Study: Current Systems Place Constraints on Circular Outcomes for Packaging

Recycling and composting systems are not equipped to handle growth in flexible packaging, according to a new study from American Institute for Packaging and the Environment (AMERIPEN) and PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies.

The organizations collaborated in order to pinpoint "key 10-year trends in packaging design, and materials, and the implications of these trends on legislation and the recovery systems for consumer-packaged goods (CPG)."

"When we follow packaging across the supply chain, a common refrain we hear from the recycling community is that the rapid rate of innovation by the packaging community hinders their ability to match recovery technology, resulting in a disconnect between the packaging placed on the market and what can be recovered to create a circular packaging system," the organizations noted. "Having foresight into the future of packaging, they have argued, would help better align recovery strategies."

The key findings demonstrated the gap in supply and demand as flexible packaging continues to permeate the market. AMERIPEN and PMMI zeroed in on three materials making their appearance in packaging design, identifying two of the three materials as having "limited options" for consumers to discard them properly.

"As we look to legislation and investment for packaging and recovery, alignment and collaboration with an eye towards future packaging trends will help target the most effective legislation and investments for the U.S. recovery system," the organizations commented.

Flexible films are experiencing an estimated 4 percent to 6 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), placing them as "one of the fastest growing segments withing plastic packaging."

Fewer than 2 percent of American households can recycle flexible materials, according to data from the study.

"Material recovery facilities (MRFs) need further development to handle the growth of this material.  Investments in collection, sorting and processing of flexible packaging films are needed to expand recycling of this growing packaging format," the organizations stated.

Other key findings from the study include:

"This report is an attempt to close the gap between packaging design and recovery systems, outlining the complexities of packaging design, what materials or formats are expected to grow and how these trends will impact recycling and composting systems and related legislation," the organizations noted.