Great article today in Chemical & Engineering News examining why the recycling of plastics is failing, despite widespread commitments by consumer-goods firms to ramp up recycling. Major players such as Coca‑Cola, PepsiCo, and Danone made bold promises in recent years to reduce virgin-plastic use and increase recycled content in packaging. But progress has been uneven, targets have been delayed or relaxed, and many recyclers are shutting down.
Recycling firms in the U.S. [and Europe] are under severe pressure: low demand for recycled resin, competition from cheaper virgin plastics and imported recycled content, and a structurally unfavourable market. The root cause is not simply supply (collection, sorting) but demand — that is, companies buying and using recycled plastics in meaningful volumes. Without strong markets and policies to drive uptake, efforts to increase recycled content stall.
Experts argue that voluntary commitments aren’t enough. Instead, policy levers are needed: recycled-content mandates, extended producer responsibility (EPR) , eco-fees, and tax incentives to stimulate domestic recycling markets [exactly what we need in Australia]. Well worth a read.