and HDPE containers.

“We have the capacity to take that recycling rate from about 19 percent up to over 43 percent today,” he said. “It’s still not great, but that’s just the capacity we have today. There’s a discussion that, well, there’s capacity coming offline. If there’s nothing to run the material with, why would you maintain that capacity? The discussion of durables as potential markets has to be part and parcel of supply capacity and expanding markets. The more you expand markets, the more you use recycled material, the less you’re putting in the ground, the more you’re saving energy, you’re lowering greenhouse gas emissions, carbon emissions and fighting climate change.”

Scott Barbour, president and CEO of Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. (ADS), said his Hilliard, Ohio-based company has worked to communicate its sustainability message, but admitted that story has not always been well understood by those in the infrastructure sector, in particular.

ADS, which produces thermoplastic pipe used in stormwater and wastewater applications, is one of the country’s largest recyclers of HDPE and PP, incorporating recycled content into a number of its products. Among its long-term sustainability targets is to recycle 1 billion pounds of plastic by 2032 and had surpassed 500 million pounds as of 2024. The company also has carbon emission reduction goals.

“Every bit of material we use goes into a durable good,” Barbour said. “Many of the characteristics of installations and the trucks we use [to transport materials] are kind of inherent in our product. The lower carbon footprint is only inherent in what we do when we use recycled material. It’s a bit of a bespoke request in our value proposition, and it comes from those companies that are watching their carbon footprint across their entire value chain. We have examples of that where it’s worked out very well. But it’s not always well understood.

“We try to promote [sustainability] in everything we do. … We talk about ourselves a lot differently today [than previously in the company’s 60-year history] in terms of recycling and our commitment to water or the quality of water, and that puts a different light on us.”

Troy, Alabama-based KW Plastics also is one of the largest HDPE and PP recyclers in the country and, like ADS, is about halfway toward a 1-billion-pound recycling target. As a company that supplies material to the automotive and packaging sectors, among others, and has developed a line of paint cans made from recycled PP, General Manager Scott Saunders said customers in the automotive and packaging sectors understand the value of using recycled content.

“Recently, we’ve had some customers request PCR [postconsumer resin] and recycling statements from us around how much PIR [postindustrial resin] and PCR is in the material for our container, and that’s new,” Saunders said. “Now that they’re requesting that, they’re starting to understand the importance of that, and they’re telling their customer that’s in the big-box store. I think we’re going to see some evolution toward a more valuable proposition other than using virgin [resin].”

Increasing supply

Saunders pointed out the recycled plastic goals of both KW and ADS, saying “I’ve got a market, and [Barbour] has a market, and we have competitors that have a market, and you’ve got to have somebody that wants to supply it. The only thing we’re missing is collection.”

Barbour said there needs to be policies that increase collection rates for all types of material. With the opening of its $65 million Engineering and Technology Center in Hilliard in October 2024, the company has dedicated itself to product engineering, materials science and manufacturing technologies, including exploring new recycled material streams for future products.

“The more we widen the streams, we will invest in the engineering to make that material usable in our types of applications,” Barbour said. “We’re investing a lot in engineering and facilities to process this material, just as KW is, because we understand what it takes to get to these next places. It’s about having that available supply.”

Alexander noted that previous trips to Capitol Hill in Washington included talks with legislators about making grants and loans available to the recycling industry, but a key point was missed.

“I always tell them, ‘We don’t need your money. You help us get the supply, we’ll make the investments,’” he said. “Their solution is to just give you loans or grants. They don’t understand that companies will make the investments, and there are plenty of investment firms that are looking to invest in this industry because they want to improve their ESG [environmental, social and governance] scores or improve their sustainability metrics as a fund, and the first thing they do when they approach a company is ask, ‘What is your supply stream and how are you going to make these numbers?’

“If we had a very simple piece of standardization in terms of legislation, if you had a curbside collection program across the United States, and you made sure, at a minimum, you take these three materials [PET, PP and HDPE], there will be some winners and losers, sure, but you get a standardized base and go from there.”

Saunders added that for the industry to get where it wants to go in terms of increasing supply, communities that don’t have a recycling program—whether for curbside collection, a deposit return scheme or an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program—should implement one.

“If you look at a map of the United States, and the heartland of the country, there are dozens of towns of 100,000, 200,000 people where there’s absolutely nothing going on,” Saunders said. “If we don’t get those communities to have a program, we’re going to struggle. Any legislation or policy that would encourage [recycling] or move that forward, we’d support that.”

Alexander noted that while there are policies in place that incentivize using renewable energy and others that fund and incentivize the creation of nationwide infrastructure to use electric vehicles, there currently are no incentives for recyclers to manufacture materials and keep them out of landfills, or incentives for companies to use recycled material, or for communities to start a recycling program.

“We need some sort of level playing field,” he said. “There are things policy can do that would help alleviate a lot of these issues that are out there.”

The role of EPR

The panel agreed that the implementation of EPR programs in the U.S. is a promising development, but there still are concerns about how it will work. There currently are five states that have passed EPR legislation, with a host of others considering similar bills.

“The way I see it, EPR, at this point, is a collection mechanism,” Alexander said. “I’m not seeing a big demand component out of that. It might be great to collect a lot of material, but a big thing we’re dealing with right now is who is a responsible end market for the material. Right now, in some instances, it’s the recycler. We shouldn’t be the end market. We’ve got to have the contracts; we have to have people to buy the material we’re using. That’s a big concern I have with EPR.

“Everybody’s jumped on the EPR bandwagon, it’s the Holy Grail. But we’ve got to get this right. In the legislative arena, when they want to solve something, you get their attention; they solve it and move on. If it’s not done correctly the first time, it’s very difficult to go back and retrofit it again. If we’re doing EPR, and we’re talking about creating supply, which I believe it is set up to do, at the end of the day, we have to ensure that supply has a market. I’m not sure we’ve seen that yet.”

Saunders, who sits on the Colorado’s EPR advisory board, said he believes the potential of the legislation to bring in more material is there, but execution is the key.

“The concern I have with the programs I’m familiar with is they’re burdening the recycler with so many reporting requirements and inspection requirements that our competitors on the virgin side don’t have,” he said.

Saunders also expressed concern that EPR programs could require material collected in a specific state also be recycled there, which could add cost to the supply chain. “I try to point out to the regulators and the people we talk to that you don’t produce virgin resin and consume it in the same state. That’s why it’s so efficient. If you have these little micro-marketplaces around, you’re going to decrease efficiency and increase costs, and you’re going to end up having material that’s way too expensive than just providing it to the normal, healthy marketplace and letting it find its home.”