Flexible film recycling accelerates amid FFRA advocacy, impact report shows

The Flexible Film Recycling Alliance (FFRA), the central forum driving a circular economy for plastic films, funded by the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS), released its first-ever Impact Report, outlining the group's collaborative progress toward scaling flexible film collection and recycling systems across the United States.

The report details how FFRA is working across the plastics value chain to accelerate recycling rates, expand access to film recycling, and improve education to lay the groundwork for a truly circular solution for flexible films.

Highlights covered in the 2025 Impact Report include:

• Launch and rapid growth of the Plastic Film Recycling Directory: Since launching in January 2025, the directory has surpassed 170,000 unique users, with more than 20,000 drop-off locations across 60 plus retail partners, covering all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
• Targeted advocacy efforts in California: Successfully advocated for alternative collection systems to be included as a collection modality through partnership and coalition building.
• Prioritization of a robust verification framework: To ensure confidence and accountability across the recycling system, FFRA made substantial progress toward a verification program scheduled to launch in the second quarter of 2026, designed to ensure recycling data and outcomes are credible, traceable, and transparent.

"FFRA's first Impact Report shows what's possible when manufacturers, retailers, recyclers, and policymakers work together toward a shared goal," said Patrick Krieger, PLASTICS senior vice president of sustainability and policy. "In 2025, FFRA made meaningful headway from expanding access to film recycling nationwide to shaping policy outcomes that better reflect how recycling systems actually work. This progress reinforces that collaboration, data, and practical solutions are the path forward for scaling film recycling in the U.S."

"FFRA's progress shows what's possible when industry aligns around a shared goal and speaks with a harmonized voice," said Kurt Kurzawa, PLASTICS senior director of sustainability and packaging. "We're proud of the momentum we've built from expanding access to film recycling to strengthening trust through verification and, in the year ahead, we're focused on taking that next step by further advancing verification to ensure credibility and accountability across the system."