ENERGY AND ECONOMIC VALUE OF NON- RECYCLED PLASTICS (NRP) AND MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTES (MSW) THAT ARE CURRENTLY LANDFILLED IN THE FIFTY STATES

Mechanical recycling of plastics has continued to grow in the United States, with 2.1 million tons of plastics recycled in 2009. This includes recovery of used plastics from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles, non-bottle rigid containers, and some flexible packaging. However, despite the efforts of many communities to source-separate plastics, less than 15% of the U.S. post-consumer plastics are being diverted from landfills by means of recycling and energy recovery. Therefore, while continuing its efforts to increase plastics recycling, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) is also seeking ways to recover more of the energy value of non-recycled plastics (NRP) in the form of electricity, heat, or petrochemical feedstock. Landfilling of NRP constitutes a loss of a valuable energy resource. Capturing the energy value of non-recycled plastics will contribute to sustainable development and enhance national energy security. (EEC) to quantify the amount of plastics discarded in each state and their disposition to materials recovery (recycling), energy recovery in waste-to-energy plants (WTE), and to landfills. EEC was also asked to calculate the energy value of NRP currently going to landfills and identify ways for recovering the energy content of this valuable energy resource. Key Findings  The results of this study showed that 6.5% of the used plastics generated in the U.S. are recycled, 7.7% are combusted with energy recovery, and the remaining 85.8% are landfilled. The states closest to sustainable waste management of plastics in 2008, by complementing recycling with energy recovery, are Connecticut, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Maine, Virginia, and Minnesota; the diversion rates of NRP from landfills in these states, by recycling and combustion with energy recovery, range from 65% for Connecticut to 32% for Minnesota.