This series is an insight-driven look at environmental issues facing the CPG industry. Each month, we survey media, handpick relevant stories, and interpret them for you. Sustainability Watch aims to spark conversation and inspire the CPG industry to help solve the planet's environmental problems.

Welcome to the ninth edition of Invok's Sustainability Watch series. We share relevant news and insights on the CPG industry's pressing issues here. We hope these articles will spark conversations among your team and inspire you to consider how our industry can participate in long-term solutions to environmental problems. 

In this issue, we admit we are all on the same page regarding recycling. Citizens and lawmakers are legislating better recycling infrastructure, CPG industry advocacy groups are advocating for the optimal recycling system, and we are introduced to “advanced recycling,” a set of technologies that can complement our current reliance on mechanical recycling.

Where there is a bill, there’s a way.

Last year, senate lawmakers in the United States passed two significant pieces of bi-partisan legislation: The Recycling and Composting Accountability Act and the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act. With a focus on improving the nation’s recycling and composting systems, the bills received support from several industry groups but did not move past hearings in the House. But that could change.

The two pieces of legislation were recently reintroduced, and there is hope that they will gain greater traction this time.

“Most Americans want to recycle, recognizing that it helps reduce pollution and waste in their communities and supports economic opportunity and job creation,” explains Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), one of the lawmakers involved. Matt Seaholm, President and CEO of the industry association Plastics went further by saying that “improving the country’s recycling infrastructure is paramount to increasing our recycling rates for all materials and ensures we keep waste in the circular economy and out of landfills.”

It sounds like they have been reading Sustainability Watch!

Jokes aside, what’s great about this news story is that it shows the government and industry working together to help consumers recycle better. There is still much work to be done to pass the bills. Still, a recent Coalition Letter on Recycling Legislation sent out by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce highlighted the importance of the legislation and how collaboration among all stakeholders will be essential to ensure the bills advance. The tide feels like it may finally be changing – keep checking ,monitoring here for any updates as we will monitor this story closely.

Source: Senate lawmakers reintroduce bipartisan recycling, composting legislation

Advocating the optimal recycling system

One of the associations that signed the above-mentioned coalition letter was The Consumer Brands Association (CBA), a CPG industry advocacy organization. In its Recycling Policy Platform, the CBA’s position is that “The CPG industry has made sustainability, particularly packaging sustainability, a top priority.”

Their Recycling Policy Platform outlines the optimal recycling system. It says the current recycling system is “at a breaking point and recyclable packaging ends up where it shouldn’t — in landfills,” and that society has a “tremendous opportunity to rethink the U.S. recycling and recovery system for the 21st century.”

By looking at the challenge, opportunity, and potential ways forward, the CBA policy platform looks at how to:

1.     Establish a standardized foundation.

2.     Finance a lasting recycling system.

3.     Strengthen ends to meet demand.

As the CBA states, “Everyone has a role to play.…each part of the recycling ecosystem must be willing to innovate, cooperate and change.” We hope that more CPGs will come together and use their collective power to push meaningful action.

Source: The Consumer Brand Association’s Recycling Policy Platform

Complement mechanical recycling with advanced recycling.

Recycling is top of mind for government, industry, and consumers, but not all recycled packages and systems are created equal. For example, “using recycled plastics in food-grade materials is particularly challenging because of safety concerns around contaminants.”

But that limitation is only when you use a mechanical recycling process, not an advanced one. “In mechanical recycling, plastic waste is washed, shredded, and pelletized, while in advanced recycling, there is a chemical change and a longer route from plastic waste to ready-to-use plastic.” Advanced recycling content has broader application in packaging.

Though there are countless barriers to scaling recycling and combatting pollution, it is refreshing to see a collective shift in mentality from “not my problem” to “How can I help?” It’s the only way to get to a genuinely impactful solution.

Source: Advanced Recycling Opportunities for Growth - McKinsey & Company

What do you think about their recommendations? We would love to hear your thoughts on how brands can better drive sustainability efforts.  

[1] https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/managing-reducing-waste/reduce-plastic-waste.html

[2] https://environmentaldefence.ca/report/left-holding-the-bag-plastic-packaging-in-grocery-stores/, Accessed June 12, 2024.