RICHMOND, CALIF. -- Recycling offers plastic the opportunity to regain its 'cool' status as the material of the future, according to Mike Biddle, president of recycler MBA Polymers Inc.

"Plastic was cool once," he told PRW, "and it isn't now. I told my employer 20 years ago 'people aren't going to like plastic' but it's taken two decades for our industry to change."

Biddle said that an improved environmental profile and a new "green" status could help put plastics back where it belongs by replacing its image as a pollutant with one that highlights its contribution of modern living and its sustainability.

"Plastic is also too valuable to throw away," he added. "It's three to four times more valuable than steel so why are the recovery rates so low? Because it's not been easy."

However, the technologies are now available to make plastics recycling a highly viable business and with some government support the industry will create 'green' jobs, Biddle said.

MBA is based in Richmond, Calif., and has recycling plants in China, Austria and England.