The Resolution expresses support for ‘the improvement of collection, processing and consumption of recyclable materials throughout the US’ and ‘policies in the US that establish the equitable treatment of recycled materials’.
“The bottled water industry supports effective recycling and environmental conservation policies,” said Joe Doss, IBWA’s president and CEO. “We are pleased to see this effort to help build upon the growing public momentum to increase recycling rates nationwide by spelling out its many economic and energy saving benefits. Any efforts to increase recycling while reducing the environmental impact of packaging must be broad-based and focus on all consumer goods, as this resolution does, and not target any one industry.”
Recycling analyses by the National Association for PET Container (Napcor) and others show bottled water is just one of thousands of food and beverage products packaged in plastic containers, and make up an extremely small percentage of potentially recyclable material.
According to US EPA data, bottled water containers make up only a third of 1% (0.33%) of the US waste stream. Nonetheless, research data shows plastic water bottles to be the single most common item found in curb-side recycling bins.
IBWA believes that increasing the recycling rates for all consumer products and packaging should be a top priority for all companies whose product or packaging is ultimately discarded.
Locally run, comprehensive recycling programmes are the best method of cost-effectively diverting solid waste from landfills and increasing recycling of consumer products and packaging.
Source: IBWA
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