The Recycling Infrastructure
- The plastics recycling infrastructure includes 2015 companies; 1,677
processing post-consumer plastics, 207 processing post-industrial plastics
and 131 brokers and exporters.
- Since 1990, the number of processing facilities in the post-consumer
plastics recycling industry has grown by 81 percent, from 923 facilities in
1990 to 1,677 facilities in 1999.
- Of the 1,677 post-consumer plastics recycling facilities, 1,295
facilities are consolidation facilities (primarily sort and bale) while 382
facilities are reprocessors (grind, wash, pelletize).
- Of the 382 post-consumer plastic reclamation facilities, 265 facilities
are vertically integrated into product manufacturing.
- The Midwestern U.S. has the highest concentration of plastics recycling
facilities with 593, followed closely by the Southern U.S. with 415.
- PET and HDPE plastic bottles are the most common materials handled at
facilities recycling post-consumer plastics.
- There are 74 post-consumer plastics recycling companies that focus on
plastic bottle recycling. Twenty of these companies recycle PET bottles and
fifty-eight companies recycle HDPE bottles. Four of the companies process
both resins.
- The U.S. plastics recycling industry employs more than 53,000 persons.
Source: Summer 1999 Plastics Recycling Markets Database, R.W. Beck, Inc.,
September, 1999.
The Communities
- More than 20,000 communities, 63 percent of the nation's total, are
estimated to have access to a community recycling program (curbside or
drop-off) that collects plastics.
- Almost all major urban areas in the U.S. have recycling collection
programs resulting in approximately 80 percent of the U.S. population (over
148 million people) having convenient access to a plastics recycling
collection program.
- PET bottles (soda, water) and HDPE bottles (milk, laundry detergent) are
by far the most commonly collected plastic materials in community recycling
programs.
- 10% of all households have the ability to recycle all plastic bottles
(resin identification codes #1 through #7) in their community.
Source: APC's 1998 Community Survey, R.W. Beck, Inc., November, 1998.
Recycling Quantities and Rates
- Over 1.5 billion pounds of post-consumer plastic bottles were recycled
during 1999, accounting for 22 percent (by weight) of all plastic bottles
produced in the United States.
- Post-consumer plastic bottle recycling has increased dramatically over
the last ten years, from 234 million pounds in 1989 to over 1.5 billion
pounds in 1999.
- 95% of all plastic bottles in the United States market are manufactured
from PET or HDPE (48% and 47% respectively).
- HDPE and PET bottles showed the highest recycling rates of any plastic
bottles types, at 23.8 and 22.8 percent respectively.
- Domestic capacity to reclaim PET and HDPE plastic bottles significantly
exceeds recycled quantities, stressing the need to reinvigorate community
collection programs.
Source: APC's 1999 National Post-Consumer Plastics Recycling Study, R.W.
Beck, Inc. September 2000.
Markets for Recycled Plastics
- 56% of recycled PET finds a market in the manufacture of fiber (carpet
and clothing).
- Other large markets for recycled PET are for strapping (13%) and new
containers (14% -food and non-food).
- 29% of recycled HDPE bottles go into making new bottles.
- The plastic pipe industry consumes 18% of the recycled HDPE.
- Other strong markets for HDPE are for lawn and garden products (such as
edging), plastic lumber (decks, benches, picnic tables), film and sheet, and
a variety of injection molding products (buckets, crates and automobile
parts).
Source: APC's 1999 National Post-Consumer Plastics Recycling Study, R.W.
Beck, Inc. September 2000.
Plastics in Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
- All plastic products accounted for 9.9% of Municipal Solid Waste
generation by weight in 1997. Plastics were in fifth place behind Paper and
Paperboard, Yard Trimmings, Food Waste, and Other Wastes.
- Plastic packaging accounted for 4.3% of all waste generated in 1997.
Source: Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in the United States:
1998 Update, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. |