General Facts about Plastics
Without plastics, 400 percent more material by weight and 200 percent more material by volume would be needed to make packaging.
For every seven trucks needed to deliver paper grocery bags to the store - only one truck is needed to carry the same number of plastic grocery bags!
Plastic lumber, made with recycled plastic, holds nails and screws better than wood, is virtually maintenance free and lasts for 50 years!
Foam polystyrene containers take 30 percent less total energy to make than paperboard containers.
The number of plastics recycling businesses has nearly tripled over the past several years, with more than 1,700 businesses handling and reclaiming post-consumer plastics.
Between 1990 and 1996 the amount of waste going into landfills declined by more than 17 percent (by weight).
By using plastic in packaging, American product manufacturers save enough energy each year to power a city of 1 million homes for three and a half years.
We are recycling more than ever before. With an average recycling rate of 27 percent, and over 60 percent for some materials, we have exceeded US EPA's national goal.
