The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) has issued its support of Earth Day 2022, saying it is important to continually recognize the need to properly care for the planet.

“This year’s Earth Day theme of investing in our planet could not be more appropriate,” said Patrick Krieger, VP for Sustainability at PLASTICS. “The plastics industry has invested and continues to invest billions in new recycling technologies and programs at home and abroad, innovating to increase the recyclability of the products we make and including more recycled content at a record pace.”

Krieger went on to say that technology exists to recycle most types of plastic and that technology continues improving by the day. “Improving our national infrastructure to make sure all plastics can be recovered and recycled is the most important answer to reducing waste and building a more circular economy,” he said.

PLASTICS has a number of its own sustainability goals that include promoting the use of recycled plastics in new products, educating companies on how to recycle more and make products easier for consumers to recycle, and demonstrating viable business models for collecting and recycling plastic materials from locations such as hospitals, offices, auto repair shops, and others.

“Even with plastic being only 13 percent of municipal solid waste in the U.S.”, Krieger said, “the plastics and recycling industries want to ensure these materials are kept at their highest and best use. We are investing to ensure plastics are used as circularly as possible.”

The association supports legislation such as the Realizing the Economic Opportunities and Values of Expanding Recycling (RECOVER) Act, which would allocate funds to recycling infrastructure improvement, and the Recycling Enhancements to Collection and Yield through Consumer Learning and Education (RECYCLE) Act, to create a new federal grant program through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help educate households and consumers about their residential and community recycling programs.

Krieger recommended, “On Earth Day, and every day, we encourage people to contact their government officials, asking them to push forward legislation and programs that prioritize recycling. That would be a great investment in our planet.”