Recycling of plastics that used to end up only at city landfills or incinerators is increasing around the world. As with any technological trend, the engineering profession plays an important role. Discarded plastic products and packaging make up a growing portion of Municipal Solid Waste(MSW). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that by the year 2000, the amount of plastics throw away will be 50 percent greater than at the beginning of the 1990s. EPA also says that plastic waste accounts for about one-fifth of all waste in the waste stream. Over the past two decades, recycling of plastics has dramatically increased. After years of predictions that plastics recycling would never be widespread because processes were inefficient, too expensive or not practical, the tide of waste headed to the landfill is slowly being turned.