• Bottles in the Bin – in addition to milk jugs and beverage bottles, remember to recycle plastic bottles from salad dressing and oil; food jars from peanut butter and mayonnaise; and bottles from shampoos, laundry detergents, and household cleaners. And don’t forget non-pesticide spray bottles used in your garden.

• Bag It! – You can recycle plastic bags at many major grocery store chains. Remember to include your grocery and retail bags, newspaper bags, dry cleaning bags, and wraps from bread, bathroom tissue, paper towels, beverage cases, clean plastic garden sheeting, diapers, baby wipes and more.

• Containers, Cups and Lids – More and more communities are recycling plastic containers in addition to bottles. Check your community’s website or your local grocer to see if they collect yogurt cups, butter tubs, deli containers, lids, flower pots and other plastics.

According to a recent national survey conducted by Plastics Make it Possible^SM, 67 percent of Americans recycle to do their part to help the environment. During the holidays it’s especially important that we keep it up.

“From beverage bottles and food containers to shopping bags and dry cleaning wrap, so much of the waste we generate during the holidays is recyclable,” said Steve Russell, vice president of the American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division. “These valuable plastic materials can be easily recycled in many communities and given a second life as carpeting, clothing, furniture, durable backyard decks and home building products, new bottles and bags, and other products we use every day.”

By turning the following reuse and recycling tips into household habits, you can help reduce waste, keep valuable plastics out of landfills, and protect our planet during the holidays and year-round.

1. Get smart
Find out which plastics are accepted for recycling in your community. Today, more than 80 percent of U.S. households have access to a recycling program, and the vast majority of them collect plastic bottles. A bottle is any container with a neck or opening that’s smaller than its base. Include the following wherever plastic bottles are recycled:

• Milk jugs
• Beverage bottles (e.g., water, soft drinks, juice and beer)
• Bottles from shampoo, toiletries, laundry detergent and other household cleaners
• Salad dressing, cooking oil and condiment bottles
• Food jars, such as peanut butter and mayonnaise

2. Be sure to rinse bottles that previously contained food. (Empty beverage bottles can go straight into the bin.) Unless your community specifically asks for them, bottle caps should be placed in the garbage, not the recycle bin. Similarly, bags should be clean and empty. Do not include plastic food wrap or bags that have food residue.

3. Reuse, reuse, reuse!
From wrapping to ribbons, boxes to packing peanuts, gather and save gift wrap and packing materials for next year! And don’t forget bags –there are many helpful ways to reuse plastic bags, including:

• Wet umbrella cover – keep other items in your bag dry when your umbrella is wet
• Suitcase savers – wrap shoes before packing them with clean clothes
• Hand protectors – place them over your hands to handle messes indoors and out
• Kitchen clean-up – place them under the cutting board for quick scrap removal
• Trash can liners – use them in bathrooms and other household waste baskets
• Doggie duty – bring them on dog walks to collect and dispose of pet waste

4. Bring bags back
Most large grocery stores and some retailers (e.g., Wal-Mart) offer plastic bag drop-off programs that allow consumers to return their used bags and product wraps to be recycled. These bins are usually located at the front entrance or near checkout areas. Almost all kinds of clean plastic bags are accepted for recycling in these programs, including:

• Grocery bags
• Retail bags (remove hard plastic or string handles)
• Plastic newspaper bags
• Dry cleaning bags (remove paper and hangers)
• Bread bags (with crumbs shaken out)
• You can also include plastic wraps from products such as paper towels, bathroom tissue, napkins, diapers and cases of soda wherever plastic bags are collected for recycling.

5. Pitch in beyond the kitchen
While many recyclable bottles come from the kitchen, don’t forget to check the bathrooms and laundry room for shampoo and detergent bottles.

6. Practice patience
On the road this holiday season and can’t find a recycle bin? Don’t throw your empty bottles in the trash – temporarily store them in a purse or briefcase, or simply leave them in the car until arriving home to place in a recycle bin. And don’t forget to temporarily put the cap back on your bottle to prevent leakage until you can properly recycle it.

7. Don’t throw out the leftovers
Saving your lidded plastic food containers and plastic to-go containers from take-out could provide a free and easy way for holiday party guests to carry home leftovers. Plus, they can keep these items and reuse them again.

