Report finds only 13.3% of plastic packaging is recycled, unchanged from 2018

U.S. Plastics Pact has released its 2023-2024 Impact Report, which celebrates significant strides toward a circular economy. The report highlights achievements by the Pact's 135 Activators and emphasizes the urgency of unified federal action, public-private partnerships, and personal responsibility in addressing the complexities of plastics sustainability.

"We cannot manage what we do not measure," says Jonathan Quinn, CEO of U.S. Plastics Pact. "Businesses and governments need clear, consistent data and cohesive policies to guide investment and innovation. Federal leadership is essential to achieving a circular economy for plastics."

Achievements along the plastics value chain

The 2023-2024 Impact Report showcases progress in the Pact's efforts to transform how plastics are designed, used, and reused:

• Eliminating problematic materials: 22 percent of Activators do not sell any items from the problematic and unnecessary materials list, with ongoing progress through 2025.
• Advancing circular design: Sustainable packaging adoption increased to 50 percent, up from 36 percent in 2021, with improvements in recyclability.
• Increasing recycled content: Activators raised post-consumer recycled (PCR) content in packaging to 11 percent, progressing toward the 2025 goal of 30 percent.

These achievements align with the Pact's 2025 targets and its newly introduced Roadmap 2.0, which extends some goals to 2030 and prioritizes scalable reuse systems, the elimination of virgin plastics, and advanced recycling infrastructure.

Innovation driving change

Pact Activators are delivering groundbreaking solutions across the supply chain:

• Pact collective: Addressing hard-to-recycle packaging and plastic waste in the beauty industry, Pact Collective introduced NewMatter resin, a 100 percent recycled-content material fostering scalable closed-loop systems.
• Eastman: Leveraging molecular recycling, Eastman opened the world's largest facility of its kind in Tennessee, reducing emissions and diverting hard-to-recycle plastics from landfills.
• Trioworld: Introduced 49ga Axis Loop film, a thinner, high-performance machine stretch film containing 30 percent post recycled content, cutting the amount of plastic used by up to 40 percent and halving carbon emissions.
• Kraft Heinz: Transitioned its Crystal Light packaging from plastic to recyclable paperboard, eliminating three million pounds of plastic annually and advancing toward a 20 percent reduction in virgin plastic use by 2030.

The need for federal guidance

The report calls for cohesive national policies to advance circularity, including standardized recycling definitions, extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs, and updated recycling data. Federal action is crucial for scaling the infrastructure needed to achieve the Pact's targets.

A call for shared responsibility

While regulatory action is critical, the Pact emphasizes that achieving a circular economy will also require collective responsibility and bold action:

• Personal responsibility: Consumers play a vital role by making sustainable choices, such as recycling and supporting reusable packaging systems.
• Public-private partnerships: Collaboration between governments and businesses is essential to drive cost-effective innovation and infrastructure investment.
• American competitiveness: Sustainability leadership positions the U.S. as a global innovator while mitigating risks tied to climate change and resource dependency.

"Every individual and organization has a role to play," says Quinn. "From the products we choose to the systems we design, we must act with urgency to ensure plastics remain an asset, not a liability. By working together — through personal responsibility, public-private collaboration, and innovation — we can drive change and strengthen America's competitiveness in the global circular economy."