PRESS RELEASE: Millennium No Longer Accepting Plastic Bags

Millennium Updates

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

South Dakota Recycling Company Goes Plastic Bag Free

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., JUNE 5, 2019 – Millennium Recycling, inc, based in Sioux Falls, has announced that it will no longer be accepting plastic bags for recycling effective immediately.

According to President Shannon Dwire, this change is a direct result of current market conditions related to China’s National Sword program. As markets continue to decline, plastic bags are no longer a viable option for the business.

“We regularly monitor industry markets and work to be as cost effective and environmentally responsible as possible in regards to what we can accept,” says Dwire, “We are working closely with the local waste haulers and surrounding communities we serve to implement this change.”

Millennium has been one of very few recycling companies in the United States that was able to accept plastic bags in their single stream program. However, the amount of bags being generated has increased exponentially while available markets have continued to shrink. The material is considered a very high cost item due to the incredible amount of labor required to process them. In an effort to improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and stay ahead of the changing marketplace, the company has made the ultimate decision to stop accepting them.

“Plastic bags and film have always been a problem in the recycling industry,” explains Dwire, “They wrap around equipment and get jammed in our screens, slowing down the entire process and making it very difficult to cut them loose. With no market, it no longer makes sense for us to collect them.”

Millennium is encouraging residents to focus on reducing and reusing by bringing their own bags to the store and opting for paper bags instead of plastic.

“The average plastic bag is used for just 12 minutes,” explains Marissa Begley, Director of Outreach and Communications, “By removing them from our recycling program, we hope people realize the overall negative impact they have on the environment in our increasingly throw-away society and choose to avoid them altogether.”

Residents who wish to continue recycling their clean plastic bags and film can do so at participating grocery stores or other separated retailer collection sites. Find participating locations and learn more about the change at www.MillenniumRecycling.com/BYOB.


ABOUT MILLENNIUM RECYCLING, INC.

Founded in 1999, Millennium Recycling, Inc. is a processor and broker of recyclable material serving a large portion of the Upper Midwest. Based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Millennium recycles around 100 million pounds of material every year. To learn more, visit www.millenniumrecycling.com or call 605-336-1744.

For More Information
Millennium Recycling, Inc.
Marissa Begley
605-336-1744
marissa@millenniumrecycling.com
www.millenniumrecycling.com

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