Association of Postconsumer Plastics Recyclers

US,ASSOCIATION OF POSTCONSUMER PLASTIC RECYCLERS US,VINYL INSTITUTE P R ENVIRONMENTAL INDUSTRIES OXYCHEM BAYSHORE VINYL USA... 

The Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR), a U.S. trade association representing plastics recycling companies, also publishes a list of design guidelines for plastic bottles. Specific sets of guidelines are presented for PET, natural HDPE, pigmented HDPE, PP, and PVC bottles [22]. Guidelines include ... 

More recently, the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR) backed away from pushing for passage of bottle bills, in the face of opposition from the American Plastics Council and soft drink companies. ... 

Other organizations have also issued plastic bottle design guides. The Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers published a set of specific guidelines for PET, HDPE, PP, and PVC bottles. It also issued a special advisory against the use of opaque white PET bottles, which were found to pose a special problem for lecyclers. ... 

Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers, http //www.plasticsrecycling.org/. 

Polyethylene terephthalate and HDPE bottles continue to comprise over 96% of the United States plastic bottle market. In 2011, the total annual post-consumer plastic bottles recycled in the United States increased to an all-time high of 2624 million pounds. The total bottle collection rate was 28.9% for 2011. Plastic bottles with recycling codes 3 to 7 makeup only 3.5% of the plastic bottle market. Of these bottles, polypropylene bottles were recycled at a rate of 2.2% and PVC recycled bottles were recycled at a rate of 0.8% in 2011 (Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers and the American Chemistry Council 2011). 

Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers and the American Chemistry Council (2011) 2012 National Postconsumer Recycling Reports, http //www. moorerecycling.com/Publications (last accessed June 2014). 

Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR) (2011) The Association of Post-consumer Plastic Recyclers Design for Recyclability Program, Washington, DC APR. 

PVC has been criticized by Greenpeace and also by the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers, which in 1998 labeled PVC a recycling contaminant, pointing to the failure of a year-long effort to find markets for recycled PVC and the fact that many of their members had to landfill recovered PVC bottles because they could find no markets for them. After that report, the Vinyl Institute funded a pilot project aimed to jump-start... 

In 1993,450 million lbs of postconsumer PET bottles including 40% of all carbonated soft-drink bottles were recycled in the USA. The 1993 recycling rate of plastic packaging was 6.9%, with PET at 28%. In 2009, the National Association of PET Container Resources found that the overall amount of recyclable PET bottles and glasses in the USA was about 2.34 x 10 kg in 1 year, whereas the recycled quantity was just about 6.53 x 10 kg which is 28% of the existing amount. 

Identification of the materials of construction (i.e., plastics, paper, metal, glass, elastomers, coatings, adhesives, and other such materials) should be identified by a specific product designation (code name and/or code number) and the source (name of the manufacturer) alternate materials of construction should be indicated postconsumer recycled plastic should not be used in the manufacture of a primary packaging component, and if it is used for a secondary or associated component, then the safety and compatibility of the material for its intended use should be addressed appropriately... 

Recychng single resin plastics from postindustrial or postconsumer sources typically utihzes standard processing equipment. Plastics are melted, extruded, pelletized, and then formed into a final product. Additives may be added that compensate for prior use, additional processing caused thermal histories or new product needs but the use of these additives is minimized to control the overall cost of the recycled plastic and thereby increase the overall profitability of the process. The next section addresses some of the technical issues associated with recychng specific individual plastic streams. 

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