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 | |||
HDPE | |||
PVC | |||
LDPE/LLDPELDPE | |||
PP | |||
PS | |||
Other resins | |||
Total Plastics in MSW |
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