UPM Raflatac has joined the US Plastics Pact, a collaborative, solutions-driven initiative based on four goals intended to drive significant systems change by unifying diverse cross-sector approaches.

The US Plastics Pact is an ‘ambitious’ new initiative to unify public-private stakeholders across the plastics value chain to rethink the way plastics are designed, used and reused to create a path toward a circular economy for plastic in the US.

The goals are:

  • Define a list of packaging to be designated as problematic or unnecessary by 2021 and take measures to eliminate them by 2025;
  • By 2025, all plastic packaging is 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable;
  • By 2025, undertake ambitious actions to effectively recycle or compost 50% of plastic packaging; and
  • By 2025, the average recycled content or responsibly sourced bio-based content in plastic packaging will be 30%.

These will help set a national strategy and create scalable options to create a path forward toward a circular economy for plastics in the US by 2025. The first North American pact of its kind, the US Plastics Pact is a collaboration led by The Recycling Partnership, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

The initial list of US Plastics Pact activators includes Amcor, the American Beverage Association (ABA), the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), Colgate-Palmolive, Danone North America, Digimarc, Henkel, Kimberly-Clark, L’Oreal USA, Mars, Inc., Molson Coors, Mondelez International, Ocean Plastics Leadership Network, Terracycle, Coca-Cola, Unilever United States, Walmart, and UPM Raflatac.

Activators like UPM Raflatac recognise that significant, system-wide change is imperative to realise a circular economy for plastics. As such, the US Plastics Pact will convene more than 70 brands, retailers, NGOs, and government agencies across the plastics value chain to bring one voice to US packaging through coordinated initiatives and innovative options for rethinking products, packaging, and business models.

Achieving this vision will require new levels of accountability from all facets of the plastics supply chain. As such, the US Plastics Pact emphasises measurable change and as such, UPM Raflatac is committed to transparent, annual reporting. The first task of the founding members of the US Plastics Pact will be to establish a roadmap in Q1 2021 to identify key milestones and national options to achieving the US’s targets and realise a circular economy in which plastic never becomes waste.

For UPM Raflatac, which was one of the signatories of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, joining the US Plastics Pact is another step on the company’s journey to label a smarter future beyond fossils, as Kyle Strenski, the company’s director of global business development, films, explained.

‘Our company is proud to be the first pressure-sensitive label supplier to join the US Plastics Pact, further demonstrating our commitment to leading in sustainable labelling.

‘We believe that ‘labels matter’ when it comes to the design and recyclability of sustainable packaging materials and look forward to collaborating with our fellow activators on ways we can make a circular economy for plastics an achievable goal within the next five years.’

While the US Plastics Pact is complementary to, and follows the ambitious precedents set by the existing global network of Plastic Pacts, it will be tailored to meet the unique needs and challenges of the US market. It will reflect national priorities and realities, while still propelling the nation closer to other developed nations in its management of plastic waste.

Sarah Dearman, vice president of circular ventures for The Recycling Partnership, commented, ‘Together through the US Plastics Pact, we will ignite system change to accelerate progress toward a circular economy. The US Plastics Pact will accelerate system-wide change by inspiring and supporting upstream innovation through a coordinated national strategy, creating a unified framework and enabling members to accelerate progress toward our ambitious 2025 sustainability goals. Members’ full participation will be vital to reaching our shared goals.’

Read more about developments in delivering sustainable packaging in the July/August issue of Digital Labels & Packaging; register here to receive the magazine for free