APR year in review

APR year in review

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

As 2012 comes to a close, the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR) has released its "2012 Members Update," describing what the organization did last year and what it sees on the horizon for 2013.

APR saw its membership and revenue rise to all-time highs in 2012. During the last year, APR generated over $850,000 from dues and grants, a big jump from 2011. Despite its success, APR describes itself as "a David in the land of Goliaths" in the update, and called on members to find more revenue to help the organization provide technical resource for the industry, while also seeking out additional sources of good, clean, raw material supply.

Of the major expenditures made by APR included the Annual PET and HDPE/All Bottle Recycling Rate Report, the implementation of the Grocery Store Plastics Recovery Project, advocacy activities in California, North Carolina, Massachusetts and Vermont, as well as several technical projects, including a comprehensive long-term evaluation of the quality of PET post-consumer material and meeting expenses. APR anticipates a small surplus from the year it will put into reserves.

APR is also facing what it calls "significant challenges" in the plastics recycling industry, such as full-wrap labels, new resins and additives, as well as regulatory issues that the organization will be working on in 2013. Additionally, APR has been working on an array of other issues that are included in the update [1].

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