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Thank You for Recycling: America Is Making Progress—Let’s Keep It Going

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Every now and then it’s nice to share some good news.

For years we’ve all heard about the problems with plastic waste, overflowing landfills, and pollution. While there’s still plenty of work ahead, there are encouraging signs that Americans are taking recycling more seriously—and that deserves recognition.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to invest in improving recycling infrastructure across the country. In 2025, the EPA expanded its Recycling Infrastructure and Market Opportunities Map to help communities identify opportunities to recover more post-consumer materials and strengthen markets for recycled products. That’s a positive step toward building a stronger circular economy. (US EPA)

Every Bottle Counts
When you toss that empty water bottle, milk jug, or detergent bottle into the recycling bin instead of the trash, you’re helping create the raw material that manufacturers can use again.

Post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic comes from products that have already been used by consumers, collected, sorted, cleaned, and processed into new raw material. Every clean bottle or container that gets recycled helps reduce the need for virgin plastic made from fossil fuels.

PET (#1) and natural HDPE (#2) bottles continue to have some of the highest recycling rates among plastics because they’re widely accepted and have strong end markets. (US EPA)

The More We Recycle, the Better the Future Looks
No one can promise that recycled plastic will always cost less than virgin resin. Markets move up and down based on supply, demand, energy prices, and manufacturing costs.

But one thing is certain:

  • More recycled material means a larger supply of usable PCR.
  • Better recycling infrastructure makes collection and processing more efficient.
  • Greater demand for recycled content encourages manufacturers to invest in new recycling technologies.

Over time, those improvements can help stabilize supply and make recycled materials more competitive. That’s good for manufacturers, distributors, and ultimately consumers. (US EPA)

We're Doing Our Part Too
Here at US Plastic Pallets & Handling, we believe recycling isn’t just something we talk about—it’s something we practice.

Many of the plastic pallets and bulk containers we offer are manufactured using recycled materials, giving post-consumer plastics a second life in demanding industrial applications.

And yes…we recycle our own plastic bottles around the office too.

We’re just trying to keep up with the Joneses!

Seriously though, every bottle recycled, every container sorted correctly, and every effort to reduce waste helps move us all in the right direction.

Keep It Going
The next time you finish that bottle of water or empty a detergent container, take the extra few seconds to put it in the recycling bin.

It may seem like a small act, but millions of small acts create meaningful change.

From all of us at US Plastic Pallets & Handling, thank you for doing your part.

Give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back—and let’s keep the momentum going. Together, we can build a cleaner environment, reduce waste, and create more opportunities for recycled plastics to become the products of tomorrow.

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