When a material moves from Widely Recyclable to Check Locally, all hope is not lost.
At How2Recycle, we base our recyclability assessments on applicable law, access to collection, sortation, technical reprocessability, and end markets. While we know that a shift to any one of those factors can change a material’s recyclability, we also know the path forward after a downgrade.
This year, at the How2Recycle Summit, experts from The Recycling Partnership, Danone, and How2Recycle gathered to discuss the path back to a higher recyclability category. We examined the case of PET thermoforms to learn lessons that can be applied across materials and formats on your path back to a higher recyclability category. Here’s what you can do:
1. Make sure you understand the relevant parts of the recycling system
In the presentation, we looked at PET thermoforms, which are the plastic packaging format commonly used for berries, leafy greens, and bakery cookies.
Years ago, PET thermoforms started seeing snags at the reclaimer phase of their recycling journey, since many reclaimers can take PET bottles (like plastic water bottles) but not PET thermoforms. This indicated weaker end markets for thermoforms, which — coupled with falling access data — led How2Recycle to downgrade the material from its Widely Recyclable label. Today, industry collaborators are seeing that the material works its way back up.
No matter the format though, improving a format with recyclability challenges requires a foundational understanding of the recycling system. That means knowing a material’s path through the system from Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) to reclaimers to end markets and beyond. Of course, there are also regional differences in recycling capabilities to look out for, too.
How can you keep up? For How2Recycle members, one of the best places to understand the nuances of a material’s recyclability, we recommend keeping up to speed with our semi-annual Guidelines for Use.
2. Address recyclability challenges in design
Part of the problem for PET thermoforms is the “look-alike” issue. PET bottles and thermoforms are both made of PET so they look the same to consumers; however, the difference in how each material is manufactured can present challenges during sortation and reprocessing, since many MRFs don’t have a way to sort these into separate streams. Today, PET bottles are highly recyclable, where just 9% of other PET packaging gets recycled. And we can’t forget that for any food packaging, contamination could present recycling problems, too.
How can you help? To address these challenges, The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) offers comprehensive design guidance that can help with designing plastic for optimal recyclability. For other product categories, the AF&PA offers guidance on fiber recyclability, the Aluminum Association has a comprehensive aluminum design guide, or for more foundational information you can check out The Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s resource “Designing for End of Life by Product Category.”
3. Partner with recycling stakeholders
In recycling, collaboration is mission critical. There are too many players involved at every step of the process to go it alone. In the case of PET thermoforms, we heard how companies are getting together to catalyze investment in recycling infrastructure, sharing data, and driving demand to improve the recyclability of this material.
This collaboration isn’t limited to PET thermoforms either — if other brands came together to make larger shifts in the market, we could see whole categories of packaging become Widely Recyclable. You can check out what Colgate did with toothpaste tubes, as an example.
What can you do? You can start by engaging MRFs to understand their capabilities and pain points. Whether you need better data or a better understanding of the recyclability challenges a material faces, you can also partner with groups like How2Recycle, The Sustainable Packaging Coalition, APR, The Recycling Partnership, among others depending on who can help with your specific recyclability challenge.
4. Drive recycled content demand
A key component of recyclability is, of course, end markets. With no end market for a material, its path to full circularity is cut short. With PET thermoforms, we heard how organizations like Driscolls have made tremendous progress on improving recyclability. The company has sought to drive demand for recycled PET, including recycled PET thermoform flakes. Instead of simply creating a product that might end up as recycled PET, they’re buying their own supply to ensure investment in and recycling of this material.
In another instance, a bottled water company in Ontario makes its own plastic water bottles using any kind of PET they can get. They produce these bottles with thoughtful design to help give these materials a circular life.
What can you do? With thoughtful design, you can drive the demand for a material — and that demand can have a cascading effect across a material’s supply chain as it boosts investment in its recycling infrastructure, increases recycling access, and eventually earns its spot on the Widely Recyclable list.
What’s next for PET thermoforms? What’s next for my recyclability challenge?
The Recycling Partnership’s Adam Gendell, who serves as the lead for the organization’s PET Recycling Coalition, shared that, “Many reclaimers aren’t able to handle anything except for PET bottles, but on the far end of the spectrum, some reclaimers want thermoform as much as they want bottles, so there is progress.”
So keep an eye out — or keep working — toward that if you produce PET thermoforms. And if you have other recyclability challenges that you want to work with How2Recycle on, reach out to us or our Director of Strategic Partnerships, Tom Pollock at tom.pollock@greenblue.org.