Plastic Makers, Retailers Partner to Increase Plastic Film Recycling

In an effort to increase recycling rates of plastic wraps and bags, plastic makers and retailers have teamed up with Connecticut public officials.

The Flexible Film Recycling Group of the American Chemistry Council and the Connecticut officials launched the new campaign at a Price Chopper supermarket in Middletown, one of many grocery and retail stores that collect used plastic wraps and bags for recycling in storefront bins.

Nationwide, more than 18,000 grocery and retail stores collect plastic film for recycling — yet consumer awareness remains low. Plus, when these materials are placed in curbside recycling bins, they can cause significant problems with recycling machinery. The Connecticut campaign and other similar initiatives in the US are designed to increase awareness about these facts, and urge companies to support flexible film recycling.

The Plastic Film Recycling website includes ways companies can do this, such as consulting with plastic film recyclers when designing a new film package and providing verification that the package is 100 percent polyethylene. It also suggests using a soon-to-come special “recyclability” logo, which is being created specifically for film recycling.

The Connecticut campaign is part of WRAP (Wrap Recycling Action Program), a public-private partnership that promotes recycling of plastic film beyond bags. WRAP has set a goal to double plastic film recycling — reaching about 2 billion pounds — by 2020. The partnership includes the Flexible Film Recycling Group, GreenBlue/the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, the Association of Plastics Recyclers, brand companies, retailers, states, cities and others.