Extrusion International 3-2023-USA

38 Extrusion International 3/2023 38 INDUSTRY NEWS PLASTICS Survey: Consumers Overwhelmingly Support All Types of Recycling A new survey released by the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) indicates that consum- ers overwhelmingly support all types of recycling when it comes to plastic products or packaging that should be considered “recy- clable” or made from “recycled material.” The survey of 1,200 Americans will be submitted to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is now accepting comment on potential changes to its ‘Green Guides,’ which are intended to provide guidance on how consumers interpret environ- mental marketing claims. According to the results of the survey, two-thirds (62%) of Amer- icans believe that single use plas- tics are important to their quality of life. “Our goal is to build a more cir- cular economy, and that means enabling consumers to easily find and purchase products and pack- aging that are designed to be recycled or made from recycled content,” said Matt Seaholm, President and CEO of PLASTICS. “Consumers don’t discriminate against technologies like ad- vanced recycling which enable them to recycle more of the plastic products they use. They want la- bels or branding to be simple and consistent and are more focused on keeping plastics in a recycling bin and out of the landfill.” Through the mechanical recy- cling process, plastic products are cleaned, ground into smaller piec- es, and then reformed into new plastic. The advanced recycling process breaks plastic polymers down into smaller molecules that can be used to make new prod- ucts, including new plastic. According to a memo from RG Strategies, which conducted the survey from February 22 to 28, “[A] large majority of Americans support advanced recycling and agree that advanced recycling should be considered recycling.” Among other findings, the sur- vey indicated that more than 9 in 10 Americans see both advanced recycling and mechanical recy- cling as examples of recycling. It also found that: • 90% of Americans care more that a plastic item doesn’t end up in the trash or litter than which process is used to recycle the item. • 87% of Americans believe in- dustry and government should do more to support all types of recycling, including advanced re- cycling. • 89% of Americans say that the label of “recycled content” is ap- propriate for plastics processed by mechanical recycling or advanced recycling. • 91% of Americans say that the label “recyclable” is appropriate for products that could be pro- cessed by mechanical recycling or advanced recycling. • 82% of survey participants agree that it is appropriate to la- bel an item as recyclable if a prod- uct can be recycled, even if access to recycling facilities across the country varies. Consumers also recognize the value of “mass balance” account- ing practices, which are used by many industries to track attributes of sustainable feedstocks, such as amount of recycled content, across complex supply chains. In fact, 67% of Americans consider mass balance-certified plastics to be better (21%) or the same (46%) as other recycled content, while only 14% of survey partici- pants disagree. Full memo from RG Strategies: https://8568633.fs1.hubspotusercon - tent-na1.net/hubfs/8568633/US%20 Recycling%20Survey%20Memo.pdf Bipartisan Legislation to Improve America’s Recycling Infrastructure Supported PLASTICS applauds the reintro- duction of two bipartisan pieces of legislation focused on improving America’s recycling infrastructure. The Recycling and Composting Ac- countability Act and the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act of 2023 were reintroduced by Sena- tors Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tom Carper (D-DE) and John Booz- man (R-AR). “We need to recycle more, pe- riod, and these bipartisan bills will help us achieve that goal,” said Matt Seaholm, President and CEO of the Plastics Industry Association. “Im- proving the country’s recycling infra- structure is paramount to increasing our recycling rates for all materials and ensures we keep waste in the cir- cular economy and out of landfills.” Matt Seaholm