In an effort to facilitate greater consistency in plastic sorting, the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) recently announced the development of The APR Plastic Sorting Best Management Practices Guide (BMP) to standardize how data is collected in studies that seek to identify the composition of plastics in the waste and recycling stream.
The goal of the guide is part of an overall effort by APR, the leading international trade organization representing the plastics recycling industry, to optimize plastics recycling across North America and beyond.
The guide was developed in conjunction with the American Chemistry Council and More Recycling.
The Plastic Sorting BMPs provide three levels of newly defined sorting categories that address a variety of factors considered when waste/plastic sorts are conducted, including:
•Budget
•A specific recyclables list
•Anticipated waste stream
•Items considered problematic
“Optimizing plastic recycling requires understanding the types of plastic materials in the recycling stream,” commented Liz Bedard, APR’s director of olefin/rigids program. “Municipalities and states regularly sort waste/recyclables to understand their streams. If they utilize the APR Plastic Sorting BMPs, the flexibility with the sorting categories would allow all studies to draw comparisons, develop trending data, and improve overall knowledge about plastic waste composition.”
Created to facilitate better data collection through consistent use of terminology and categorization, this guide defines plastic sorting categories by resin and form. The categories align with plastic recycling commodities that are traded once the material has been sorted at a MRF. The terms also align with annual plastic recycling tracking. If a study is not in a position to change categories, this guide may be utilized to add more clarity to existing category titles.
Published in the December 2018 Edition