Page 46 - Plastics News July 2024

FEATURE NEWS

To boost plastics recycling, take

lessons from clean energy

t a meeting of Oregon materials recovery Bailey joined Kate Eagles, program director at APR,
stakeholders last week, two plastics recycling to lay out how there is truth to both assertions dur-
Aexperts had a blunt message for attendees: ing a session at the Association of Oregon Recyclers’
Plastics recycling is in trouble. annual Sustainable Oregon meeting, held in Port-
land on June 18.
“This really should be a heyday for plastics recyclers:
The world is saying we need to do more of this, we They also offered some optimism, drawing parallels
want to move in this direction,” said Kate Bailey, between recycling and renewable energy. By follow-
chief policy officer at the Association of Plastic Recy- ing a similar roadmap, the speakers said, plastics re-
clers. “And the market signals are actually going in cycling stakeholders can increase recycled resin use
the other direction, in some ways.” in the same way that solar, wind and other renewa-

APR owns Resource Recycling, Inc., which publishes bles sectors have scaled up.
Plastics Recycling Update. Supply to receive a policy boost

Depending on who’s being asked, the problem lies On the supply side, one point came up again and
either in not enough supply of material entering again: EPR for packaging, including Oregon’s Recy-
the recycling stream, meaning there’s not enough cling Modernization Act, will be a game-changer in
post-consumer resin to purchase in the end, or not increasing recycled plastic supply.
enough end users buying post-consumer resin,
meaning the recycling firms can’t be profitable. “We are really at the ground level of sweeping
changes to the U.S. recycling system that’s really go-

48 PLASTICS NEWS July 2024