Dive Brief:
- The Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR) is reaching out to supermarkets and asking for an increase in the stores’ collection and recycling of rigid plastics.
- The APR launched a study illustrating that starting or increasing rigid plastic recycling in grocery stores reduces the costs of sending the materials to landfills and generates revenue through the sale of commodities. On average a supermarket would collect about 80-150 pounds of rigid plastic per week, according to the study. The study put the price of a thousand pounds of rigid plastic between $100-$200.
- In 2013 the association created the Grocery Store Recycling Program, a recycling initiative focusing on the recovery of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) trays, buckets and covers.
Dive Insight:
"Our studies show there is at a minimum of at least 350 million pounds of good, clean material available through stores for recycling," says Steve Alexander, APR’s executive director. The group said there is a significant demand for containers at grocery stores and notes that grocers could generate revenue if the store opts to recycle the materials. Case studies revealed that bulky rigid plastics and cardboard both have monetary value and have the potential to generate a new revenue stream for supermarkets.