New funding provides for PP, curbside recycling efforts

Jun 17, 2023

An arm of The Recycling Partnership is granting another $1.2 million to help spur increased polypropylene recycling.

The nonprofit group's Polypropylene Recycling Coalition said money is going material recovery facilities operated by Atlantic Coast Recycling of Ocean County, N.J.; Pioneer Recycling of Clackamas, Ore.; RecycleSource of Pittsburgh; TC Recycling of Mars, Pa.; and Recology Sonoma of Sonoma, Calif.

"The coalition recognizes that materials recovery facility (MRF) modernization through equipment upgrades is critical to delivering an effective and efficient residential recycling system," said Brittany LaValley, senior director of materials advancement at The Recycling Partnership. "With the cutting-edge technology that is available, MRFs have the opportunity to maximize capture of recyclable materials."

The Recycling Partnership has now provided $8.8 million in funding through a total of 36 grants through the PP recycling initiative. The group estimates the money will help 28 million people in the United States have improved access to recycling, resulting in the collection of 39 million additional pounds of PP.

Atlantic Coast Recycling of Ocean County will use its grant money to help pay for new equipment to capture more PP after seeing an increased amount of the material come through its facility in recent years.

"We have always understood the importance of polypropylene and with support from the partnership's Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, we have ensured there is appropriate space and equipment dedicated to capturing this valuable material," said John Stanton, director of business development for Atlantic Coast Recycling of Ocean County, in a statement.

Pioneer Recycling, meanwhile, said new equipment at its site will help capture the increasing amount of PP cups and other takeout containers the facility is receiving.

"Their new equipment will allow them to sort both polypropylene and fiber (i.e., cardboard) from the same machine, allowing for maximum use of the limited space they have in their facility," The Recycling Partnership said.

The Recycling Partnership uses funding from a wide range of companies to give financial support to both companies and communities to help increase recycling of all materials, not just plastics. A key initiative of the group is providing money for communities to transition from hand-held recycling bins to larger recycling carts on wheels.

The added convenience and space these carts provide allow residents to store and manage larger amounts of recyclables. The nonprofit provides grants to local communities, which also provides funding to buy new carts.

Kansas City, Mo., just recently took delivery of 162,000 new 65-gallon recycling carts that are replacing bins. All of the carts are expected to be in place by August thanks to the partnership's efforts.

The five-year effort to bring carts to Kansas City included Dow Inc., which provided a portion of the resin to manufacture the carts. Partial funding was given by the American Beverage Association's Every Bottle Back recycling program as well as the Missouri Beverage Association.

"As we move closer to a circular plastic economy, it's critical that we have good collection methods in place to capture used plastics that would otherwise end up in a landfill," says Ritika Kalia, North America marketing and sustainability senior director at Dow, in a statement. "We chose to support this cart system rolling out in Kansas City because it will directly impact the local community as well as Dow's 2030 sustainability targets."

The carts are being made at Rehrig Pacific Co.'s De Soto, Kan., manufacturing site.

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