More Plastic Bags and Film Are Recycled than Ever Before; Growing Demand for Plastic Scrap ARLINGTON, Va., March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ –The recycling of plastic bags and film reached a record high across the United States in 2008, continuing a growing national PET recycling machine . An estimated 832,394,000 pounds of post-consumer film (including plastic bags and product wraps) were recovered in 2008, according to the latest National Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic Bags and Film Report. This represents a 28 percent increase in bag and film recycling since 2005. The boost in recycling was driven by greater consumer access to collection programs, primarily at large grocery and retail stores, as well as by new markets for these recycled materials. The recycling report was conducted by Moore Recycling Associates, Inc. of Sonoma, California, based on information obtained from 79 domestic processors, end-users of film material and exporters. The recycling numbers reported likely understate actual bag and film recycling because export data is more difficult to obtain than data on PET bottle recycling line , and in 2008 there was a shift toward export markets , according to the report. PET recycling machine Data collection also was affected by the rapid spike in the number of collection programs as many stores launched new programs to recover post-consumer plastic bags and product wraps from their customers. There are now retail store collection programs in all 50 states. “More Americans are recycling plastic bags and film than ever before, driven by a growing recognition that plastic is a valuable resource – too valuable to waste,” said Steve Russell, vice president of plastics for the American Chemistry Council. “Recovered plastic bags and wraps can be recycled into many useful products, including durable backyard decking, fencing, railings, shopping carts and, of course, new bags. Increased recycling of bags and film is good for the environment and good for the economy.”
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