Supporting Recycling of Polypropylene

As part of our goal to convene thought leaders to uncover end-of-life solutions for plastics, we joined the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, an industry collaboration established by The Recycling Partnership, to improve polypropylene (PP) plastic recovery and recycling in the U.S. The Polypropylene Recycling Coalition was launched in 2020 to improve PP recycling in the U.S. by awarding grants for sorting equipment, consumer education programs, and research. Through four rounds of grants, the Coalition issued over $1.8 million in catalytic grants to advance polypropylene recycling in the U.S. These funds will improve curbside polypropylene recycling access for 7.6% of all U.S. households. The grants at 22 Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) across the United States will result in increase the recovery of polypropylene by an estimated 14,800 tons annually for established end markets such as consumer packaging and automotive parts, rather than being sent to landfills or incineration. Through these efforts, the coalition will make it easier for people to recycle PP plastic and ensure more recyclers can effectively sort the material in their facilities.

In 2021, Milliken’s support continues for the Polypropylene Coalition and its aims to create circularity in the U.S. by increasing curbside access for polypropylene, ensuring recyclers can sort for polypropylene successfully, and maintaining end markets to supply high-quality recycled polypropylene for use in packaging. Polypropylene (PP) is a type of plastic, sometimes referred to as number 5 plastic. Polypropylene is used in an array of food and non-food packaging. You can find it used in everyday items in your household like food packaging and beverage containers: yogurt cups, butter containers, coffee pods, apple sauce or pudding cups, and much more.

According to The Recycling Partnership's 2020 State of Curbside Recycling report, some limited data from capture studies suggest there may be as much as 17 pounds of polypropylene available per year from a single-family U.S. household. This would place polypropylene at higher generation rates than both natural and colored HDPE. Total annual polypropylene tonnage by U.S. single-family households would be an estimated 827,000 tons or 1.65 billion pounds.

From the Polypropylene Coalition’s efforts, nearly 15 million Americans now have access to curbside recycling of polypropylene, that is a 6% increase in recycling polypropylene. By supporting the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, we can stimulate a system-wide shift to increase the capture of polypropylene and demand of recycled content.