APR and USPP Joint Statement
The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) and the U.S. Plastics Pact issued the following statement in response to the Center for Climate Integrity's recent report on plastics recycling:
"APR and the U.S. Plastics Pact know that recycling works. Recyclers take in post-consumer plastic packaging from every community recycling program across the country and process it so that it can be sold to manufacturers and made into new plastic packaging and products. Annually, over 5 billion pounds of post-consumer plastics are successfully recycled in North America. That's five billion pounds of plastics that do not end up in waterways or landfills.
Alongside reduction and reuse, recycling is an important way of addressing problems caused by plastic packaging waste. Recycling is a vital engine for driving a circular economy through U.S. manufacturing. Additionally, recycling allows us to reduce energy consumption and lower greenhouse gas emissions by replacing the use of some virgin material derived from petrochemicals and fossil fuels.
APR and the U.S. Plastics Pact are working every day across the value chain to boost recycling rates and to counteract the impact of low-cost virgin plastic by ensuring that more items are made from recycled content.
The truth is as long as Americans depend on plastic in certain products, we need a robust recycling supply chain to minimize waste and strengthen sustainability."
