At a Glance
- Framework emphasizes reducing packaging waste and scaling reuse efforts across multiple approaches.
- Collaborative effort brings together municipalities, brands, and recyclers for practical solutions.
- Multiple collection methods address infrastructure constraints and local market dynamics effectively.
The US Plastics Pact (USPP) has released a resource, Journey to Film & Flex Circularity: A Framework of Necessary Design, Collection, and End Market Levers, aimed at addressing the complex challenges of achieving circularity for film and flexible plastic packaging in the United States.
The lightweight and multi-material nature of film packaging, while beneficial for product protection and cost efficiency, poses significant challenges for recycling at scale. The framework confronts these issues head-on, offering pragmatic solutions grounded in current infrastructure, economics, and market conditions.
“Film and flexible packaging are critical to how products move through our economy, and that means solving for their circularity is both necessary and complex,” said Crystal Bayliss, interim executive director of the USPP.
Bayliss highlighted the collaborative effort behind the framework, explaining that this workstream brought together a range of expertise from municipalities and MRF operators to brands, film suppliers, and recyclers.
“By pairing that on-the-ground experience with insights from outside collection experts, we were able to clearly identify where the gaps are, and which solutions are most likely to work in specific settings,” she said.
An emphasis on recycling
Moreover, the framework prioritizes reducing packaging and scaling reuse, consistent with the waste hierarchy, while emphasizing that recycling efforts must address the full system. It calls for multiple collection approaches tailored to community size, infrastructure, and local market dynamics, alongside continued circular redesign.
Keya Peterson, vice president of Strategy and Sustainability at Amcor, praised the framework.
“Flexible packaging is vital to protecting and preserving products that meet the needs of consumers,” Peterson said. “As a global packaging leader, we’re committed to providing more sustainable flexible packaging solutions that help advance circularity and keep packaging waste out of the environment. The USPP’s framework provides clear guidance that can help producers and users of flexible packaging further that goal.”
Peter Adrian, recycling coordinator at Swalco, echoed the framework’s practical approach, pointing out that plastic film presents real challenges for existing curbside collection and sorting systems, and those challenges can’t be ignored.
“What’s valuable about this framework is that it acknowledges those constraints and offers practical guidance — on design, end markets, and a range of collection options — rather than promoting a one-size-fits-all solution that doesn’t work in practice,” he added.
The USPP’s framework is a call to action for packaging manufacturers, users, and policymakers to drive innovation, investment, and policy alignment, paving the way for a more sustainable future for film and flexible packaging.
USPP's Impact Report
Last month, USPP released its 2024–25 Impact Report, detailing continued progress toward a more circular plastics system in the United States while underscoring the sustained commitment and collaboration required to deliver impact at scale.
The report comes at a pivotal moment for the USPP as it builds on the foundation established under the USPP Roadmap to 2025 and advances, through the USPP member-driven Roadmap 2.0, into a more execution-focused phase of work.
As the USPP enters 2026, its mission remains unchanged: a future where plastic never becomes waste. The 2024–25 Impact Report offers transparency into progress to date, clarity on priorities ahead, and a practical foundation for continued action to build a circular plastics economy in the United States.