The labels say recyclable, the packaging says compostable, but what actually happens at end of life is still hard to track and prove. While recycling and composting have been popular solutions in packaging sustainability strategies, their effectiveness depends on the infrastructure available to process waste. Sorting systems can’t yet distinguish compostable materials at a molecular level, contamination drives up costs and compromises output quality across both recycling and composting streams, and end markets for secondary materials remain patchy.
The gap between what’s designed upstream and what gets processed downstream is where progress stalls. Closing it requires brand owners, packaging producers and waste managers to be working from the same playbook: in this session, we’ll discuss how to do that.
- Hard-to-recycle formats and the regulatory timeline: Films, flexibles and multilayer structures are facing increasing regulatory scrutiny and, in some geographies, potential bans. How do businesses get ahead of restrictions on formats that are still core to their portfolio?
- The contamination problem: Higher contamination means lower quality feedstock and higher processing costs. Whether it’s compostables being landfilled because sortation can’t identify them, or recycled streams degraded by mixed materials, how do upstream design decisions determine downstream outcomes?
- Closing the loop on end markets: Recyclability and compostability are valuable if there’s somewhere for the material to go. What does it take to develop the regenerative end markets that make the whole system work, and who needs to invest in making them viable?
What to expect from this type of session...
Main stage sessions, but not as you know them. Because we’re off-the-record, leading experts can speak candidly about their experience with what works, and what doesn’t. At least half the session is dedicated to audience insights and questions to ensure we tackle the big issues head on.
