An insider's guide to recycling plastic

Labeling is one part of the solution, especially in helping consumers understand how to ensure their packaging stays out of a landfill. Photograph: Alamy

Recycling has become a part of daily life for most Americans. We all know the mantra: reduce, reuse, recycle. And we’re all accustomed to the variety of bins into which we now dispose of our trash.

But when it comes to plastic, it’s not that simple. A recent Earth911/ISRI opinion poll on plastics recycling indicates that many of us are confused; about how much food contamination is acceptable (37%), which types of plastic are accepted by our local curbside recycling programs (28%), where to recycle plastics (18%) and the meaning of the recycling numbers (17%).

Related: A behind-the-scenes-look at plastic bottle recycling

According to Keep America Beautiful, just over 7% of all plastics generated in the US in 2009 was recycled, compared to about 30% of waste overall. So, there’s room for improvement, and perhaps clearing up some of the confusion will help.

Businesses are also pitching in to find new ways to make plastic products more recyclable and increase the use of recycled materials. In fact, the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers is an organization dedicated to increasing the amount of plastic material that is recycled in North America.

Innovation in labeling is one part of the solution. Avery Dennison, a leading manufacturer of labeling and packaging materials and solutions, is exploring ways to make it easier to recycle plastic packaging and get more recycled plastic back into the supply chain. It’s doing this with an award-winning product called CleanFlake, a label material designed to release cleanly from plastic PET bottles and increase the amount of pure PET recovered in the recycling process.

Meanwhile, the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, an industry working group, has introduced a How2Recycle label that makes it easier for consumers to understand which components of a package, including plastic, are recyclable and how to ensure that they stay out of a landfill.

The How2Recycle label provides five pieces of instructional information for each unique packaging component. Photograph: GreenBlue/How2Recycle.info

There are several useful resources to learn more and take action. Here are just a few:

• Earth911
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• How2Recycle
• Keep America Beautiful
• Natural Resources Defense Council
• Recyclebank
  

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