Latest Report Highlights Gaps in U.S. Plastics Recycling Infrastructure

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The September 2020 “Report on Recycling” published by Houston-based Waste Management identifies gaps in U.S. plastics recycling infrastructure. The report highlights the current state of reclamation capacity for resin types- PET, HDPE and PP.

According to the report, PET reclaimers are the most established on marketplace. However, key regions were found lacking adequate PET processing capacity. The Southeast and Southwest regions account for 55% of the total U.S. PET processing capacity. On the other hand, only few PET reclaimers exist in densely populated regions such as Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest.

The country generates nearly 7.3 billion pounds of PET containers and packaging every year, out of which only around 1.9 billion pounds are recovered for reclamation. The country’s total PET reclamation stands at 2.6 billion pounds, the report said.

The U.S. generates around 7.5 billion pounds of HDPE containers and packaging per year, out of which 1.3 billion pounds are processed by reclaimers. The country’s total HDPE reclamation capacity is around 1.8 billion pounds per year.

Overall, the U.S. recovers 420 million pounds for reclamation, out of the total 3.7 billion pounds of PP containers and packaging generated per year. The total reclaiming capacity for the material is estimated at 504 million pounds of material, the report noted.

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