Recycling

Recycle Bin

The reduce, reuse and recycle philosophy helps guide our development of hydrocarbon-based plastic polymers. It also extends to the way that ExxonMobil Chemical operates.

Recycling is a great way for everyone to help with sustainability. In the United States, more than 80 percent of all households have access to a plastics recycling program. Nearly 17,000 communities collect plastics for recycling. These efforts are expanding, from plastics collection bins on California beaches to plastic bag collection points in New York grocery stores.

A few recycling facts:

  • It takes about 90 percent less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than to recycle a pound of paper.
  • Reusing or recycling a ton of plastic bags saves the equivalent of 462 gallons of oil.
  • Recycling 100 million plastic grocery-sized bags can save the equivalent of 300,000 gallons of oil.
  • Despite the fact that people recycle a great deal of paper, it still accounts for 30 percent of landfill volume in the United States.
  • More than 24 percent of plastic bottles – in excess of 2 billion pounds – are recycled in the United States each year.