Each year, billions of products are packaged in small-format plastic that is difficult to recycle due to its size and other factors.
Maybelline New York and Procter & Gamble (P&G) are among the names which have partnered with green investment firm Closed Loop Partners on solutions for recovering small-format packaging.
The make-up brand and its owner L’Oréal, as well as P&G, food giant Kraft Heinz and retailer Target supported Closed Loop Partners' research hub, Center for the Circular Economy, on its two-years-in-the-making report.
The Small Materials Recovery report highlighted five key insights critical to recovering small-format packaging.
These are that many small format plastic materials hold significant market value and that market demand for these materials is strong, especially from mechanical recyclers.
Furthermore, logistical solutions already exist to handle them and current technologies can be adapted to effectively recover portions of them at materials recovery facilities (MRFs) and glass recycling plants.
Finally, the report concluded that targeted investment at recycling facilities is essential to build a compelling, scalable business case to recover smaller materials.
According to Closed Loop Partners, with the right equipment upgrades and reconfigurations, significant volumes of these materials could be successfully recycled instead of being lost to waste.
For example, upgrading the glass screen (a type of material sorting equipment) at one MRF resulted in a 67% relative reduction in mid-to-large-sized small plastics contaminating the glass stream.
“L’Oréal is excited to partner with Closed Loop Partners to develop innovative solutions for recovering packaging materials, reducing waste and creating opportunities in a fragmented national recycling infrastructure,” said Marissa Pagnani McGowan, Chief Sustainability Officer, North America, for L'Oréal Groupe.
“Closed Loop Partners' Center for the Circular Economy provides practical and scalable approaches for recovering small-format plastics that end up in landfills.
“We believe scaling these innovations will improve the recyclability of plastic and create a viable end-market for our materials.”
Trisha Ayyagari, Global Brand President, Maybelline New York, added: “As the number one make-up brand in the world, we have a responsibility to create the most sustainable make-up life cycle possible.
“Most make-up packaging is too small to be recycled, it literally falls through the cracks at recycling facilities.
“That is why it was so important to partner with Closed Loop Partners' Center for Circular Economy to pioneer solutions for small-format recycling and to help us and the beauty industry accelerate our sustainable transformation.
“We look forward to making progress together."
Closed Loop Partners said it is looking to build upon its findings to improve investment in equipment and infrastructure upgrades for rigid small plastics recovery in the field.
It is now rallying companies involved in the small-format packaging value to join its Consortium to Recover Small-Format Packaging.
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