Paving the Path to Higher Recyclability: New Task Force Aims to Improve Strategic Packaging Recyclability

“SWANA is excited to partner with other organizations from across the value chain on the Packaging Recyclability Advancement Task Force. Together, we will collaborate to improve the recyclability of common packages,” stated SWANA CEO Amy Lestition Burke, MA, FASAE, CAE.  

The Task Force will consider the many factors that determine what makes packaging truly recyclable in order to develop its guidance. It will utilize the existing How2Recycle® recyclability assessment framework and The Recycling Partnership’s Pathway to Circularity Framework. Initially, the Task Force will focus on PE squeeze tubes (currently labeled “Not Yet Recyclable”) and PET thermoforms (labeled “Check Locally”). 

Lestition Burke continued, “SWANA members are managing community recycling programs, handling recycling messaging, and running MRFs, so they have valuable insights on the challenges and opportunities for recycling various packaging formats. I often hear from our members that brands need to consider the details of MRF operations and designs. From my own past professional experience working with brands, I know that many brands are committed to creating packaging that can be designed at scale, and that they need all the information in order to do that. There is clearly a need for increased collaboration when considering packaging recyclability, and this Task Force is an important platform to achieve that.” 

Together, the associations launching the Task Force plan to bring a wide range of perspectives to the table with the goal of accelerating progress toward a more circular packaging system.  

About GreenBlue 

GreenBlue is an environmental nonprofit on a mission to accelerate the transition to a regenerative, just, and sustainable materials economy. GreenBlue is the parent nonprofit of seven projects, including the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, How2Recycle, and the Recycled Material Standard. Through these projects and their hundreds of members, GreenBlue strives to be the most reliable and accurate source of truth compelling the packaging value chain to construct environmentally regenerative, socially responsible systems. Learn more at https://greenblue.org/.  

About How2Recycle 

How2Recycle is the leading labeling program for packaging disposal instructions with the most recognizable on-pack label across the United States and Canada. Launched in 2012, How2Recycle started as a Sustainable Packaging Coalition working group aimed at providing consumers with clear, standard, and accessible on-pack disposal instructions. Today, with its more than 800 participating organizations, How2Recycle and its members are on a mission to make sure that consumers have the information they need to get waste into the right streams. Learn more at https://greenblue.org/projects/how2recycle/ 

About U.S. Plastics Pact 

The U.S. Plastics Pact is a solutions-focused initiative uniting stakeholders across the plastics value chain to eliminate plastic waste and accelerate the transition to a circular economy. As part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s global Plastics Pact Network, the U.S. Pact works toward a shared vision with measurable, time-bound targets. Learn more at https://www.usplasticspact.org 

About The Association of Plastic Recyclers 

Founded over 30 years ago by mechanical recyclers, the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) is an international non-profit and the only North American organization focused exclusively on improving recycling for plastics. APR’s tools and resources help companies design packaging that can be recycled, support innovations that overcome existing recycling challenges, and encourage stable and reliable markets for post-consumer recycled content. Visit plasticsrecycling.org for more information. 

About The Recycled Materials Association 

The Recycled Materials Association (ReMA) represents more than 1,700 companies in the U.S. and 40 countries around the globe. Based in Washington, D.C., ReMA provides advocacy, education, safety and compliance training, and promotes public awareness of the vital role recycled materials play in the U.S. economy, global trade, the environment and sustainable development. Learn more at www.isri.org.    

About The Recycling Partnership 

The Recycling Partnership is a team of experts, practitioners, and thought leaders who are deeply invested in delivering on our mission of building a better recycling system. We work alongside communities, companies, and policymakers to enact meaningful change across the entire recycling industry to deliver the economic and environmental benefits of recycling. To truly unlock these benefits, The Partnership believes in the importance of collaboration across the industry, highlighted by initiatives like the Circularity Council, which is comprised of organizations representing materials, brands, government, MRFs, NGOs, retailers, and trade groups that form a powerful, aligned network to accelerate real system change.  Learn more about The Partnership at https://recyclingpartnership.org/.