Surviving in the Plastics Recycling Industry

Rising resin prices and decreasing landfill availability accelerated the expansion of the consumer plastics recycling industry in the 1980's. Unfortunately, many of the recycling companies that were started during this optimistic time quickly learned that economic recycling of post-consumer waste was extremely difficult and they went out of business. Those recycling companies that survived managed to develop stable technologies and markets for their products. These businesses are models for their industry as well as for the emerging automotive and electronic plastics recycling industry. In this study, the annual sales, experience, markets, growth strategies, technology and leadership of 36 recycling firms were evaluated to determine the characteristics that helped these companies survive in this difficult industry. These recycling firms were located in the United States and in Europe. Four elements were found to be present in most of the surviving companies: a) a willingness to adapt to changes in the marketplace b) extensive knowledge of recycling technology c) financial and technical support and d) strong internal leadership.