ACC says 91 percent of Americans can recycle bags

By Jake Thomas, Resource Recycling

A new study produced for the American Chemistry Council has found that more than 91 percent of the U.S. population can recycle their plastic bags locally and nearly 75 percent can recycle other types of flexible wraps.

The study, "Plastic Film and Bag Recycling Collection: National Reach Study," was conducted by Moore Recycling Associates Inc. and looked at how easy it is for consumers to access recycling for flexible polyethylene film, a material used to make plastic bags, sacks and other product wraps. It found that there are over 15,000 drop-off locations that collect these items for recycling. The majority of these locations are conveniently located in stores, often large retail or grocery chains.

"Plastic bags and wraps are a valuable resource that should be recycled after use," said Steve Russell, vice president of plastics for the American Chemistry Council, in a prepared statement. "We're thrilled that so many Americans have access to recycling, and we look forward to working to increase consumer awareness, so we can recycle even more of this material."

Recently, the flexible plastics value chain came together to form the Flexible Film Recycling Group, which seeks to raise consumer awareness of the recyclability of the material. The new group is working with the Sustainable Packaging Coalition to develop a "store drop-off" label for the material.

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