Recycle. Goal. 2013 launches this August in Southern California.

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Recycle. Goal. 2013 launches this August in Southern California.

This week, there’s much good news to report on the recycling of rigid plastics, a category that includes cups, tubs and containers as well as larger items like toys and laundry baskets.  According to new data, recycling of rigid plastics (excluding bottles) climbed 13 percent in 2011 to reach at least 934 million pounds for the year, and U.S. consumers who can recycle locally all non-bottle rigid plastics shot from 40 percent to 57 percent between 2011 and 2012.  What’s more, the portion of U.S. consumers who can recycle two key categories of rigid containers – HDPE rigid cups, tubs and containers and PET trays, clamshells and cups – now tops 60 percent, which means for the first time, under the Federal Trade Commission’s guidelines, recycling access is sufficiently widespread to label these containers “recyclable” without the need for additional qualification or disclaimer.

With recycling of these plastics containers now available to a substantial majority of Americans – in other words, surpassing the FTC’s 60 percent threshold – the recycling message can be greatly simplified, making it easier to educate consumers.  We’re very excited about these recent gains in plastics recycling and are working to encourage continued growth.   You can take a deeper dive into both reports Plastic Recycling Collection: National Reach Study, 2012 Update and 2011 National Postconsumer Non-Bottle Rigid Plastic Recycling Report on our website and let us know what you think.  Is your community recycling rigid plastics in addition to bottles yet?

So, what about bottles?  While bottles are also considered rigid plastics, bottles have been recycled for several years and are tracked separately.  Over 94 percent of Americans can recycle their bottles.  And when it comes to plastic bottles remember to put the cap back on and recycle.

According to a new report from Moore Recycling, more than 1 billion pounds of plastic film was collected for recycling in 2011—that’s a 55% increase since Moore first began collecting the data in 2005.  Since 2005 we’ve also seen tremendous growth in the collection infrastructure for film; today there are more than 15,000 recycling drop-off bins at many major grocers and even some national retailers like Target and Lowe’s.  More than 90% of Americans have community recycling programs for plastic bags and flexible film packaging.

We’re proud to support efforts to further grow that infrastructure and spread the word to Americans everywhere. Through our Flexible Film Recycling Group (FFRG) we supported the development of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s How2Recycle recycling label for flexible film – a label designed to help consumers better understand where to recycle this material.  The label is still in its pilot phase, but it’s already becoming a strong catalyst for film recycling by making it easier for people to do the right thing.

Our website, www.plasticfilmrecycling.org, makes recycling easier in one simple step, finding the nearest plastic film drop-off locations with just a zip code.  Some environmental advocates point out that more could be done to get the millions of pounds of plastic film used by commercial businesses and industry to protect products.  We agree, which is why we’re also working to help businesses collect more plastic film in their storerooms and warehouses.  Working with committed partners will help us continue to see growth in film recycling rates and raise awareness with people everywhere.

To stay updated on all our plastics recycling news follow us @Recycle_Plastic, “like” us on Facebook, and be sure to check out our new film recycling by-the-numbers infographic for a visual look at the growth in this important area of plastics recycling.

Steve Russell, Vice president of the Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council

Students in kindergarten through fifth grades worked alongside partners and volunteers to assemble garden boxes and plant a wide variety of fruit and vegetable seeds to be harvested in the spring.  Many of the garden materials used—from tables to garden beds, watering cans and bird feeders—were made with recycled plastics, like plastics from milk jugs and water bottles.

Senator Ricardo Lara installs the garden dedication plaque with students and ACC.

Asm. Mike Gatto's staff member, Eric Menjivar, planting with LA's Best students.

Whitney Avenue Elementary School in San Juan Unified School District won the competition by recycling 1,124 pounds of plastics, aluminum, glass and paper. During a school assembly, program partners and school staff conducted a surprise awards ceremony honoring the hard work of Whitney Avenue Elementary’s 320 kindergarten through fifth grade students.  Each student was given a recognition certificate from Dr. Pan, as well as a free pizza coupon donated by Round Table Pizza. The American Chemistry Council presented Whitney Avenue Elementary with a $1,500 prize check, which included its $1,000 grand prize award and $500 award for winning at the school district level. The event culminated with a celebratory pizza party for the entire school.

Read, Write, Recycle! (RWR) is a recycling competition offering schoolchildren the opportunity to recycle material on their campus and be rewarded for it. The Sacramento area challenge pitted students in San Juan Unified against students in Natomas Unified School Districts. Participating schools included Natomas Park Elementary, Witter Ranch Elementary, Heron School, H. Allen Hight Elementary, Greer Elementary and Whitney Avenue Elementary.

Sherri McCarthy, American Chemistry Countil, Roger Stock, Chief Academic Officer, San Juan Unified School District, Assemblymember Dr. Pan and Vincent Arias, Whitney Avenue Elementary School Principal and Whitney Avenue Elementary School students