Recycling plastics can, in many cases, significantly reduce the consumption of resources and emissions to the environment.

Plastics recycling can conserve energy and non-renewable resources as recycling replaces the need for primary extraction and manufacture of new plastics.

Recycling a single plastic bottle can conserve enough energy to light a 60W light bulb for up to 6 hours. This assessment takes into account all the significant resources required from the point of collecting the plastic bottle in a bottle bank to the production of a recycled pellet capable of being used in place of virgin plastic.

Plastics recycling also reduces the reliance on traditional, and potentially less environmental beneficial, landfill waste disposal.
The environmental impacts and benefits of recycling plastic products vary significantly depending on the type of product and its condition at end of life.

Relatively large, clear supplies of plastic products (e.g. bumpers crates, bottles, and commercial packaging film) can normally be recycled with a positive environmental gain.

In cases where plastic products are particularly lightweight and contaminated with other materials, the energy and resources used in a recycling process may be more than those required producing new plastics. In such cases recycling is not the most environmentally sound option.