Half of Americans recycle 75 % of recyclable items; says survey

Plastics Make it Possible is an Initiative Sponsored by the Plastics Industries of the American Chemistry Council.

Almost half of the Americans recycle 75 percent or more of their recyclable items, according to a national survey conducted by Kelton Global ahead of November 15, America Recycles Day.

Eight percent say they recycle all recyclables and nearly two thirds of Americans claim that they recycle on a regular basis.

However these figures contradict with the national recycling rate of 34.5 percent in 2012, as measured by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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Many Americans are of the opinion that they would recycle more if they had detailed information on what to recycle and how to do it, particularly for plastics.

Forty-six percent claim that they are more likely to recycle when they are sure that a particular item can be recycled, as conflicted to when they are unsure.

Almost 28 percent say they don’t recycle all the time, because they don’t know which plastic items are recyclable.

Plastics Make it Possible is an Initiative Sponsored by the Plastics Industries of the American Chemistry Council.
Plastics Make it Possible is an Initiative Sponsored by the Plastics Industries of the American Chemistry Council.

While nearly all Americans have access to recycling today, this survey shows that better communication and easier access to relevant information should help improve participation rates, said, Steve Russell, vice president, plastics for the American Chemistry Council, which sponsors the Plastics Make it Possible® initiative and this survey.

That’s why programs such as America Recycles Day and efforts to streamline collection of plastics are essential to increasing recycling, he added.

America Recycles Day is a nationally recognized day sponsored by the Keep America Beautiful organization, dedicated to promoting recycling in America.

It also runs the national “I Want to Be Recycled” campaign to create awareness. Besides, recycling supporters have developed new guidelines to help communities about plastics recycling recently.

Sabeena Wahid
[email protected]