Recycle City MRF in St. Peters, Missouri, has expanded its PP recycling abilities with upgrades made possible by The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition.
The upgrades include new equipment to handle hard-to-recycle food packaging and PP collected from the surrounding cities of St. Peters, Cottleville, and O’Fallon. With the new equipment, the facility is expected to divert 100 more tons of PP from landfills each year, according to a press release.
The Recycling Partnership also committed to creating a public education campaign to inform St. Peters residents about what materials can be recycled and how to dispose of them correctly.
The equipment upgrades are the latest in the partnership between the city of St. Peters and The Recycling Partnership. Last year, The Recycling Partnership helped outfit 200,000 homes with recycling carts as part of the American Beverage Association’s Every Bottle Back initiative, which supports municipal plastic recycling programs. The project allowed the cities of St. Peters and Cottleville transition from an optional recycling collection system to a universal curbside program.
“The Recycling Partnership’s guidance and expertise were essential in revitalizing Recycle City and beginning a new era of recycling in the St. Peters area,” said Elliot Schneider, manager of environmental and fleet services for St. Peters, in the press release. “We have big plans to carry this momentum forward and grow recycling throughout our community.”
The Polypropylene Recycling Coalition aims to make PP recycling possible for MRFs and accessible for residents. According to the coalition’s website, only 30% of PP is recycled, and 35% to 45% of Americans do not have recycling access for the material.
“This is not just an equipment upgrade,” Cody Marshall, chief recycling officer at The Recycling Partnership, said in the press release. “It’s a commitment to the full system and a proof point that shows investment in local recycling programs pays dividends for the local economy and domestic recycling supply chain.”
Recycle City MRF celebrated the upgrades with a ribbon cutting ceremony on July 7. The Recycling Partnership said it will continue working with St. Peters to advance education and participation through the end of the year.
