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Waste & Recycling March 13, 2017 01:30:59 PM

Recovery of non-bottle rigid plastic for recycling declined 3.5% in 2015

Paul Ploumis
ScrapMonster Author
According to the report, the recovery of post-consumer non-bottle rigid film has declined by nearly 45 million pounds in 2015 over the previous year.

Recovery of non-bottle rigid plastic for recycling declined 3.5% in 2015

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The ‘2015 National Post-consumer Non-Bottle Rigid Plastic Recycling Report’ released at Plastics Recycling Conference 2017 held at New Orleans indicates that a minimum of 1.24 billion pounds of post-consumer non-bottle rigid plastic were recovered for recycling in 2015. The report is prepared by Moore Recycling Associates Inc. for the Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council (ACC).

According to the report, the recovery of post-consumer non-bottle rigid plastic has decreased by nearly 45 million pounds in 2015 over the previous year. Also, 67% of recovered volumes were acquired by the US and Canadian reclaimers, whereas the balance 33% was exported. The domestic purchases of post-consumer non-bottle rigid plastic have exceeded purchases by export buyers during the year. The domestic purchases climbed higher by nearly 2%, whereas the exports declined sharply by 13% over the previous year.

The survey classified non-bottle rigid plastics into twelve categories- HDPE Colored Bottles with Containers, PP Small Rigid Plastics, PP All Rigid Plastics, 1-7 Bottles and Small Rigid Plastics, 1-7 All Rigid Plastics, 3-7 Bottles and Small Rigid Plastics, 3-7 Bottles and All Other Rigid Plastics, Mixed Bulky Rigid Plastics, Tubs and Lids, Tubs and Lids: With Bulky, Mixed Clamshell and Other Mixed Rigid Plastic. The survey also recorded data in the following categories:- Post-Commercial Mixed Rigid Plastic, Mixed Electronic Scrap, Categories for Non-Bottle Rigid Plastic Segregated By Resin and Other Rigid Plastic.

Out of these, materials reported as segregated resins continued to remain as the largest category of non-bottle rigid plastic reported as recycled. This material source including HDPE injection: drums, buckets, and crates; PP Battery Casings; PET Thermoforms accounted for 60.3% of total plastic reported as recycled. In second place was the non-bottle rigid plastic portion of mixed resin rigid bales, accounting for 31.7% of total recovery. The municipal recycling programs contributed significantly to this category.

The resin-segregated plastic reclaimed in the US and Canada totaled 718 million pounds in 2015, accounting for 90% market share of total non-bottle rigid plastic. The market share has increased by 4% from 2014. The domestic purchases of mixed resin rigid bales dropped from 40% in 2015 to 36% in 2016. It must be noted that domestic purchases had shown increases during past few years. The Moore survey predicts that drop in domestic purchases of mixed resin rigid bales is likely to continue in 2016.

Classified by resin, polypropylene comprised the largest proportion of the non-bottle rigid plastic recycled, followed by HDPE. Largest increase in volumes in 2015 compared with 2014 was reported by PP and PET. The increase in PP volumes was on account of increase in other mixed resin rigid bale categories such as 3-7 Bottles and Small Rigid Plastics and Tubs and Lids. The increase in PET was largely due to material reported as segregated resin. HDPE and Others recorded significant overall decline in 2015.

Based on the survey, the US had approximately one billion pounds per year of non-bottle rigid plastic reclamation capacity in 2015.

The American Chemistry Council is an industry trade association for American companies, based in Washington, D.C. The Council’s mission is to promote the interests of companies engaged in the business of chemistry. It represents US chemical companies as well as the plastics and chlorine industries.

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