Article Summary:
- Despite significant progress in increasing recycled content in plastic packaging, many consumer packaged goods companies are unlikely to meet their 2025 goals by the end of the year, as highlighted in a recent Ameripen report focusing on food companies and CPGs.
- The use of recycled materials in food packaging is challenging due to safety concerns and limited supply, leading to higher costs and reduced incentives for companies to adopt sustainable practices.
- CPGs are facing uncertainties in meeting recycled content goals, especially with unclear regulations from state and federal entities on the use of recycled materials in food packaging and the inclusion of methods like chemical recycling to achieve targets.
Insights from the Study:
The Ameripen project, funded by the Plastics Industry Association’s Recycling is Real initiative and conducted with Circular Matters, analyzed postconsumer recycled content goals across plastic, paper, and metals set by companies, trade associations, and states. The report compared these goals with available material supply and recycling capacity in the United States.
The study found that while there is a growing recycling capacity to meet PCR goals, additional capacity is required for most plastic resins, particularly PET. Regulatory constraints from the FDA further hinder the use of PCR in food packaging, making it difficult to assess recycling capacity for food contact applications.
State-level legislation on recycled content is impacting PCR supply and demand for packaging use, with differences between voluntary corporate goals and state mandates in setting recycling targets based on resin type or packaging format.
Ameripen anticipates an increase in PCR demand and the announcement of more goals, emphasizing the need for smarter PCR goal-setting that aligns with infrastructure and supply chain capabilities.
The report also addresses the uncertainty around the inclusion of advanced recycling PCR in state legislation, noting the limited availability of recycled plastic from chemical recycling at the scale required to meet goals.
Ameripen acknowledges the potential role of chemical recycling technologies in achieving PCR mandates and emphasizes the importance of industry feedback on legislation and end market development.
Contributor: Sarah Zimmerman