Despite some bad press, plastics recycling is still viable

You may have seen some news coverage in the past few months about how plastics recyclers are in dire straits because of low oil prices, which are helping to drive down prices for virgin resin. But the news isn't all bad.

We're working on our annual ranking of plastics recyclers this week at Plastics News (watch for the May 18 issue in your mailbox), and the numbers actually don't look too bad.

In fact, we'll be reporting that the North American recycling sector actually grew in 2014.

There are some concerns about low virgin resin prices, obviously — Steve Toloken has a great feature on the impact it's having on recyclers in India, and Nina Ying Sun has the latest data on the impact of the Green Fence policy on China's recyclers.

But North American recyclers are doing OK — watch for Jim Johnson's report quoting experts on how pricing dynamics aren't just about virgin vs. recycled pricing.

To help reinforce that recycled plastics remain a valuable commodity, consider this new educational video by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) on the value and impact of the recycling industry.

The videos are designed for public consumption, which is important. After all, there's so much misinformation about plastics out there that gets repeated, groups that represent recyclers need to communicate to let people know the true state of the industry.

Don't believe me about the misinformation? Check out this column from a newspaper in Canada.

When it comes to communicating and working on improving public impressions of plastics, the industry has a long way to go.