Page 55 - Plastics News June 2024

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

ers overseas) acquire scrap plastic to cure internal information management bottle rigids) and to track the changes
process mostly into post-consumer system to track the marketplace. To en- in the material stream over time. The
resin, flake or other forms of feedstock sure accuracy of the data provided and primary purpose of the Bale Composi-
to sell to manufacturers or for use di- to prevent double- counting, Stina Inc. tion Study is to apply it to the annual
rectly in new products. conducts follow-up calls with respond- study, but it also serves as important
The data Stina Inc. gathers and reports ents. More details on the Methodology, insight for industry. Beyond the insight
has provided the consistent source of Gaps and Assumptions are detailed in conveyed through the annual plastic
information for the pounds of post- the public report, available through the recycling report, bale audit details are
consumer (and post-commercial) Plastic Recycling Data Dashboard on available through Stina’s Insight Ser-
plastic recovered for recycling in the CircularityInAction.com. vices (StinaInc.com). A new bale audit
United States (and Canada). For nearly Getting Granular study is slated to kick off soon.
two decades this data contributed to Collaboration and Good Data Are Es-
the EPA’s determination of the recy- sential for Progress
cling figure for the plastic recycling Collaboration among industry, govern-
rate in their annual Facts and Figures ment and others as well as long-term
reports on waste, recycling and com- planning are essential in the manage-
posting. Unfortunately, there hasn’t ment of resources for future genera-
been an update to that report since the tions. Good data hinges on transparent
2018 data was published. Since then, methodologies and standard (or com-
various organizations have generated plementary) use of categories across
their own estimates, which will vary studies. One example is utilizing the
depending on methodology used.
APR Guide for Plastic Sorting—Best
How Data on Plastic Recycling is Avail- Management Practices to support har-
able to the Public Beyond gathering data on the com- monization in waste composition stud-
Stina Inc. continues to track many key modities recovered for recycling, it’s ies or other data collection for plastic,
data sets and thanks to study spon- important to have more granular seg- which could help yield a much clearer
sors, the pounds of post-consumer mentation of the data by resin and picture on the national level.
plastic recovered for recycling are product type, particularly where trad- Organizations like the National Re-
made publicly available. The U.S. Post- ed commodities are a mix of product newable Energy Lab (NREL) recently
consumer Plastic Recycling Data Re-
port (2022) can be accessed through
the Plastic Recycling Data Dashboard
on CircularityInAction.com. This data
is used in policy development and
business planning by analysts, educa-
tors, and many other stakeholders.

The data gathering for the U.S. Post-
consumer Plastic Recycling Data Re-
port takes the better part of a year.
Trust developed through years of types and resin. Stina Inc. completed
relationship-building, neutrality in the a National Bale Composition Study in published a report focused on the lost
marketplace, and strict confidentiality 2022, as an update and expansion of value of landfilled plastic (2022) as
standards enable Stina Inc. to achieve previous studies. The data from the well as a report on losses from land-
the high participation rate from com- audit enables us to break out the com- filled cardboard and paper (2023). And
panies in a voluntary survey. modities acquired by resin and product there are many other organizations
working to fill data gaps to aid in better
Stina Inc. developed and utilizes a se- type (e.g., PP bottles versus PP non- decision-making from upstream mate-

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June 2024