Brands and companies that intend to reduce the use of virgin plastic by 2025 need to deal with a still very common problem: single-use flexible packaging, used in products from various industry segments, such as food – packages of bread, snacks, cereal bars, ketchup sachets, toothpaste tubes, and soap refills. The statement was made in a report on circular economy released by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

Despite predictions of decline, the use of these materials has followed an opposite movement in recent years, growing 5% between 2019 and 2020, according to the report. Precisely because they are adaptable to various formats and products from various sectors, such as food, beverages, hygiene, and cleaning, these materials represent the segment that is most advanced in the plastic packaging industry.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation document points out that recycling of these materials – which today is almost non-existent worldwide – continues to challenge the circular economy. “Once flexible packaging waste is generated, it is incredibly difficult to deal with it, regardless of what material it is made of or where it is being used”, the paper assesses. 

In Europe, the region of the world that records the best rate globally, the total amount of packaging recycled does not reach 8%. To quadruple the amount recycled in the continent, the report points out the need for investments of 2 billion Euros in infrastructure.

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Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation