This report addresses numerous issues related to plastics recycling in the industrial sector: manufacturing and post-consumer plastic waste projections, the estimated energy content of plastic wastes, the costs of available recycling processes, institutional changes that promote additional recycling, legislative and regulatory trends, the potential quantities of plastics that could be diverted from the municipal waste stream and recycled in the industrial sector, and the perspectives of current firms in the plastics recycling business. Post-consumer wastes are projected to increase from 35.8 billion pounds in 1990 to 48.7 billion pounds in 2000. Plastic packaging is expected to account for about 46% of all post-consumer plastics during the coming decade and remain the by-far largest single contributor to the waste stream. The product category with the largest projected percentage increase is the building and construction sector, which is projected to increase from 2.0% of the total in 1990 to 8.0% in 2000. Manufacturing nuisance plastics are projected to account for about 4% of total plastic wastes. 20 refs., 16 figs., 26 tabs.