8. Check for containers
In addition to bottles, roughly one-third of communities are collecting and recycling plastic containers, such as yogurt cups, tubs, trays and lids. If you’re only recycling bottles, check to see if your community one of the many areas that has recently added food containers to its list of collectibles.

9. When in doubt, leave it out
Keep in mind that mixing the wrong types of materials (even other plastics) can lower the quality of the recycled material. So unless your community specifically asks for plastics other than bottles, please put only bottles into the recycling bin. Keep these items out of the recycle bin unless your community specifically accepts them:

• No plastic bags or wraps (take them to your grocery store, if accepted)
• No automotive, pesticide or solvent bottles
• No lids or spray pumps
• No toys
• No trays, tubs or containers (unless your community accepts them; more and more communities are recycling these types of containers in addition to bottles, so it’s worth checking.)

10. Adopt a second life mindset
Do you ever wonder your recyclables go? Keep in mind that today’s water bottle could be tomorrow’s little black dress or carpeting or backyard deck.

1. Get smart. It takes just a few clicks of the computer mouse to find out which recyclables are accepted in your area and where they can be taken. Today, more than 80 percent of U.S. households have access to a recycling program, and the majority of them collect a variety of recyclables, including many plastics.
2. Post the list. Keep the list of recyclables in a highly visible area, such as on the refrigerator or attached to your recycling bin.
3. Check the neck. Virtually all communities collect plastic bottles. A bottle is any container with a neck that’s smaller than its base. This includes everything from beverage bottles to milk jugs to jars for peanut butter, mayonnaise, cooking oil and salad dressing. Make it a game by asking kids to identify bottles and other recyclables as you shop and unpack your groceries.
4. Bring bags back. Many large grocers and retailers collect used plastic bags and product wraps for recycling. Make sure kids know that this category includes shopping bags, newspaper bags and wraps from bread, bathroom tissue, diapers and cases of beverages. Kids can help you collect items in a plastic bag and deposit on return trips to the store.
5. Think outside the kitchen. Ask kids to look for items that can be recycled from areas outside the kitchen, such as bathrooms, laundry rooms and storage areas (be sure to give instructions that cleaning products and bottles in the garage are not to be touched).
6. Set targets. Set tangible goals for your kids to reach each week. For example, you can aim to throw out one less bag of trash per week.
7. Keep a sticker chart. This works particularly well with younger children. Every time your child remembers to recycle, add a sticker to his or her chart. When enough stickers are collected, award a favorite toy or treat.
8. Let kids keep the change. If you take your recyclables to a recycling facility, let your kids pocket any profits you receive. The more plastic bottles they collect, the more money they will receive – a great incentive!
9. Stay with the program. If you notice that your child is repeatedly forgetting to recycle, continue to remind him or her how all recyclables – especially plastics – are too valuable to waste and should be reused and recycled. And remind them that by recycling those plastic water bottles, they are giving them a “second life” to make things like lumber and decking for homes, car bumpers, fleece jackets, even their next favorite t-shirt!
10. Set a good example. Make sure you are following the recycling rules as well! Your kids will learn by watching you recycle.

Innovative uses of recycled plastics are multiplying. In the not-too-distant future, the plastic water bottle you recycle one day may show up in your next car. One of Hyundai’s latest concept cars is a crossover coup vehicle called the QarmaQ. A key feature in the QarmaQ is its innovative use of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles to create a large portion of the vehicle’s skin. According to GE, the use of plastics, instead of more traditional metal and glass, reduces the weight of the vehicle by 130 pounds. That weight loss translates to 20 gallons in annual fuel savings.

Car seat upholstery also can be made from recycled plastic. And a lot more of the plastics used in today’s cars are being recovered and recycled at the end of the vehicle’s useful life.

Less obvious uses of recycled plastics include the materials that make our homes comfortable and attractive. Mohawk, a leading U.S. carpet manufacturer, recycles nearly three billion plastic bottles each year. Plastic bottles are sorted, ground into fine chips, and then cleaned. These chips are then melted and extruded into fiber and spun into carpet yarn.

If recycled plastic is not on your floor, it may be in your back yard. Composite lumber made from recycled plastic and sawdust is extremely durable and requires very little maintenance. For these reasons and its design capabilities, composite lumber is often a favorite for building decks and fences.

