Recycling Supply Chain: Challenges & Solutions Ahead

When it comes to the recycling supply chain and new packaging regulations coming down the line, what poses as simple, time-tested requests and solutions actually seem to be nebulous at best. Like any commodity, the recycling supply chain is subject to supply and demand—more so demand—as well as the profitability of both buying and selling materials. It is, as we all know, a business like any other, altruistic as it may seem.

To help me sort through the nuts and bolts of the upcoming packaging regulations and the recycling supply chain story is Corinne Van Dyke, Senior Sustainability Program Manager for Measure to Improve. When I came to her this past December, she was both patient and incredibly enlightening, inspiring me to share a conversation I hope will do the same for you as it did for me.

Jordan Okumura-Wright, The Snack: Corrine, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience on this subject. I have received a lot of feedback about how complicated SB54 is as well as the supply chain that packaging lives and dies by. Can you give me a brief overview of SB54 and the immediate upcoming deadlines for producers?

Corinne Van Dyke, Senior Sustainability Program Manager, Measure to Improve: In 2022, California passed SB54 which sets goals to reduce single-use plastic and foodservice ware by 25 percent, ensure 100 percent is recyclable or compostable, and ensure 65 percent is recycled—all by 2032.

California also released a list of covered materials and announced that the Circular Action Alliance will lead the Producer Responsible Organization (PRO) to ensure goals are met. There are no immediate deadlines for producers, but 2032 is not far away. The industry needs to start considering how they can confirm that their packaging is considered recyclable or compostable by the state of California by the 2032 deadline.

JOW: As more suppliers shift their programs toward more sustainable packaging - and within this discussion about single-use plastics - what do you see as the challenges arising from the recycling supply chain itself?

CVD: Great question. We see more and more packaging designed to work within our recycling system, meaning once the packaging waste arrives at a material recovery facility (MRF), it can be properly sorted and sold as recycled content to produce new material. But MRFs are businesses too, so they tend to only collect profitable materials. If it’s not profitable for them to collect film plastics, then they likely won’t collect it.

This is where a healthy recycling market can help drive our circular economy. SB54 aims to address this by setting a target to ensure 65 percent of plastic packaging and foodservice ware gets recycled. Not just designed to be recyclable but is actually recycled. This challenge goes beyond the produce industry, and we’re eager to see how the funds collected by SB54 can be used to increase recycling rates across the entire recycling supply chain.

Source: The Snack