Plastic Container "Recycling" Under 25% 
GreenYes Listserve 30jul01

According to the July 30, 2001 Plastics News, the California Integrated Waste Management Board has determined by a vote of 5-0 that the plastic container recycler rate remains under 25%.
This has significant implications for the economics of plastics recycling in the rest of the country for these reasons.
The way the California law is written, when the recycling rate falls below 25%, in general 25% recycled content is required in non-food bottles, i.e. primarily in the copolymer HDPE market.
In the HDPE, we estimate that 50.4% of bottle resin is for non-food applications, and hence now required by the California law in most instances to have 25% recycled content. For PET, it is only 9.8%, however, in non-food. Overall, 29.1% of all bottle resin is covered.
While as a matter of law California's statutes only reach bottles sold in that state, in practice, due to California's size most national brands do not produce a California bottle. Rather, in general, they tend to tell their molders to make all their bottles conform to California law.
To the extent the plastics markets follow the laws of supply and demand, one would in general assume that this creates a substantial uplift if recovered plastics prices by both expanding demand and doing so into the higher paying bottle markets.
California is to be commended for its progressive efforts.
Peter
Peter Anderson
RECYCLEWORLDS CONSULTING Corp
4513 Vernon Blvd. Suite 15
Madison, WI 53705
(608) 231-1100
Fax (608) 233-0011
anderson@recycleworlds.org