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The fluctuating jobs numbers are always making the news but here’s one that is specific to plastics recycling.

 

According to the Carolinas Plastics Recycling Council (CPRC) and the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), there are about 3500 jobs in plastics bottle recycling and related fields in the Carolinas, including bottle sorting, recycled material processing, and manufacturing of recycled-content products such as polyester fiber made from recycled PET bottles. They recently produced a video highlighting job creation through plastic bottle recycling.

 

“We are pleased to promote recycled plastics processing and manufacturing jobs in North and South Carolina, and to see recent investment by industries that facilitate or use recycled plastic material feedstock to create and sustain jobs,” Chantal Fryer, Director, Recycling Market Development for the South Carolina Department of Commerce, said. “The ‘YBMJ’ video shows us how these jobs add up and is part of an ongoing YBMJ campaign to encourage everyone to recycle just two more bottles each week in support of local jobs. Although our video is Carolinas-focused, our message of local collection supporting local economies, job creation and infrastructure is relevant across the U.S.”

 

The Your Bottle Means Jobs campaign is a project of the Carolinas Plastics Recycling Council whose mission includes promoting plastic recycling companies operating within the Carolinas. Recent investments in new or upgraded plastics recycling-related facilities in the Carolinas include plastics recycling technology provider American Starlinger-Sahm’s new headquarters location in Fountain Inn, South Carolina; Sun Fibers’ recycled polyester fiber production facilities in Chester and Chesterfield counties, South Carolina; and Unifi’s PET bottle processing plant in Reidsville, North Carolina.

 

"Unifi’s new REPREVE Bottle Processing Plant in Reidsville is a major investment in the company’s successful, sustainable product line and it will create more than 80 new jobs here,” says Jan Critz, Director of the Rockingham County Center for Economic Development, Small Business & Tourism. “This is an important project for our community. ‘Green’ products—such as REPREVE, which is made from recycled plastic bottles—will only continue to grow and we are proud that Reidsville and Rockingham County are a part of that.”