Resources Developed to Increase Recycling High Quality HDPE Bottles : Association of Plastic Recyclers Targets Pharmacy Plastic Bottle Waste
The Washington DC based trade body, the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), has developed resources for pharmacies to recycle stock bottles.
The organisation explained that in support of its primary goals to increase the supply and enhance the quality of recycled plastics, pharmacy stock bottles have been identified as a highly marketable, quality stream of high density polyethylene (HDPE).
“Pharmacies offer a unique grocery store waste reduction opportunity,” commented Liz Bedard, APR’s Rigid Plastics Recycling Director. “Many pharmacies are making the switch from disposing of large volumes of stock bottles to setting up dedicated pharmacy stock bottle recycling collection bins.”
The association added that pharmacy waste is evenly divided between stock bottles and paper. Through the combination of a pharmacy stock bottle recycling program and a paper recycling program, grocery stores and pharmacies can easily achieve a zero-waste status with no incremental labor costs, waste hauling and disposal savings, as well as potential revenue.
“As we have seen the Recycling Grocery Rigid Plastics program grow to include 32 states, 10 national chains, and 4500 stores, a Pharmacy Stock Bottle Recycling program was the next logical step,” said Steve Alexander, APR’s Executive Director.
“These new resources expand on APR’s efforts to enhance the quality and increase the supply of recycled plastics through extensive technical resources,” he added.
The pharmacy resources have been added to the How to Recycle Grocery Rigid Plastics Guidebook, and include simple steps for a recommended approach to starting the program, photos, potential revenue figures, sample signage, frequently asked questions, and a case study outlining the success story of a Stop & Shop pharmacy.
“Grocery rigid plastics have proven to be a good, clean source of HDPE,” commented J. Scott Saunders, General Manager of KW Plastics Recycling and the Chair of the APR Board of Directors. “The pharmacy stock bottle recycling program is yet another example of how APR works to seek additional feedstock of material to recycle.”
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