Global Recycling Day & COVID-19: Standing Together in Adversity

This Global Recycling Day, people across the world are celebrating recycling as the key to sustainability. Plastics at the end of their useful life are not waste, but a tremendous environmental and economic opportunity. As recyclers, we capture this valuable resource and return it to the circular economy. We are the ones who close the loop.

But today, we are also in the midst of a global pandemic. Waste collection and recycling are incredibly important for public safety. Recycling is also an asset in the face of potential supply shortages. On an even larger scale, the work we do drastically reduces greenhouse gas emissions, thereby reducing the severe health threats associated with the climate crisis.

This critical public service comes at a cost for our people. Exposure risk may be elevated for workers involved with solid waste. Despite the need for social distancing, recycling and waste workers cannot suspend operations or work from home. We urge you to take all necessary precautions to protect yourself, your colleagues and personnel, and our community members. Specific guidance can be found from SWANA and NWRA.

Now is the time to stand in solidarity with each other, with our colleagues along the value chain, and with those most vulnerable in our communities.

We at APR want to send you our well-wishes and hope that you are staying healthy and safe. If you would like to share any concerns or insights with APR as the situation unfolds, please don't hesitate to reach out to our staff. Even now and long after this crisis subsides, we and our members will continue to advance plastics recycling in North America and around the globe.

Thank you for all the work that you are doing! Please stay safe out there. We will all pull through this together.