A new Your Bottle Means Jobs (YBMJ) video from the Carolinas Plastics Recycling Council and the Association of Plastics Recyclers (APR) highlights the economic impact of plastics recycling in the Carolinas at a time when China is tightening up what imported recycling commodity materials it will accept.
The video, entitled “Real People, Real Jobs, Recycle” highlights those working in the high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastics recycling industry in the Carolinas, focusing on the North Carolina recycling supply chain. Featuring employees of North Carolina companies such as ReCommunity, Plastic Revolutions, Crumpler Plastic Pipe, and Burt’s Bees, the video shows that recycling is at the intersection of the environment and the economy.
“North Carolina’s local industries import recycled bottles from abroad and other states to meet their demands. When households recycle just two more bottles a week, they need to know that they are helping support Carolina jobs,” said YBMJ campaign leader, Blair Pollock. “In fact, a recent poll found that 66 percent of people ages 18 to 34 would be more likely to recycle if they knew what happened to their recycling after it hits the recycling bin. This video demonstrates the recycling process in a fresh, innovative way.”
As China bans imports of plastics, U.S. recycling capacity will become increasingly vital, and the 3,500 plastics recycling industry jobs in North and South Carolina are necessary for recycling all types of plastics, especially HDPE. The ripple effect of when a household recycles milk jugs, detergent, household cleaners or shampoo plastic bottles is evident with the video’s demonstration of those working in the robust Carolinas plastics recycling industry.
The campaign’s call to action is that if every household in the Carolinas recycled 2 more bottles per week, it would create 300 local jobs in the economy. The video is another resource to add to the current Your Bottle Means Jobs toolkit. A recent YBMJ marketing campaign in the Raleigh Triangle area had considerable regional impact and yielded a two percent increase in bottles recycled over a three month period as compared to the prior year.
“The future success and growth of the plastics recycling industry depends on two things – increased supply of material to process, and increased demand,” commented Steve Alexander, president of APR. “Many HDPE applications today can use more recycled content, so any effort to increase supply is critical. This program highlights a natural, easy to implement activity for any household that will have a tremendously positive impact on the most pressing need for the recycling community.”
View the video at https://vimeo.com/channels/yourbottlemeansjobs or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxgG3-0jpAI.
Published in the December 2017 Edition of American Recycler News
View the video at https://vimeo.com/channels/yourbottlemeansjobs or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxgG3-0jpAI.