SEATTLE (Recycling Monster): Dow and Waste Management have joined hands to launch a new program aimed at boosting residential recycling of plastic films. It must be noted that most curbside recycling programs do not include plastic film in the list of collected items for recycling.
The new initiative will help to close the gap of households that have access to curbside plastic recycling. It must be noted that only less than 2% of the U.S. households have access to curbside plastic film recycling.
The program was launched in November last year. The pilot program in Hickory Hills, Illinois covers approximately 3,500 households, with similar programs expected to be implemented in other cities. Upon reaching full capacity, the program will divert more than 120,000 metric tons of plastics film every year from landfills. The plastic film recycling through WM is expected to reach nearly 8% of U.S. households by 2025.
The partnership aims to close the gap for recovered plastic films by enabling end-uses for materials collected through the program. It combines the waste management expertise of WM with the material science expertise of Dow to offer circular solutions and technologies to improve plastic film recycling access to households.
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