What is Materials Management?

Materials Management, among the emerging end-of-packaging-life options, provides the opportunity for recovery of the energy that is contained in flexible packaging. These options include converting feedstock into clean synthetic fuel gas, which can be used to generate electricity and through pyrolysis which transforms plastics and other waste into fuel pellets, which also generates power.

FPA Stakeholders

Engaging stakeholders is critical to the development of viable recovery options. Stakeholders include:

• Consumer Product Manufacturers
• Non-Governmental Organizations
• Waste Management Companies
• Industry Associations
• Municipalities
• Consumers
• Retailers

Resources in Materials Management

FPA has compiled a list of resources on a variety of reports, articles, etc. on materials management and other opportunities to recover energy that is contained in flexible packaging.

See the Materials Management Resources

The Plastics-to-Energy Pilot Program

During the course of 2014, The Dow Chemical Company, Republic Services, The Flexible Packaging Association, Agilyx, Reynolds Consumer Products, and the city of Citrus Heights, California, collaborated to implement the Energy Bag Pilot program...the first-of-its-kind in the United States intended to divert non-recycled plastics from landfills and to optimize their resource efficiency.

The Energy Bag Pilot tested the feasibility of collecting households’ non-recycled plastics (NRP) at curbside, sorting the NRP at a material recycling facility (MRF), delivering the desired/sorted-out NRP to an energy conversion facility, and effectively converting that NRP into an energy resource — all via an existing waste management infrastructure.

The Energy Bag Program

Today, the groundbreaking Energy Bag program collects hard to recycle plastics at curbs and converts them into useful resources. The program has expanded to other cities including Omaha, Nebraska; Lincoln, Nebraska; Boise, Idaho; and Cobb County, Georgia.The program is a significant step towards achieving positive long-term environmental and economic advantages, including new alternative energy resources and fewer tons of plastics ending in landfills.

Learn More about the HEFTY® ENERGYBAG® PROGRAM

FPA's Position on Degradable Additives

The use of oxo-biodegradable and other degradable additives in flexible packaging materials is a complex issue that has resulted in confusion and misleading or unsubstantiated product claims in the marketplace. It is the position of FPA that:

• Any claim of degradability, especially claims such as “biodegrades in landfills” or “oxobiodegradable,” needs to be supported by scientific data certified by well established third party authorities.

• Existing claims of oxo-biodegradable and other degradable additives without reference to industry standards, outlining how data must be collected under specific analytical protocols, and accredited third party certifications, are inappropriate and may lead to misunderstanding and misuse.

FPA's Position on Degradable Additives

FTC Green Guides

The Federal Trade Commission issued revised Green Guides that are designed to help marketers ensure that the claims they make about the environmental attributes of their products are truthful and non-deceptive.

Green Guide Resources