Dow and WM partner on curbside recycling for hard-to-recycle plastic film in the US

28 Nov 2022 --- Dow and WM are launching a collaboration to improve residential recycling for hard-to-recycle plastic films by allowing consumers in select markets to recycle these materials directly in their curbside recycling.

Plastic film has the lowest recycling rate compared with any other plastic material. According to The Recycling Partnership, only 1.9% of US households have access to curbside plastic film recycling. 

“By providing residential customers with a simple, curbside option for recycling plastic films, we will not only help our customers more easily manage their used plastic film products but also meet the rising demand for recycled content products,” says Jim Fish, president and CEO of WM.

WM will lead the collection and processing for the film recycling pilots and continue to identify film recycling opportunities across the US. Once the program operates at total capacity, it is expected to help WM divert more than 120,000 metric tons of plastic film from landfills annually.

Plastic film has the lowest recycling rate of any plastic-type. Plastic film program
The initiative has kicked off with an initial pilot program in the Chicago-area community of Hickory Hills, US. The pilot encompasses approximately 3,500 households, with more cities to follow across the country. The participants will be able to recycle film plastics like bread bags, cling wrap and dry-cleaning bags directly in their curbside bins.

“The City of Hickory Hills is extremely excited to participate in this latest recycling initiative. I think the things everyone can do are small things, but if they are done, it will eventually help the environment. I think recycling is the biggest effort we are making,” expresses D’Lorah Catizone, City Clerk for the City of Hickory Hills.

Dow will be incorporating recycled content into its product solutions to meet its goal of delivering 3 million metric tons of circular and renewable solutions by 2030. 

Through material science expertise, offtakes, cart donations, technology and circular investments, Dow is working to increase recovery rates and drive toward a circular ecosystem for hard-to-recycle plastics.

“Through our collaboration with WM, we’re determined to launch programs that grow recycling infrastructure and access nationwide, creating a more comprehensive system where films and flexible plastics form a key pillar of our circular product offerings,” states Jim Fitterling, Dow chairman and CEO.

WM indicates it will invest over US$800 million until 2025 to improve and enhance recycling infrastructure in the US, including specialized technology that will allow it to optimize its sorting of plastic films. By 2025, film recycling through WM is expected to reach 8% of US households. 

Plastic film recycling Dow and WM are investing in improved curbside recycling to support the circular economy. In curbside bins, flexible plastics such as grocery bags and bubble wrap are not recyclables because the material’s thinness causes it to be easily caught in recycling conveyor belts, shutting down whole systems. 

In 2020, flexible plastic packaging represented 22% of all UK consumer plastic packaging. However, only around 8% of this material was recovered for recycling, according to Recoup’s household plastic collections survey 2021. Europe also only has a 23% recycling rate for PE films. 

“We recognize that to continue to meet and exceed our sustainability goals, we need to continue to expand our circularity solutions. We see the tremendous untapped potential to recycle and reuse plastic film, which many of our residential customers struggle to dispose properly of,” says Fish.

Future PCR plans
Earlier this year, WM announced its agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Avangard Innovative’s US post-consumer resin (PCR) business, creating Natura PCR – an independent company expected to scale and grow recycling capacity to produce an estimated 400 million pounds per year of PCR pellets in five years. 

The company is expected to provide circular solutions for films and clear plastic wrap used commercially, such as plastic stretch wrap for pallets, grocery bags and potentially shrink wrap around food and beverage containers. 

Dow will continue to grow its Revoloop PCR product line while increasing circular ecosystem projects with WM. Dow and WM hope these projects will increase the recycling rate of plastics and create sustainable solutions in packaging, infrastructure and consumer applications.

Edited by Sabine Waldeck