For example, Trex® decking, railing and fencing has all the natural beauty of wood, but doesn’t rot or splinter the way wood can. Trex® composite lumber helps keep about 300,000 tons of plastic and wood scrap out of landfills every year – that results in approximately 600,000,000 pounds annually. And no trees have to be cut to make this innovative decking material. Trex® wood is reclaimed from woodworking operations, used pallets and sawdust to the tune of 300 million pounds a year.

More surprising still, you may be wearing recycled plastic. From high fashion runways to bargain basement stores, “Plastic is the new Black”. Warm fleece jackets, trendy shoes and everyday t-shirts are now being made from fibers spun from recycled plastics. H&M is featuring recycled plastics as part of its line of environmentally friendly fashions. Sears is offering men’s suits made from recycled plastic bottles and faux fur, sequins and sky-high heels made possible by plastics are gracing the runways at fashion events from Los Angeles to New York. (To see more cutting-edge concepts plastics fashions, be sure to check out entries to the Plastics Make it PossibleSM and Gen Art design contest.

Remember that it’s easy to be part recycling movement year round. For tips on how to recycle more of the plastics you use, see Plastics Make it Possible’s How to Guide for Recycling Plastics.

“It’s encouraging to see that more and more Americans are making an effort to recycle at home, but there is still a huge opportunity to educate and motivate the remaining third who don’t,” said Steve Russell, vice president, Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council. “Many plastics can be easily recycled in most communities and given a second life as carpet, clothing, furniture, backyard decks, new bottles and bags, and other products we use every day. By making it a practice to recycle, people can help make a difference on America Recycles Day and every day of the year.”

So just where do the plastic bottles you throw in the recycling bin and the plastic bags you take back to the grocery store end up? Though recycled plastics might be out-of-mind as soon as they are placed in a recycling bin, they are far from out-of-sight. Most people use “second life” plastics in their homes or cars everyday – and many of us may even be wearing them! According to the survey, eighty-two percent of Americans know that recycled plastic water bottles can be used to make a variety of items such as lumber for homes and decks, car bumpers, life jackets, sails for boats, rope and even fashionable t-shirts.

To encourage consumers to recycle more, Plastics Make it PossibleSM provides the following tips for reusing and recycling everyday plastics.

1. Find out which plastics are accepted for recycling in your community and where they can be taken. Though recycling options vary, most community curbside programs collect plastic bottles and many grocery and retail chains now offer bins to collect used plastic bags and wraps for recycling. An increasing number of communities are also collecting rigid containers like yogurt and butter tubs.

2. Know what to recycle with your bottles. A “bottle” is any container with a neck or opening that’s smaller than its base and includes milk jugs; beverage containers; bottles

from salad dressing, oil and other condiments; food jars for items like peanut butter and mayonnaise; and bottles from shampoo, toiletries, laundry detergent and household cleaners.

3. Know what to recycle with your bags at grocery stores. When you recycle your bags, include all plastic bags from grocery, retail and dry cleaning stores, plastic bags that cover newspapers, and product wraps from paper towels, napkins, bathroom tissue and diapers.

4. Clean and empty. Before tossing them in the recycle bin, make sure bottles are appropriately rinsed and that caps are removed.

5. Bring bottles back to the bin. When bottles are emptied away from home, store them in a backpack or briefcase, or simply leave them in the car until arriving home to place in a recycle bin.

6. Store bags in a bag. Storing plastic bags and wraps in a plastic bag offers neat, convenient storage. Simply knot the handles when you’re ready to drop them off at your local grocer or retailer.

7. Reuse those bags! From trash can liners to pet pick-up, plastic bags can be used dozens of ways.

8. Pitch in beyond the kitchen. While many recyclable bottles and bags come from the kitchen, don’t forget to check the bathrooms and laundry room for shampoo and detergent bottles and reuse your plastic bags as trash can liners throughout the house.

9. When in doubt, leave it out. Be careful not to contaminate your recyclables with garbage or items that aren’t recycled in your area.

10. Bridge the second generation gap. It’s important to remember that recycled plastics go on to become second generation products like carpet, fleece jackets and new bottles and bags.

The survey was conducted by Synovate in November 2009 to a nationally representative sample of 984 Americans adults aged 18+. ACC is a sponsor of America Recycles Day through Keep America Beautiful.

