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The Flexible Packaging Debate continues…

April 29, 2014

NERC’s Guest Blog article, “Reducing our Way out of Recycling,” does a good job of tackling a popular but complex topic.  Because of the rapidly growing interest in – and access to – recycling polyethylene film, we’d like to offer some additional insights.

As the author pointed out, polyethylene film plays an important role in lightweighting many types of packaging that consumers and businesses rely on every day.

Polyethylene enables more products to be shipped with significantly less packaging material than alternatives, which helps to reduce the number of trucks on the road, the amount of fuel that gets used and the greenhouse gasses emitted to our environment.  A good reminder of why “Reduce” is at the top of EPA’s waste management hierarchy.  

But let’s not forget that while an enhanced system is being piloted in Wisconsin, polyethylene film also is widely recycled and conveniently collected right now at major grocery and retail chains across the nation.

Moore Recycling Associates tracks polyethylene film recycling across the United States annually. Our latest results show that over 1 billion pounds of this material was recycled in 2012, a 56% increase since just 2005.  And according to EPA’s latest figures, the recycling rate for polyethylene packaging is roughly 12%. 

This is a good start, but we’re working to do much better.

Currently, the infrastructure for recycling polyethylene film greatly exceeds what we’re collecting.

Moore Recycling’s research shows that 91% of Americans can recycle their polyethylene carrier bags at local grocery and retail stores, and a minimum of 75% of us can recycle many other common types of polyethylene film at these locations.  What’s needed now is a national campaign to boost consumer awareness.

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The Flexible Film Recycling Group (FFRG) – a group of plastic makers, retailers, brand owners and polyethylene film recyclers – and many others interested in recycling believe that the Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s “How2Recycle” label is exactly the right idea at the right time.  This new package labeling system is being widely adopted by major brand owners and retailers and is providing a consistent format to instruct consumers on how to recycle specific packages. 

In the case of polyethylene film, the label instructs consumers to bring the item back to local participating stores through a “Store Drop-off” message and the how2recycle.info website linking consumers to collection outlets.  Having an in-store drop-off system for recycling polyethylene film not only makes it convenient for consumers to help preserve a valuable resource, it allows us to keep film out of curbside bins where it could  potentially interfere with equipment that was designed to process rigid plastics and other non-film recyclables.

ACC Flex pfg_1FFRG and its members also are working to increase awareness by developing a national education program to promote polyethylene film recycling among consumers and businesses. A pilot is currently being tested in Wisconsin, and FFRG plans to roll out the Wrap Recycling Action Program, or simply “WRAP,” in other states this year.

And, of course, there’s an important role for communities, too.  Most municipalities post lists of the recyclables they collect online.  We need communities to remind residents that while polyethylene film may not be collected curbside, local stores readily collect clean and dry bags from bread, produce, and dry cleaning; wraps from beverage cases, paper towels, napkins, diapers and bathroom tissue; and shipping pillows.

In fact, many communities link to plasticfilmrecycling.org to connect stakeholders to more information about the common types of polyethylene film that can be recycled and the stores that collect them.  We hope you will too.

 

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By:

Nina Bellucci Butler is the Managing Director of Moore Recycling Associates.

Anne T. Bedarf, is Senior Manager for GreenBlue’s Sustainable Packaging Coalition.

Shari Jackson is the Director of the American Chemistry Council’s Flexible Film Recycling Group

 


NERC welcomes Guest Blog submissions. To inquire about submitting an article contact Athena Lee Bradley, Projects Manager. Disclaimer: Guest blog’s represent the opinion of the writer and may not reflect the policy or position of the Northeast Recycling Council, Inc.

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