Building upon the work done in 2009 and 2010, multiple activities are being undertaken in 2011 and 2012. The “National Rigid Plastics Bale Sort and Estimate of Potential Non-Bottle Rigid Plastics Supply” Study is completed and will provide the Rigids Committee members with data on the type, volume and destination of non-bottle rigid plastics currently being collected and the potential volume available for recycling. This information will be used to develop additional programs for expanding non-bottle rigid plastics. A “Recycled Resin” Subcommittee comprised of resin, brand name and plastic reclamation companies is actively addressing issues of specifications and economics for recycled resins from rigid plastics. And, because the world of recycling contains conflicting definitions for rigid plastics, a subcommittee is addressing rigid plastic bale specifications, which some consider one of the major reasons so much non-bottle rigid material is recycled overseas.
In addition, new sources of recyclable rigid plastics are being discovered through the various program’s activities. In particular, it is conservatively estimated that US grocery stores generate 350 million pounds per year of PP and HDPE, and the vast majority of this material is currently being handled as waste. In the coming year, the APR Rigid Plastic Recycling Program will research ways of stimulating the recovery of this untapped source of material. Also, since it is important to understand the collection trends of municipal recycling facilities, for the third year, the largest cities in each state will be surveyed to determine their rigid plastics collection policies.
Current Rigids Plastic Recycling Committee Membership
1. American Chemistry Council
2. Avangard
3. Berry Plastics
4. Blue Ridge Plastics
5. Byway
6. Clean Tech Inc.
7. ConAgra Foods
8. Customer Polymers Inc.
9. Dow Chemical
10. Entropex
11. Envision Plastics
12. Estee Lauder Companies, Inc.
13. Graham Recycling Company
14. Harris Materials
15. Haycore Canada Inc.
16. IntegriCo Composites
17. Kimberly - Clark
18. Kraft Foods
19. KW Plastics Recycling
20. Lyondell Basell Industries
21. Merlin Plastics Supply Inc.
22. Milliken & Company
23. Moore Recycling
24. NAPCOR
25. Natureworks, LLC
26. Procter & Gamble
27. Pure Tech
28. ReCommunity
29. Recyc RPM
30. Rehrig Logistics
31. Ropak
32. Solo Cup
33. Starbucks
34. Talco Plastics Inc.
35. Waste Management - Recycle America
Ex-Officio
*North Carolina Division of Environmental Assistance & Outreach
For more information about this program or to inquiry about becoming a member, please contact the Program Manager,
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