1. Find out which plastics are accepted for recycling in your area and where they can be taken. Though recycling varies throughout the country, most community programs collect plastic bottles, and many grocery and retail chains offer bins for recycling used plastic bags.

Bottles: Today, more than 80 percent of U.S. households have access to a recycling program, and the vast majority of them collect plastic bottles. For recycling purposes, a bottle is any container with a neck or an opening that’s smaller than its base. Include the following wherever plastic bottles are recycled:

• Milk jugs

• Beverage bottles (e.g., water, soft drinks, juice and beer)

• Bottles from shampoo, toiletries, laundry detergent and other household cleaners

• Salad dressing, cooking oil and condiment bottles

• Food jars, such as peanut butter and mayonnaise

Bags: Many grocery and retail stores now offer plastic bag drop-off programs that allow consumers to return their used bags and product wraps to be recycled at collection areas located at the front entrance or near the store checkout. All clean bags labeled #2 (HDPE) or #4 (LLDPE) are recyclable, including:

• Grocery bags

• Retail bags (remove hard plastic or string handles)

• Plastic newspaper bags

• Dry cleaning bags (remove paper and hangers)

• Bread bags (with crumbs shaken out)

• You can also include plastic wraps from products such as paper towels, bathroom paper, napkins and diapers wherever plastic bags are collected for recycling

Visit www.plasticbagrecycling.org for a list of stores that offer plastic bag recycling in your state.

2. Clean and empty. Bags should be clean and empty. Do not include plastic food wrap, bags that have food residue, or material that has been painted or glued (other than the inks on the bag).

3. Bring them back to the bin. Many bottles and bags are used away from home so it’s important to bring them back to the recycle bin. Here’s how: when you’re out and about, store them in a backpack or briefcase, or simply leave them in the car until they arrive home or at the grocery store. And don’t forget to put the cap back on the bottles to prevent any residue from leaking out until you can properly recycle the bottle.

4. Store bags in a bag. Storing plastic bags and product wraps in a plastic bag offers neat, convenient storage. Simply knot the handles when you’re ready to drop them off at your local grocer or retailer.

5. Pitch in beyond the kitchen. While many recyclable bottles come from the kitchen, don’t forget to check the bathrooms and laundry room for shampoo and detergent bottles.

6. Reuse those bags! There are many helpful ways to reuse plastic bags, such as:

• Wet umbrella cover – keep other items in your bag dry when your umbrella is wet

• Suitcase savers – wrap shoes before packing them with clean clothes

• Hand protectors – place them over your hands to handle messes indoors and out

• Kitchen clean-up – place them under the cutting board for quick scrap removal

• Trash can liners – use them in bathrooms and other household waste baskets

• Doggie duty – bring them on dog walks to collect and dispose of pet waste

7. When in doubt, leave it out. In addition to bottles, a growing number of communities are collecting and recycling plastic containers, such as yogurt cups, tubs, trays and lids. But keep in mind that mixing the wrong types of materials (even other plastics) can lower the quality of the recycled material. A growing number of plastics recycling programs also accept rigid containers that don’t fit the “bottle “ description — make sure to find out what type of containers are acceptable. And remember – put plastic caps back on bottles and containers since now recyclers want those, too. Keep these items out of the recycle bin unless your community specifically accepts them:

• No plastic bags or wraps (take them to your grocery store, if accepted)

• No automotive, pesticide or solvent bottles

• No toys

• No trays, tubs or containers (unless your community asks for them; more and more communities are recycling these types of containers in addition to bottles, so it’s worth checking.)

8. Bridge the second generation gap. It’s important to remember that recycled plastics go on to become second generation products. Bottles are used to make hundreds of everyday items, ranging from fleece jackets and carpeting to detergent bottles and lumber for outdoor decking. Plastic bags can also be made into many products, including new bags, durable backyard decks, fencing, railing, park benches, picnic tables, and shopping carts.

For more information about plastic bottle recycling, please visit www.plasticsresource.com.

For more information about plastic bag recycling, please visit www.plasticbagrecycling.org.

Recycling plastic bottles and bags is one thing that everyone can do to help make a difference, not just because it keeps valuable materials out of landfills, but because the plastic bottles and bags you recycle can live “second lives” as other products such as carpeting, a tote bag, furniture or even a stylish T-shirt.  In fact, 81 percent of Americans say they want to buy and/or wear clothing made from recycled materials!