The St. Paul, Minn.-based packaging organization Ameripen is calling for a broad effort to build a comprehensive U.S. strategy to reach the goals of 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging.
“A collective, comprehensive U.S. strategy is essential so we can tackle infrastructure challenges, leverage innovation and scale, and develop policies that support movement toward achieving aggressive packaging targets,” Lee Anderson, Ameripen president, said in a news release.
“Packaging has a vital role to play in adapting to emerging trends associated with e-commerce and food waste reduction, both of which are heavily reliant on multi-material plastics that are, at present, not suitable for traditional mechanical recycling.
“We must work together to ensure understanding of challenges, options and unintended consequences as we create policies and processes.”
The group said in the release that consumer interest in how packaging is reused, recycled and composed is on the rise.
At the same time, the release said companies are setting up measurable goals for packaging content and disposal and governments and interest groups are pushing for ambitious changes.
“We need to drive demand to ensure a circular economy and these commitments for material reuse help create healthy economics for the recycling system,” Ron Cotterman, Ameripen treasurer, said in the release.
He said innovation is needed on many fronts, including investment in collection, sortation, reprocessing and design.
“Contamination of recycled materials continues to pose a significant problem, so consumer education will be essential to overcome misunderstanding about recycling labeling,” he said in the release.
“We hope that more clarity will reduce contamination so a greater percentage of collected materials can be put to good use.”
