U.S. Plastics Pact shares framework to advance film and flexible packaging circularity

The U.S. Plastics Pact (USPP) has shared its newest paper: Journey to Film & Flex Circularity: A Framework of Necessary Design, Collection, and End Market Levers — a new resource outlining the practical, system-level actions needed to advance the circularity of film and flexible plastic packaging in the United States.

Film and flexible packaging play an essential role in protecting products, extending shelf life, and delivering goods to consumers in a cost-effective way. At the same time, the lightweight nature and complex, multi-material designs common to many film packages create real challenges for collection, sorting, and recycling at scale. This new framework confronts those realities head-on — offering a pragmatic, actionable path forward grounded in today's infrastructure, economics, and market conditions.

Findings in U.S. Plastics Pact's paper

While the paper focuses primarily on improving the recycling outcomes for film, it is clear in its framing: efforts to reduce packaging and scale reuse should be prioritized first, consistent with the waste hierarchy. Where recycling is pursued, the framework emphasizes that progress depends on addressing the full system — not just one part of it.

A central finding of the paper is that end market development is the most critical lever for change. Collecting more material without strong, reliable demand for recycled film risks simply shifting material without delivering real circular outcomes.

The paper also reinforces that there is no single, universal solution for film collection. Instead, successful strategies will vary based on community size, infrastructure, policy context, and local market dynamics. The framework highlights the need for multiple collection approaches alongside continued circular redesign. It includes specific calls to action for packaging manufacturers, packaging users, and policymakers. Together, these actions are intended to help galvanize the innovation, investment, and policy alignment needed to move film and flexible packaging toward circularity.

Meeting goals with joint commitment

"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. "This framework reflects the real work happening across the system today and provides a clear, shared path forward."

"This workstream brought together an extraordinary range of expertise from municipalities and MRF operators to brands, film suppliers, and recyclers," continued Bayliss. "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. The result is a practical framework rooted in real-world conditions."

"Flexible packaging is vital to protecting and preserving products that meet the needs of consumers," said Keya Peterson, vice president of Strategy and Sustainability at Amcor. "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." 

"Plastic film presents real challenges for existing curbside collection and sorting systems, and those challenges can't be ignored," said Peter Adrian, recycling coordinator at Solid Waste Agency of Lake County, Illinois (SWALCO). "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."