Foodservice Packagers Work to Pump Curbside Recycling of Their Materials

The North American food packaging market is forecast to hit about $135.5B by 2028, up from $92B in 2020, and yet little of this fast-amassing single-use material is recycled. Meanwhile brands and packaging companies are called on to use more recycled content in what holds their products – market demand for postconsumer plastic in particular is rapidly outpacing supply.

In the face of these trends, the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI) is trying to beef up recovery at the curbside, finding that two-thirds of foodservice packaging is for to-go orders and winds up back in consumers’ homes.  

At the core of the industry trade organization’s work is figuring out the most effective way to reach and engage residents.

It conducted a resident survey, supported by RRS, looking for insight to inform messaging around recycling and to home in on missed recovery opportunities. The survey gauged how frequently people set out recycling; where they go for instructions; and just what it is that they want to know.

“We tested different terms, images, and instructions to use to develop educational materials that residents would understand and that would resonate with them,” Catherine Goodall, RRS managing principal and senior consultant said at a December webinar.

Responses came from 1,042 US residents aged 18 and older living in single-family and multifamily housing.

Among key takeaways: older respondents reported more consistency in how often they recycle. “So, there’s potential to improve behavior in younger residents who are more variable in their behavior by targeting them with messaging,” Goodall said, advising that awareness campaigns may have a greater impact if they target residents aged 53 and younger.

When asked to rank different means to obtain information, signage on the recycling cart or bin and packaging were top go-to sources.

City, county, or recycling companies’ websites closely followed and are proving practical tools as they are easy and inexpensive to update as rules change.

The survey, which was conducted after disseminating a sample flyer, found that residents are apt to decide what to toss in the bin based on form (bottle, clamshell, etc) and material type.  So RRS and FPI suggest that basing instructions on both of these features may achieve greater impact.

Goodall pointed to messaging around pizza boxes specifically as an opportunity and as an example of how clear communication matters. They pile up fast, and increasingly municipalities are accepting them into their programs, but there’s often mixed messaging around how to manage them, and respondents were not sure what to do with them. Conversely, they were clear on acceptance of cans and bottles; how to handle these drink containers is historically well spelled out.

FPI runs a Community Partnership program, which has helped expand access to foodservice packaging recycling to over 7 million households since its 2017 launch.

“We do a memorandum of understanding outlining expectations of the partnership. Then we develop a plan and identify tactics that will work for that specific community,” Maggie Orozco, RRS communications consultant told webinar attendees.

Municipalities receive technical assistance around operations; support in end-market dialogues; i.e, ensuring MRFs can accept materials and that haulers are on board to deliver to facilities; and they are supported in communications planning and developing educational/outreach materials.

Education/awareness campaigns run for roughly two-months.

“We look at what education and outreach our partners’ programs already have so we can piggyback off of that should there be messaging residents are already familiar with,” Orozco said.

In Chicago, RRS and FPI focused on paper cup recovery through a multipronged approach involving several communications outlets and partners, including the community’s hauler, Groot, who in turn leveraged its network to inform residents of this material addition.

Groot used its waste collection app to push out campaign messaging on Facebook. One of the greatest pulls was a customized video that garnered 5,200 impressions and 3,900 views. 

“We used clear instructions paired with eye-catching visuals. And we put out press releases hoping to redirect people to Groot’s website for more information on what to recycle and how,” Orozco said.

 Athens-Clarke County, Georgia focused on cups, too.  

The campaign launched in the midst of COVID, limiting in-person options, so the county held a drive-through campaign kickoff.

“A local business gave us coffee. So, we invited residents to come for a free cup of coffee and then to see how we would recycle their cup,” said Denise Plemmons, waste reduction coordinator, Athens-Clarke County, Georgia.

Coca-Cola donated sodas and a known, beloved pink flamingo mascot showed up on a unicycle playing a baritone.

“The idea was to do something fun, to get a chance to get out during COVID, and to let people know they can recycle cups and paper in Athens,” Plemmons said.

Key was consistent branding—using the same graphics on truck wraps, event trailers, and Facebook, and using the same hashtags to lead residents back to the county’s website for more details.

“We gained a lot of traction. We had a clean design that was customized for Athens. And it was very easy to get information out there. RRS did the heavy lifting for us, and we pretty much just had to connect through social media,” Plemmons said.

So how much foodservice packaging is actually recycled? FPI does not disclose that information to the public. But anecdotally, most of the materials end up buried or burned.  Film commonly used in carry out bags and polystyrene used in containers wreak havoc at MRFs, and multilayered packaging is very difficult if not near impossible to recycle.

The publicly reported data that does exist reveals details on single-use plastic but does not break down by foodservice, though it looks at material type and or application. A 2022 US Post Consumer Plastics Recycling report, based on 2021 data from Stina, lays out these recycling numbers by weight:

As demand for recycled resins grows, Steve Alexander, president of the Association of Plastic Recyclers, has said that getting consumers to put recyclables in the blue bin is important, but that turning spent packaging into new products will require more: namely for companies to manufacture plastic products and packaging that are compatible with recycling and a robust infrastructure to collect, sort, and process the material.

For now, FPI is focusing largely on plastic cups and containers, paper cups, and pizza boxes. The organization, in partnership with RRS, has so far facilitated campaigns in 24 states and is working to expand, with near-future plans for Dallas and others cued up for Milwaukee and Chicago.