Plastic is one of the fastest growing parts of the waste stream and among the most expensive discarded material to manage. The plastics recycling rate of 6.9% is the lowest of all major materials (compared to 51.6% for paper, 36.3% for metals, and 21.8% for glass). [US Environmental Protection Agency, Municipal Solid Waste in the United States, 2006 Facts and Figures, www.epa.gov/osw.] In 1960, single-use plastic packaging was 0.14% of the waste stream (120,000 tons). In less than one generation, it has grown to 5.7% and 14,230,000 tons per year [US EPA, 2006 data].

Plastics Recycling Low

Generation
(thousand tons)		 Recycling
(thousand tons)		 Recycling Level
(percent by weight)
PET
3,760
680
18.1%
HDPE
5,650
570
10.1%
PVC
1,660
0
0.0%
LDPE/LLDPELDPE
6,400
310
4.8%
PP
4,570
10
0.2%
PS
2,620
00
0.8%
Other resins
6,070
500
8.2%
Total Plastics in MSW
30,730
2,090
6.8%

Source: US EPA, 2007 data
Key: PET = polyethylene terephthalate, HDPE = high density polyethylene, PVC = polyvinyl chloride,
PS = polystyrene, LDPE = low density polyethylene, PP = polypropylene, PS = polystyrene