While the overall recycling rate may have dipped slightly in the United States recently, the recycling of materials made of rigid plastic, many labeled as HDPE plastics, increased by ten percent in 2012 to a level greater than one billion pounds. The final total of the amount of collected nearly triples the amount of the material that was recycled in 2007 when tracking and reporting of rigid plastics recycling began. Rigid plastic is now considered one of the fastest growing materials in the recycled goods market. The increase in availability of recycled materials ensures that manufacturers needing the material to produce new goods can procure them at lower prices.

In addition, a year over year increase in over eighty two million pounds collected compared to data from 2011 in attributed to the fact that recycling firms and municipalities are developing efforts to attract hard plastics recycling from both residential and business customers. Close to sixty percent of the recycling processing of rigid plastics takes place in the US and Canada.

Polyethylene and polypropylene make up over seventy percent of all rigid plastics collected in the US and over sixty percent of all Americans now have convenient access to recycling programs that accept rigid plastic materials.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Does your home, business, or community offer convenient recycling for rigid plastic materials? If you’re paying money every month to dispose of these waste materials in a landfill, you’re missing the chance to go green and save green! If you generate large amounts of waste materials of this nature, take some time to look into the re-sale market for rigid plastics. If you generate small or minimal amounts, find out where and how you can get them recycled. It’ll help the planet and your bottom line at the same time!