--- title: Why Circularity Is a Resilience Strategy description: Discover how recycled plastic helps manufacturers strengthen domestic supply chains, reduce reliance on virgin resin and build resilience against disruptions. --- [The Eco-Choice: Sustainable Plastics Blog | Plastic Reimagined](https://www.plasticreimagined.org/insights) # [Why Circularity Is a Resilience Strategy](https://www.plasticreimagined.org/insights/why-circularity-is-a-resilience-strategy) Written by [Plastic Reimagined Team](https://www.plasticreimagined.org/insights/author/plastic-reimagined-team) | Oct 16, 2026, 1:53:42 PM In mid-February 2021, Winter Storm Uri brought freezing temperatures and power outages to Texas and the Gulf Coast, where most U.S. plastic resin is made. Within days, roughly[80% to 85% of U.S. polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) production](https://www.ogj.com/general-interest/article/14202943/journally-speaking-supply-chain-debacle) had gone offline. Producers issued nearly 70 force majeure declarations, and[at least 2 billion pounds of resin production](https://www.plasticstoday.com/resin-pricing/weekly-resin-report-supply-shortages-and-soaring-prices-put-processors-on-edge) was lost. Packaging makers felt it right away. PE and PP are the two most widely produced plastics in the world, and supplies were already low when the storm hit. Hurricane Laura had halted 10% to 15% of PE and PP output the previous August, and demand during the pandemic had drawn inventories down further. Uri showed how much U.S. plastic supply depends on a small number of production hubs. When those hubs go down, the shortage spreads fast. Recycled plastic gives manufacturers a second source of material that’s already circulating close to home. ## The 2026 Version of the Same Problem 2026 brought a different supply chain slow down with familiar effects. Conflict in the Middle East and pressure on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz sent virgin resin prices sharply higher in the spring. By June, analysts at ICIS[expected the recovery to last through the end of 2026](https://resource-recycling.com/plastics/2026/06/02/war-not-demand-driving-polymer-pricing/), and longer if the conflict continued. Recycled markets moved as well. U.S. prices for colored high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bales averaged about 15.4 cents per pound in May,[nearly double the month before](https://resource-recycling.com/plastics/2026/10/01/ads-flexing-new-recycling-capacity-against-resin-spikes/). ## Recycled Plastic Is Feedstock That’s Already Here Most virgin plastic starts as oil or natural gas and travels through long international supply chains before finally reaching a converter. A disruption anywhere along that path can delay shipments and raise costs. Recycled plastic can offer a more localized source of feedstock, particularly when materials are collected, sorted and reprocessed domestically. ALPLA made this case for Europe in a[recent analysis](https://blog.alpla.com/en/blog/sustainability-social-engagement-recycling/circular-economy-security-strategy-why-recycling). It argued that recycling broadens a region’s raw material base and gives manufacturers more options in a crisis. The same logic holds in the U.S. Recycled resin won’t replace virgin material entirely, but every pound that comes from domestic recycling is a pound that doesn’t depend on a distant plant or a contested shipping lane. ## A U.S. Manufacturer Puts It to the Test Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) has shown how this can work for real production. The pipe maker is the largest U.S. buyer of post-consumer colored HDPE bales. In June, it ramped up a $30 million recycling expansion in Cordele, Georgia. When virgin prices spiked, ADS executives said the company[shifted toward recycled material faster than they expected](https://resource-recycling.com/plastics/2026/10/01/ads-flexing-new-recycling-capacity-against-resin-spikes/), using the new capacity to offset higher costs. The company’s CEO called recycling a long-term part of its operations that pays off in inflationary periods. ADS is now working its recycled share of resin purchases back toward 50%. ## Resilience Has to Be Built in Advance Recycled plastic doesn’t fully protect buyers from price swings. ICIS found that recycled resin prices[recoupled with virgin prices](https://resource-recycling.com/plastics/2026/06/02/war-not-demand-driving-polymer-pricing/) during the 2026 spike, rising soon after virgin prices did. Many buyers also held off on switching. Qualifying a new recycled material on a production line can take months, and few companies wanted to start that process in a volatile market. That may be the most useful lesson from this year. ADS could pivot quickly because it already owned the capacity and used recycled material as a normal part of production. Companies that buy recycled content only now and then will have a harder time leaning on it when the next shortage hits. The buffer works when it’s part of everyday operations, with qualified grades and supply relationships in place well before they’re needed. ## How ALPLA Builds the Buffer ALPLA has run recycling as part of its own supply chain for decades. The company operates its own recycling plants, and in 2025 it sourced[23.7% of the plastic materials it used worldwide from post-consumer recycling](https://blog.alpla.com/en/blog/sustainability-social-engagement-recycling/circular-economy-security-strategy-why-recycling). Its recycling capacity is about 882 million pounds (roughly 400,000 metric tons) a year. ALPLA plans to grow that to about 1.54 billion pounds (roughly 700,000 metric tons) by 2030. In North America, ALPLA's planned [North Las Vegas plant](https://resource-recycling.com/plastics/2026/10/05/news-in-brief-alpla-opening-in-vegas-alberta-epr/) will bring bottle production closer to customers and regional distribution networks. Shorter routes reduce opportunities for disruption. ## Preparing for the Next Disruption No one can say which event will interrupt resin supply next. It could be another storm on the Gulf Coast or another blocked shipping lane. Companies can control how much of their material comes from sources closer to home. Building that buffer takes investment in collection, sorting and recycling capacity. It also takes steady demand for recycled material in good years as well as bad ones. ALPLA’s European analysis argues that resilience depends on industrial capacity as much as on recycling targets. Through Plastic Reimagined, ALPLA is helping advance the conversation around the value of plastic recycling, not just as an environmental priority, but as a way to strengthen domestic supply chains and build a more resilient future. 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