Guidance & Implementation Resources
From material design to end-of-life infrastructure, translating circular economy principles into practice requires clear frameworks
and shared standards. These resources support Activators, policymakers, and program designers across the packaging value
chain — offering practical guidance on assessing and eliminating problematic materials, designing for circularity, understanding
recycling technologies, increasing the use of post-consumer recycled content, and advancing reuse systems.
Reuse in Retail Initiative: Scoping Phase Report
Results from the first phase of a strategic collaboration between USPP, Upstream, and WRAP to accelerate reusable packaging in retail. Covers key learnings on product categories, reuse models, and regional considerations, with Portland, Maine and a return-on-the-go model recommended as the near-term path forward.
Journey to Film & Flex Circularity Framework
An integrated framework for advancing circularity for film and flexible plastic packaging, covering the three interconnected levers of design, collection, and end-market demand. Identifies where monomaterial solutions are ready, where innovation is still needed, and what actions brand owners, manufacturers, and policymakers can take to drive progress.
Problematic & Unnecessary Materials Report
The U.S. Plastics Pact’s consensus-built list of plastic packaging materials and formats that hinder recyclability, pose hazards, or cannot be avoided or recovered. Includes elimination timelines, an Evaluation List for items where circularity is achievable with targeted action, and guidance on material substitutions.
Design For
Circularity
Playbooks
A suite of format- and pathway-specific documents providing guidance on designing plastic packaging for circularity. Covers design considerations, key terms, regulatory context, and implementation resources across three end-of-life pathways: recyclability, reusability, and compostability.
Physical and Chemical Recycling
Position Paper
Published November 2025, this position statement outlines the U.S. Plastics Pact’s principles for responsibly integrating physical and chemical recycling into a circular economy for plastic packaging. It covers priority use cases, environmental and human health safeguards, transparency requirements, and system design guidance, grounded in the EPA’s Waste Management Hierarchy.
Overcoming Barriers to Increasing
the Use of PCR in the U.S.
Published April 2025, this report examines the supply, demand, and financial barriers preventing broader adoption of postconsumer recycled content (PCR) in plastic packaging, drawing on insights from more than 100 U.S. Plastics Pact member organizations. It offers actionable market-based and policy solutions, including EPR, PCR mandates, and long-term contracting strategies, for brands, retailers, and policymakers working to accelerate circularity.
Responsible Production Guidelines
for ACM Recycling
Published May 2024, this multi-stakeholder whitepaper establishes a framework for the safe, equitable, and transparent operation of advanced/chemical/molecular (ACM) recycling facilities. The guidance is organized around 22 performance indicators across four pillars (operational transparency, environmental impact, social equity, and complementarity to mechanical recycling).
Target 3 Impact
Assessment Report
A multistakeholder impact assessment report overviewing the strategies most likely to drive achievement of Target 3: a 50% recycling rate for plastics under USPP scope.