The 2013 National Postconsumer Plastic Bag and Film Recycling Report documented collection of 1.14 billion pounds of post-consumer plastic film in 2013, an increase of 116 million pounds or 11 percent over 2012. Moore Recycling Associates authored the report for the American Chemistry Council's Plastics Division, marking the highest annual film recovery since the survey began in 2005.
The film category encompasses product wraps, retail bags, and commercial stretch film made primarily from polyethylene. The 2013 gain reflected expanded store drop-off collection programs, improved commercial stretch film recovery, and more comprehensive reporting from reclaimers processing PE film bales.
Polyethylene film collected for recycling had increased 74 percent since 2005, demonstrating long-term growth in recovery infrastructure even as overall recycling markets faced volatility. Converters producing PE mailers, wicket bags, and shrink films tracked these statistics when responding to brand owner inquiries about recycled content feasibility and end-of-life assumptions.
Industry commentary during 2013 also noted tension between rising domestic film collection and export market disruption caused by China's Operation Green Fence enforcement, which tightened contamination limits on imported recyclables and redirected attention toward bale quality at MRFs and commercial generators.
For flexible packaging manufacturers, the 1.14 billion pound milestone validated growing recovery volumes while highlighting that post-consumer flexible pouches and multi-material laminates remained largely outside the PE film stream collected through store drop-off and commercial baling programs.