Recycling industry news
Our top news picks from October:
- McKinsey & Company: Materials ‘green’ premia: Trends and outlook to 2030
- Fashion Dive: California passes Responsible Textile Recovery Act
- Eurostat: 41% of plastic packaging waste recycled in 2022
- Trellis: Home Depot’s big plastic packaging purge
- BloombergNEF: Companies’ Circular Plastic Ambitions Slow as Costs Bite
Materials ‘green’ premia: Trends and outlook to 2030
A McKinsey survey of over 100 buyers and suppliers reveals that demand for green commodities and the premia associated with these remain strong globally. Buyers of “green” plastics expect to increase their average share of procurement volume from 23% in 2024 to 41% in 2030, driven in large part by the consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector.
✅ Our take:
The McKinsey survey findings and the recent surge in demand for Circular’s services - currently working with 10 blue chip companies - serve as proof positive of the rising demand for PCR plastics. As companies struggle to access this and other green commodities (metals, glass, paper), Circular’s platform can help meet latent demand by facilitating access to, and bringing down the costs to identify, source, and procure the right material.
California passes Responsible Textile Recovery Act
The US’ first Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program for textiles was signed into law in California. Producers will be required to submit a plan to collect, repair, and recycle apparel and textile articles by 2030. The move follows similar policies across Europe and is intended to stem the flow of waste from the industry (1.2M tonnes of textile waste generated in 2021 in California alone).
✅ Our take:
Polyester is the most widely used fiber in the industry (54% of the total 116M tonnes globally), but recycled polyester makes up only 14% of the fiber production due to tough competition: both recycled polyester fiber and recycled PET bottles use the same feedstock. The new EPR program will deliver a much-needed supply of PCR for textile-to-textile recycling.
41% of plastic packaging waste recycled in 2022
The European Union (EU) reached a recycling rate of 41% for all plastic packaging waste in 2022, a modest increase from 38% a decade prior.
✅ Our take:
The EU’s recycling rate trumps those of other major economies (e.g., 13.3% in the US for plastic packaging, 20.6% plastic recycling rate in Brazil, and 17% in China). Both within and outside the EU, the data points to room for improvement by bridging the gap between the best and worst performers (Slovakia at 60% vs. Malta at 16%) and between collection and recycling rates (which vary between 5-25% across EU member countries).
Home Depot’s big plastic packaging purge
The company has eliminated polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from its packaging by transitioning to compostable, recyclable, and recycled fiber packaging. Home Depot plans to eliminate and substitute recycled or alternative materials for another 200 million pounds of virgin plastic by 2028.
✅ Our take:
Leading companies like Home Depot can amplify their impact by sharing their approaches and lessons learned with others, for example their suppliers. Circular.co is working with large players precisely to create this flywheel effect.
Companies’ Circular Plastic Ambitions Slow as Costs Bite
In its assessment of 40 companies (20 brand owners and 20 plastic producers), BloombergNEF (BNEF) finds that companies are struggling to meet their circularity ambitions. Rising costs, a lack of infrastructure, and difficulties in sourcing are the main stumbling blocks. In the lead are brand owners Coca-Cola, L’Oreal, PepsiCo, and Danone, and producers LyondellBasell, Braskem, and Dow. BNEF expects chemical recycling capacity to reach 5.3 million tonnes by 2030.
✅ Our take:
In 2022, mechanical recycling capacity already surpassed 54 million tonnes. Most plastics are, and will continue to be, recycled mechanically. While chemically recycled plastics are concentrated among few producers (those included in BNEF’s assessment), production of mechanically recycled plastics is highly fragmented making it difficult to find and source the material. Transparency across the dispersed supply of PCR is all the more important to reach circularity targets - in comes Circular.co.
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Circular news
What has Circular.co been up to in October?
Case Studies:
- Circular helps companies find quality recycled plastics to improve the sustainability of their portfolios, benefiting the planet and their bottom line. It’s time to debunk the ever-green premium. Check out Circular’s impact across industries in our recent LinkedIn post or article.
Collaborations:
- Our COO Shannon Gordon presented ideas to harmonize PCR spec standardization to the US Plastics Pact and the Association of Plastics Recyclers in late October. Stay tuned to learn more about what came from the talks. We have the opportunity to truly set the scene. Exciting stuff!
About Circular
Launched in 2022, Circular.co makes sustainable sourcing easier with data. We built the world's largest post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials database for brands to navigate markets and make data-driven decisions. Responsible producers can easily use detailed technical spec data to find the right materials at transparent prices from vetted suppliers, all in one online platform. Book a demo here or visit circular.co.