There's been a lot of investment in the recycling sector, but it's still not enough
There's a lot of demand for a more rounded plastic industry - a call that doesn't just come from activists, but also from inside the house (metaphor).

Just consider the news over the past few days that Plastics News staffers Jim Johnson and Steve Toloken reported from the Plastics Recycling Conference in Maryland.

Recycling partners are setting up a program to ensure PET bottles collected for recycling are actually recycled, with polypropylene recycler SER North America planning to double capacity at its new facility in New York. Anderson, Ind., and the American Chemistry Council and legislators shared a stage to talk about expanded producer liability.

That's in addition to PP recycler PureCycle raising funds to fund a new plant in Georgia, environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council calling the chemical recycling "wash out," an Arizona PET recycler moving into a larger facility for growth, and PET giant Indorama Ventures Public Co., Ltd. says it is well on its way to achieving its goal of increasing recycled products.

But despite all that, the compass for recycling and the circular economy simply isn't moving fast enough, far enough.

The American Plastics Association released a report March 7 saying that consumer companies have committed to having 25% recycled content in their packaging by 2025, a fraction of that.

And back at the Plastics Recycling Conference, Emily Friedman from ICIS noted that the recycling industry will need to see "exponential growth" to meet its owner's sustainability goals. own brand. For the 2025 goal, the US will need at least another 145 mechanical recycling plants. For the 2030 targets, the industry will need a compound annual growth rate of 45%.