Industry Leaders Back New Packaging Hub for Unified Recycling Data

Systemiq and Earth Action have created an analytics platform, the Packaging Data Hub, aimed at resolving long-standing variations in post-consumer plastic waste accounting. Packaging producer Amcor and consumer goods group Colgate-Palmolive are among the initial corporate partners backing the initiative. Initial platform metrics show that roughly 18% of plastic packaging is recycled in practice across the 50 monitored countries. These jurisdictions collectively generate approximately 80% of global plastic packaging waste. Within this geographical footprint, flexible packaging accounts for an estimated 40% of plastic waste volumes yet record an actual recycling rate of only around 10%. Across low- and middle-income countries, the presence of extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations correlates with a doubling of recovery performance. The platform calculates the current European Union plastic packaging recycling rate at around 35%, well below the 55% target established for 2030 under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).

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