This news item expired on Sunday, September 30, 2012 so the information below could be outdated or incorrect.
In 2010, a record number of non-bottle plastics were collected for recycling. For decades, recycling programs have captured plastic bottles and jugs. 
However, as recycling has matured, sorting technologies have improved, and markets have developed, more programs have added other plastics to their collections.
These plastics, which are referred to as “mixed rigids,” include dairy tubs, deli trays, lids, yogurt cups, other food containers, crates, buckets, toys, and lawn furniture from households, similar items from businesses, and plastic housings from electronics recyclers.
According to a study prepared by Moore Recycling Associates Inc. for the American Chemistry Council, at least 826 million pounds of non-bottle mixed rigid plastics were recycled in 2010. This was an increase of more than 500 million pounds since just 2007, the first year of the study.
The American Chemistry Council also released a report that the recycling rate for plastic bags and film, such as newspaper bags, produce bags, wraps from cases of bottles, wrappers on paper towels and toilet tissue, and dry cleaning bags, rose to 971.8 million pounds in 2010, or approximately 11.5% of the bags and wraps discarded. Read these studies...