Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR)

APR represents the businesses that recycle the plastic packaging collected every day from US households. APR advocates for state and federal policies to improve plastic recycling, including EPR, bottle deposits, and minimum recycled content requirements.

Recommendations for Policymakers Developing Circular Policy & EPR for Packaging Policies:

1. Maximize what’s currently recyclable before tackling harder materials.

Over 75% of what could be recycled today from US households never makes it into the recycling bin. For example, curbside recycling participants only recycle 55% of their PET water/soda bottles and aluminum cans. EPR should first maximize recovery of the plastics, metals, glass, and paper that are already recyclable. This delivers the fastest environmental and economic gains before expanding to harder-to-recycle materials like film and flexible plastics. Recycling targets should be set in the EPR program plan, not in statute, and include different goals for rigid and flexible plastic packaging based on what’s achievable in the short vs. longer term.

2. EPR is not enough to scale plastics recycling—we need greater market demand.

Collecting more recyclables doesn’t create a circular economy—manufacturers must use recycled plastics instead of new virgin plastic to make new products and packaging. Yet most manufacturers today do not buy recycled plastic. EPR laws can help drive market demand with producers reporting on recycled content, bonuses for using recycled plastics, and dedicated funding for market development programs. But specifically for plastics recycling, we also need minimum recycled content policies, tax credits, and other financial mechanisms so manufacturers consistently choose recycled plastic instead of virgin plastic.

3. Focus on quality, not just quantity, with goals for contamination and design.

Higher recycling rates are not the only metric of success. The quality of what is collected is paramount to maximize environmental and economic benefits, and to ensure recycled plastics can be effectively used by US manufacturers to make new products. EPR laws must include metrics and goals to reduce contamination from households and to improve capture rates and bale quality at MRFs. To improve packaging design, laws must go beyond ecomodulation bonuses to include packaging assessments, metrics and goals, technical support, and substantial financial incentives.

Learn more about how plastics recycling works, and the policies needed to improve it, at www.plasticsrecycling.org.