NEWS


US food groups look to boost film recycling


A coalition of companies including General Mills, Mars, Mondelēz Interna- tional, Nestlé, Hill’s Pet Nutri- tion, and PepsiCo, has launched the US Flexible Film Initiative (USFFI), a non-profit organisation formed to advance scalable solutions to recycle flexible plastic packaging. Flexible packaging


represents one of the largest categories of plastic packaging, yet it is often not part of municipal recycling programs in the US. Recog- nising these challenges and others like it, USFFI said it wants to be an instrument for change. The initiative will initially be focused on California, with the potential to be scaled to states with emerging EPR programs. “Partnerships are essen- tial in addressing the complexities of recycling flexible plastic packaging,” said Tiffany Gildehaus, senior manager of environ- mental sustainability at Nestlé Purina. “At Nestlé, we believe that collective action


US tariffs on PET imports


IMAGE: USFFI


Flexible packaging is often not part of municipal recycling programs in the US


is crucial to developing sustainable solutions. Through USFFI and its work with other key partners, we aim to create a more robust infrastructure that will advance our shared goal to implement end-to-end recycling solutions for flexible packaging.” Earlier this year, the founding members of USFFI engaged Resource Recy- cling Systems (RRS) to help launch the organisation and begin implementing the work. By committing to multi-year contracts with material recovery facilities


(MRFs), flexible plastic processors, and recyclers, it hopes to help move the industry towards a model where flexible films are collected alongside other recyclables.


USFFI intends to issue


requests for information to recyclers, processors, and MRFs interested in being considered for operational funding. Participation in this RFI


process will be mandatory for any entity that wishes to be considered for financial support. � www.usffi.org


As of 8 September 2025, the US has imposed full tariffs on imports of virgin PET and recycled PET, which are expected to particularly affect Asian markets. PET resins imported under the 3907.61.00 or 3907.69.00 HTSUS codes will now be subject to standard tariff rates, up to 50% based on country of origin. PET resins were originally exempt from tariffs, allowing countries to continue shipping PET to the US. According to Global


Trade Tracker data, since 2021, PET imports to the US have averaged 1.25 m tonnes/yr, and recyclers are hopeful that the addition of PET to the list of reciprocal tariffs will help stop the slide in prices in the rPET market. Prices have fallen as


imported PET flakes and pellets have continued to limit demand for domestic material. � www.trade.gov


APR calls for action as PET recycler closes


The US Association of Plastic Retailers (APR) said the recent closure of California-based PET recycler rPlanet Earth, which represented around 4% of the nation’s rPET capacity, should be a wake-up call to US policymakers. It said that like many recyclers, rPlanet Earth faced low demand for its products while competing against a surge of low cost imported material and cheap, oversupplied virgin plastic


www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com


(also see story top right). “This is not an isolated incident,” the APR said in a statement published in September. “Europe has already experienced multiple plant closures under similar conditions, and the United States risks following that same path if current policy trends continue. APR urges policymakers to create strong incentives for brands to use domestically sourced recycled content


and require country of origin labelling.” Stressing the need for clear,


enforceable measures, the statement went on to say: “The sad truth is that this closure underscores that plastics recycling is a tough business, and until recycling plastics is equal to or more profitable than making new plastic, the US will not make any significant progress in reducing plastic pollution.” � https://plasticsrecycling.org


October 2025 | PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD 5


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