US Plastics Pact reveals national roadmap to accelerate packaging circular economy

18 Jun 2021 --- The US Plastics Pact, a consortium led by The Recycling Partnership and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s global Plastics Pact Network, has unveiled an “aggressive national strategy” to ensure all plastic packaging will be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. 

The “Roadmap to 2025” is supported by nearly 100 corporations, start-ups, research entities, NGOs, universities, and state and local governments across the plastics packaging value chain.

The strategy includes mandatory reporting and specific timeframes to realize “meaningful and targeted outcomes” for a circular economy for plastics.

“The current state of US infrastructure, coupled with the lack of incentives to utilize recycled content in plastic packaging, have put immense strain on the value chain,” says Emily Tipaldo, executive director for the US Plastics Pact.

“The roadmap is designed to help US industry leaders act on the significant, systemwide change needed to realize a circular economy for plastics by 2025.”

“The time frame is short, and the workload is immense, but if we choose to do nothing, the visions of a circular economy across the US will give way to the status quo. We look forward to working with all our members to drive this critical change.”

Combating plastic waste at source
The US Pact – formally launched in August 2020 – developed the roadmap to ensure systemic change and accelerate progress toward four specific targets that address plastic waste at its source:

1. Define a list of packaging to be designated as problematic or unnecessary by 2021 and take measures to eliminate them by 2025.
2. All plastic packaging will be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.
3. Undertake ambitious actions to effectively recycle or compost 50 percent of plastic packaging by 2025.
4. Bring the average recycled content or responsibly sourced bio-based content in plastic packaging to 30 percent by 2025.

In issuing the roadmap, the US Pact and its signatories – known as activators – will approach each of these 2025 targets by supporting upstream innovation through an ecosystem of coordinated stakeholder initiatives.

“Activators” charged with accelerating circularity
By rethinking products, packaging, and business models, activators will accelerate the transition away from today’s take-make-waste model to a circular economy where plastics never become waste.

The “Roadmap to 2025” is supported by nearly 100 corporations.“To meaningfully address the plastic waste crisis in the US, we must unite the critical stakeholders – industry leaders, waste management systems, and policymakers – under a cohesive action plan,” suggests Erin Simon, head of plastic waste and business at WWF.

“The roadmap will be the key for setting a national strategy that reaches our set targets and measures our progress in a consistent, transparent manner.”

A globally-unified approach
With 2025 fast approaching, the roadmap follows ambitious precedents set by other pacts in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s global Plastics Pact Network, with hopes of bringing one unifying voice to plastic packaging guidelines, policy, education, labeling, access, and infrastructure.

Unlike any other existing US initiative, the US Pact provides overarching leadership and accountability by aligning to develop a national strategy, advance shared goals, and measure the strength of progress through annual reporting.

The roadmap is driven by US Pact activators utilizing working groups to leverage extensive experience from existing programs, optimize investments, identify gaps, and aid in pooling funding for areas in need.The pact has targeted 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable plastic packaging by 2025.

Amcor and Nestlé on board
The activators include global packaging giant Amcor and FMCG heavyweight Nestlé.

“Amcor is committed to creating responsible packaging that is recycled and reused,” comments VP of sustainability at Amcor, David Clark. “Our innovation is designing more and more of our packaging to be recycled and using more recycled content, but we need progress on infrastructure and consumer participation too.”

“Creating a waste-free future demands collective action, and the US Plastics Pact Roadmap to 2025 is an essential step toward creating a circular economy for plastics,” adds Molly Fogarty, SVP of government and corporate affairs at Nestlé.

“We are thrilled to partner with other Activators to turn our ambitious targets into action and to go further than any of us can go alone in our mission to tackle plastic waste.”

Edited by Joshua Poole