Michael Stephen, Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Association
Recyclers depend for their survival on demand for plastic products made with their recyclate, but plastic is under attack from environmentalists, and line after line – and sometimes whole factories – are closing.
Over the past month, recovered PET and film values have fallen, but HDPE grades have seen slight increases.
Nina Bellucci Butler of More Recycling states correctly in a Sept. 27 article in Plastics Recycling Update that “we have capacity to purchase HDPE, PET, PP and other resins. We don’t have the capacity to take the material from the MRF [and] further segregate it so we can get those discrete resins to market.”
Accelerating the transition to a circular economy has become a high priority for major companies and governments around the globe.
Since its founding in 1987, our organization, the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), has worked to expand boundaries while staying true to our foremost mission of protecting and promoting the PET package.
Earlier this year, ABC, the national government broadcaster in Australia, ran a series of programs called “War on Waste.” These shows were dedicated to putting the huge amount of waste generated in the forefront of people’s thinking.
As we enter 2018, the market for most plastic packaging collected at the curb remains unchanged, although PP prices recently took a jump.
Europe has laid out its legislative and long-term policy blueprint on waste and recycling, with big changes in store for plastics recycling. Continue Reading
This story originally appeared in the November 2017 issue of Plastics Recycling Update. Subscribe today for access to all print content.
