CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Sustainable Packaging Coalition, a project of GreenBlue here, has released a report on the opportunities and challenges for using recycled content in plastic packaging applications.
"Guidelines for Increasing Post Consumer Recycled Content in Plastic Packaging" addresses common issues and strategies for increasing recycled content in common beverage, dairy, electronic, household care and laundry, pharmaceutical, personal care product, and snack plastic packaging.
The report was intended to facilitate better communication between retailers and brand owners on the one hand — who have seen in increase in consumer demand for packaging using recycled content — and converters who must grapple with technical, regulatory and aesthetic challenges in making packaging with recycled content.
"Using recycled content is an environmental strategy that is understood and embraced by consumers, so there's significant market demand to change the way we make plastic packaging," said GreenBlue Senior Fellow Katherine O'Dea, who led the SPC research project and authored the report. "This is the first practical resource to offer guidance and solutions for using recycled materials in specific high-volume plastic packaging applications, and it sets aggressive yet realistic expectations for increasing recycled content use."
The report provides reference charts that offer a snapshot of the performance requirements, regulatory, technical and aesthetic considerations, and market availability challenges in using recycled content. It also includes technical information and solutions for overcoming many of the challenges detailed in the report.