In the iconic movie “The Graduate,” a would-be mentor takes the new college graduate Dustin Hoffman aside and cryptically says, “I want to say just one word to you: plastics. There’s a great future in plastics.”

Today we are living that future: trillions of plastic items – single-use bags, straws, cups, bottles and pouches. While some items have reduced costs and aided our convenience, most are now choking our planet, killing marine life, and polluting our oceans, waterways and beaches. Some plastic items are recyclable, but many are not. And the glut of plastic is overwhelming our capacity to recycle these items.