Walpole, NH, (February 28, 2024) – Today, the U.S. Plastics Pact released its most recent Annual Report, publishing aggregated 2022 data from its member organizations (Activators).
The U.S. Plastics Pact is composed of brand, retailer, and converter Activators, collectively responsible for generating 33% of all plastic packaging in scope within the U.S. by weight. This equates to the placement of 3.1 million metric tons of plastic packaging in the market. Since its inception in August 2020, the U.S. Pact has witnessed remarkable growth, more than doubling its membership to over 135 businesses, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and research institutions. Together, they are committed to addressing plastic waste at its source through four key targets to be achieved by 2025:
- TARGET 1 – Define a list of packaging that is problematic or unnecessary by 2021, and take measures to eliminate items on the list by 2025
- TARGET 2 – 100% of plastic packaging will be reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025
- TARGET 3 – Undertake ambitious actions to effectively recycle or compost 50% of plastic packaging by 2025
- TARGET 4 – Achieve an average of 30% recycled content or responsibly sourced biobased content in plastic packaging by 2025
Progress since the 2021 Annual Report includes:
- Decrease in the amount of plastic packaging placed on the market by U.S. Pact Activators by weight containing items on the Problematics and Unnecessary Materials List from 14% to 8%;
- 7% increase from 36% to 47.7% in plastic packaging placed on the market by Activators being reusable, recyclable, or compostable;
- Increase in the use of postconsumer recycled content (PCR) in plastic packaging from 8% to 9.4% average PCR or responsibly sourced biobased content used by U.S. Pact Activators
Activators commit to ongoing portfolio assessments and annual progress reporting towards these targets through the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Resource Footprint Tracker. The collective progress towards elimination will be documented in future U.S. Pact Annual Reports.
“The U.S. Pact is bringing forward never-before-seen plastics data and challenging companies operating under difficult market conditions to reduce waste,” said Emily Tipaldo, Executive Director, U.S. Plastics Pact. “We must continue to rally Activators around our common language and definitions, gathering novel data to model the future potential, and, finally, supporting and inspiring companies to move toward our circular economy Vision. Conceding on 2025 commitments will not foster the support still needed to shake the plastics packaging value chain out of the status quo. We must continue to push the boundaries of collaboration and transparency to build the circular economy for plastics packaging.”
“Global problems can’t be solved without local solutions,” said Erin Simon, Vice President and Head of Plastic Waste & Business, WWF. “And that’s why the U.S. Plastics Pact is leading this effort to identify and implement place-based solutions that will move us closer to a future where plastic pollution no longer harms people or our planet. Collective alignment on the global scale will always be part of the equation – but if we can prove the U.S. is successful in our local implementation of curbing plastic pollution, we’ll set the standard for other countries to do the same.”
“The US Plastics Pact unites stakeholders throughout our entire value chain, working towards shared objectives to establish a circular economy for plastics. This endeavor demands significant collaboration and transparency, surpassing previous industry norms. Eastman takes pride in contributing to this initiative, driving change, challenging the status quo, and transforming ideas into tangible solutions.” – Holli Alexander, Strategic Initiatives Manager, Circularity, Eastman, and Chair, U.S. Plastics Pact Board of Directors
“Advancing sustainable packaging solutions is as much a systems challenge as a packaging format challenge. The U.S. Pact brings together organizations from every stakeholder group, including government, nonprofits and for-profits handling the production, use, collection, processing and disposal of packaging. Facilitating such thoughtful, action-oriented dialogue and goal-setting has been critical to accelerating progress as an industry, and for our own work at Returnity.” – Mike Newman, CEO, Returnity
Media Inquiries: To arrange an interview with Emily Tipaldo, Executive Director, U.S. Pact, or to connect with U.S. Pact Activators, contact: Eric Downing, Director, Communications & Marketing, edowning@usplasticspact.org.