Last month, S.C. Commerce Recycling Market Development Program Director Chantal Fryer attended the Association of Plastics Recyclers/Sustainable Packaging Coalition Conference in Pittsburgh, Pa. to present on the Your Bottle Means Jobs initiative.
A collaboration between the States of North and South Carolina, the campaign is aimed at promoting the connection between recycling and job creation.
“If every household in the Carolinas would recycle just two more bottles a week, it could help create 300 more jobs in the recycling industry,” said Fryer.
After all, more than 70 percent of plastic bottles are thrown away. As a result, the South Carolina plastics recycling industry is forced to import bottles from other countries to meet the growing demand for recycled content in products supplied to the automotive, home furnishings and textiles industries.
The Palmetto State is home to 10 polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics recyclers, which produce carpet fiber, T-shirts and other textiles products, automotive trunk liners and strapping used in packaging applications. South Carolina’s recycling industry is also home to industrial plastics recyclers that recycle plastics for the automotive, plastics and aerospace industries.
An increased supply of recycled bottles across the Carolinas would have a profound impact on these companies. To illustrate this impact, the two states partnered to create “Real People. Real Jobs.” – a brief video exploring some of the jobs behind the plastics recycling industry in the region.
For more information on this important campaign, visit http://yourbottlemeansjobs.com.