Plastics have become an incredibly important part of our daily lives. The amount of

plastics used in the US has increased nearly 20 times from what was used 50 years ago,1

and some post-consumer products can contain up to 20 different types of plastics alone.2

That means that there is a lot of plastic being produced every year, and most of it

eventually goes into the trash.

Unfortunately, much of the plastic that is thrown away every year

never makes it to the recycling. In 2012, only 9% of total plastic

waste generated in the US was recycled. That means that of the 32

million tons of plastic that was thrown away that year, less than 3

million tons was recycled. In 2012, nearly 30 million tons of plastic

waste was added to the nation's landfills.3

The amount of plastic going to waste each year isn't just a

tragedy from an environmental perspective. Much of the

plastic that ends up in landfills every year could be

repurposed and reused, which means that plastic waste

has a negative economic impact as well. For example,

in 2009 the value of wasted plastic was numbered

at $485 million, more than enough money for 1,000 US

households to live on the median income for almost a

decade.4

Fortunately, the numbers aren't all bad. While only a small amount of

total plastics are recycled every year, that number is on an upward

trend: from 7.1% in 20095 to 9% in 2012.6 On top of that, many

cities have introduced bans on plastic grocery bags, or plan to

in the future. These initiatives alone aren't enough,

but they are promising signs.

US businesses can help tackle the problem of recycled plastic

waste from two different fronts:

• Sorting and recycling their plastics

• Buying products made from recovered plastics

Both of these methods of reducing waste require a concerted

effort on the part of businesses, but they have become much

easier in recent years as awareness of the dangers of un-

recycled plastics has increased.

One of the most common causes

of plastics not being properly

recycled is plastic not being

separated from regular waste, or

not being properly sorted. The RIC

identification code that is printed

on most plastic items (it's the

number inside the recycling logo)

each represent a different kind of

plastic, and each one of those

kinds of plastics requires a

different process to be recycled.7

The reason that different plastics

each require a different process

to be recycled is that the

different plastics all have slightly

different molecular structures.

These differences in chemical

makeup give each classification

of plastic slightly different

properties, which affects what

products they can be used in.

Sorting plastics when recycling

them makes sure that discarded

plastic makes it to the right place

for recycling, saving the time,

energy, and resources that would

otherwise have to be spent

separating them out.

There are many items commonly used by

US businesses that can be made from

repurposed plastic. There are currently

around 1,800 companies in the US that

handle post-consumer plastics,8 and

much of that plastic is reused to make

items such as CD and DVD cases, office

accessories, windows, flooring,

insulation, and furniture. By purchasing

these post-consumer plastic products,

US businesses can make a large dent in

the amount of unclaimed plastic filling

our landfills every year.

Polychem USA has been a market leader in plastic waste recycling since 1946. During

that time, the company has grown with the developments in the industry and the

world, always striving to stay at the forefront of the recycled plastic industry. Learn

more at http://www.polychem-usa.com/.

Sources

1. http://www.bir.org/industry/plastics/

2. http://www.bir.org/industry/plastics/

3. http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/plastics.htm

4. http://www.kab.org/site/PageServer?pagename=recycling_facts_and_stats

5. http://www.kab.org/site/PageServer?pagename=recycling_facts_and_stats

6. http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/plastics.htm

7. http://www.bir.org/industry/plastics/

8. http://environment.about.com/od/recycling/a/benefits-of-plastics-recycling.htm