Recycling of Plastic Film Rises 1 Percent in 2012

Recycling of postconsumer plastic film packaging rose 1 percent in 2012 from the previous year, according to a new report.

The report, commissioned by the Plastics Division of the Washington-based American Chemistry Council (ACC), said a minimum of 1.02 billion pounds of postconsumer film was collected for recycling in 2012. That is an increase of 56 percent since 2005, according to a news release.

Sonoma, Calif.-based Moore Recycling Associates Inc. conducted the study on plastic film, which includes plastic bags, product wraps and commercial shrink film. 

“This report shows that even though film recycling had not grown as we had hoped last year, there is a lot of opportunity to make a difference with our programs,” said Shari Jackson, director of the ACC Flexible Film Recycling Group.

There are more than 18,000 store drop-off locations throughout the U.S. to collect plastic bags, wraps and film for recycling. Also, existing infrastructures for collecting commercial film have the potential for significant expansion, the group said.