Post-consumer plastics recycling surged higher in 2015: CPIA

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The amount of post-consumer plastic packaging being recycled across Canada has increased significantly during 2015. In accordance with the newly released report titled “2015 Post-Consumer Plastics Recycling in Canada” by the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA), the country reported additional 0.4% of plastic recycled in 2015 when compared with the year before that. The findings are based on the study conducted by Moore Recycling Associates on behalf of CPIA. The agency surveyed around 500 plastics handling companies in entire North American region.

According to CPIA, 322 million kilograms of post-consumer plastic material, including commercial materials, were collected for recycling in 2015. The total collection increased marginally by 0.4% over 2014. The collection volumes of HDPE bottles and Non-Bottle Rigid registered highest increase during the year.

The majority of material collected in Canada was processed locally within North America. Nearly 79% of the material was reportedly reclaimed in Canada and in the US. US companies purchased nearly 41.1 million kilograms of post-consumer plastic from Canada for processing in the US. The purchase volume by the US reclaimers has declined by 3% when matched with 2014. The purchases by Canadian reclaimers have increased by 2% to 213 million kilograms in 2015. The purchases had totaled only 208.6 million kilograms in 2014. Also, Canadian reclaimers purchased nearly 86 million kilograms of plastic from the US, representing a jump of nearly 8 million kilograms over 2014.

17% of collected material was exported to overseas countries. Meantime, there is no clear evidence of export destination for the remaining 4% of the collected material. It must be noted that material without a known destination declined by almost 2 million kilograms over the previous year. MRF Curbside Film, which accounted for nearly 70% of the MRF Film, was the primary material without a known destination.

Plastic bottles continue to account for bulk of the recycled plastic market. By resin type, PET bottles remained the highest volume plastic product. Bottles accounted for 88% of the PET recycled in Canada. The remaining 12% comprised of non-bottle rigid PET. However, the collection volume of PET bottles decreased slightly in 2015. The total volume of post-consumer PET bottles reclaimed in Canada and the US totaled 103.5 million kilograms. There were five PET reclaimers operating in Canada during 2015.

The second highest volume plastic product was HDPE natural bottles. It is estimated that approximately 75 million kilograms of post-consumer HDPE bottles were recycled in 2015. The domestic recycling of natural HDPE bottles increased during the year, in line with the prevailing trend during the past several years. The volume of HDPE bottles witnessed rise of 5.7 million kilograms during 2015.In HDPE, bottles accounted for 73% of the volume. Non-bottle rigid and film comprised of 16% and 11% of the total volume respectively. The third largest resin source collected for recycling was LDPE. The collection volume of all other categories combined registered a decline of 4.4 million kilograms.