At The Recycling Partnership, we are solving for circularity. We understand that as waste streams evolve solutions are needed to adjust to these changes. In fact, our Paying It Forward report estimates that the U.S. needs $3 billion to upgrade and expand MRF infrastructure. To influence system change, The Partnership is working hard to drive that investment by engaging with facilities around the U.S. to aid in support of improving operations, enhancing business models, and ensuring communities have access to processing capacity. The Partnership has funded $23.6 million in catalyzed grants in the past two years to expand material access and improve recovery, which has in turn delivered a value to MRFs of $12 million in new recyclables.

We understand that managing plastics in MRFs will continue to evolve and will need to react to changes in packaging as well as market realities and opportunities. Since 2014, we have diverted 770 million pounds of new recyclables from landfills, avoided more than 670,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases, and driven significant reductions in targeted contamination rates.

MRF infrastructure has the power to transform processing for all materials. By working together and prioritizing investment, we can see these gains in real-time. One way in which The Recycling Partnership is working to drive MRF processing is through initiatives on polypropylene, PET, and film & flexibles. The Recycling Partnership will present these key initiatives and opportunities, sharing examples of success and resources to manage materials.