The Alliance to End Plastic Waste’s report on “The Challenges and Solutions for Flexible Plastic Packaging Waste” offers actionable insights on how to solve the flexible plastic waste challenge in Europe and North America. The report, launched today, underscores the importance of cross-industry collaboration to develop and implement effective recycling solutions for flexible plastics.
Flexible plastic currently makes up more than 50 per cent of the total plastic packaging market globally and that volume is expected to increase with rising consumer demand. Flexible plastic is particularly difficult to collect and recycle because it is lightweight and is often used with other materials in multi-material packaging. Currently, the cost of recycled flexible plastic is also high relative to virgin plastic feedstock.
The report takes a whole-of-life view of how flexible plastic waste is managed, from how packaging using flexible plastic is produced, to how the collection, processing, and recycling of flexible plastic waste is managed, and the end markets to which the recyclate is sold into. It classifies a series of end-of-life solutions for flexible plastic waste according to their environmental and economic impact. This includes open- and closed-loop recycling, refill and reuse systems, as well as materials substitution, among others.
The report identifies five critical circularity enablers for flexible plastic:
Improving collection and sorting to obtain homogenous high-quality recycling feedstock. This can be done through segregated waste collection and granular secondary sorting. The latter can be achieved with advanced detection technologies, such as digital watermarking and AI-based recognition.
Enabling end-market demand for recycled material to drive systems viability and justify investment throughout the value chain. This can be facilitated through policy mechanisms such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, mandatory Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) content targets, and other financial interventions.
De-risking investment to attract and sustain the capital necessary for infrastructure upgrades. Corporation tax relief, labour and energy subsidies, and concessional loans are examples of policy levers that help reduce upfront risk and improve return on investment for potential investors.
Establishing design-for-recyclability guidelines to harmonise material choices and reduce complexity and barriers to recycling.
Eco-modulated EPR fees can accelerate the adoption of simpler packaging design and ensure fair competition by rewarding packaging that is both recyclable and cost-efficient to process.
Jacob Duer, President and CEO at the Alliance said, “Delivering materials circularity for flexible plastics is complex but achievable. Solutions to improve the end-of-life management of plastic products already exist. Combined with industry action and regulatory momentum, there is a real opportunity to improve the rate and quality of flexible films recycling in an accelerated timeframe.”
“The Alliance to End Plastic Waste will focus on demonstrating solutions that deliver systems change. Driving this will require coordinated action across the system, including identifying clear end-market opportunities for recyclates. In turn, this will make a viable business case for the investment necessary to evolve infrastructure for collection, sorting, and recycling.”
The Alliance Drives Systems Change for Flexible Plastic
As it implements its Strategy 2030, the Alliance is now focused on collaborating with governments, development finance institutions, and other co-funders to launch large-scale integrated programmes in clearly defined geographies or thematic areas.
To this end, the Alliance is developing a “Flexibles Thematic Program” that aims to improve the circularity of flexible films. The programme is being developed in Europe and North America. Preference is being given to geographies where the foundational elements of a recycling economy, such as reliable waste management, enabling policies, and economic conditions are already present.
The Alliance’s Flexibles Program adopts a three-part approach aligned with the report’s findings:
Market mapping and system design that quantifies end-market opportunities and quality requirements. A detailed understanding of the recycling and waste management pathways available will inform the creation of a realistic integrated roadmap away from the current fragmented landscape.
Showcasing demonstration projects to build confidence in systems solutions with government, industry, and community stakeholders. This is key to subsequent scaling and geographic expansion, bringing around larger scale systems change.
Enabling replication by mobilising brands, recyclers, and governments to understand what it takes to create and proliferate effective systems solutions across geographies.
In addition to the Flexibles Programme, the Alliance is also developing Country-Specific Programmes in Brazil, Indonesia, India, South Africa, and in states of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Country Programmes are intended to help countries move up the plastic recycling maturity curve in a manner aligned with national priorities.
