Answering the Call: A Coalition Committed to Transforming Film and Flexibles Recycling
About the Film & Flexibles Recycling Coalition
Film and flexible packaging (FFP) is a cornerstone of the U.S. packaging industry, representing 21% of the market however, practical barriers prevent widespread recovery and reprocessing. Only 2% of U.S. households can recycle film and flexible packaging due to a lack of collection, processing, and end markets. These materials have long faced challenges—like tangling in recycling equipment, high processing costs, lack of processing infrastructure, and limited end-market demand creating reluctance by communities to accept this material in their local program.
As a result, The Recycling Partnership began focusing on the recyclability of this material in 2019, launching the Film & Flexibles Recycling Coalition in 2020 to tackle these unique challenges. Nearly $5 million has supported 19 grant projects to support the Coalition’s three key areas:
- Fostering innovation in end markets, ensuring recycled content can be used in new products.
- Equipping processors with the tools and technology to capture and sort these materials.
- Expanding curbside recycling access for film and flexibles across the U.S.
With the rapidly approaching deadlines for California’s recycling mandates, particularly SB 54’s Extended Producer Responsibility compliance, there is an urgent need to develop scaled and consistent end markets for film and flexible packaging. Pre-investment is critical to meet these mandates effectively.
Through the Film and Flexibles Recycling Coalition and its associated CalFFlex Initiative, we’re improving collection, enhancing processing, and driving demand for recycled materials Together, we can address these challenges, support California’s progress, and create a more sustainable future.
Improving how film and flexibles are collected, processed, and reused—join the CalFFlex initiative.
Learn More About CalFFlexWhat are Film and Flexibles
Film and flexible packaging includes a wide range of items, from polyethylene air pillows and grocery bags to snack pouches and dog food bags with metalized linings. While their lightweight and durable properties make them an ideal packaging solution for many products, these same characteristics present significant recycling challenges.
Despite the variety, most film and flexibles end up in landfills due to limited access to recycling programs and processing infrastructure.
Understanding the Problem
The recycling process for film and flexibles faces a “quadruple threat” of challenges:
- At Creation – Film and flexible packaging is often made of multiple layers of different materials, making it difficult to process with standard recycling methods.
- At the Curb – Currently, only 2% of U.S. households have access to curbside recycling for these materials. Most consumers are unaware and place film and flexibles in their recycling bins, leading to contamination.
- During Capture – At Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs), these materials can wrap around machinery, causing delays and contamination.
- In the Market – End markets for recycled film and flexible content are limited, making it difficult to create demand for post-consumer materials.
Delivering the Solutions with CalFFLex - A Bold Initiative Introduced for 2025
CalFFlex Initiative: Validating a pathway toward compliance under California law
Objective: CalFFlex, an initiative of the Film & Flexibles Coalition, is building scalable pathways for film and flexible packaging (FFP) to comply with California’s SB 54, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act. Working with the Circular Action Alliance (CAA), CalRecycle, and key leaders in California, our goal is to prove the viability of increased FFP capture, validate the capacity of end markets, and stimulate the demand for recycled FFP products.
Success Measures as Early as April 2026:
- One viable system pathway demonstrating quantified FFP recycling rate improvements
- Quantified potential end-market capacity and demonstrated buyer demand from potential responsible end markets (REMs)
- Replicable details provided to CAA as a scalable blueprint
FFP recycling in California is an all-hands-on-deck moment for manufacturers and producers, given SB 54’s aggressive timelines and noncompliance fines of up to $18 million per package per year. With projects already underway and more in the pipeline, CalFFlex is ready to meet this challenge. Contact us today to join CalFFlex and our connective networks to secure a scalable pathway for FFP.
Read more about the strategy and investment needs here.
Transforming Film & Flexibles Recycling: Four Case Studies Driving a Sustainable Future
The Film & Flexibles Recycling Coalition is working to develop a model recycling system for film and flexible packaging. These four case studies showcase the power of innovative technology combined with clear, consistent, and reliable movement to responsible end markets, which will serve as the foundation for potential system pathways in both policy states and across the country.
Diverting Incidental Film and Flexibles from Landfill - San Antonio, Texas
A Coalition grant supported installation and startup of new equipment at Circular Services’ Balcones MRF, dedicated to recovering and baling incidental film and flexible packaging from San Antonio’s single-stream recyclables. The facility is recovering approximately 214.5 tons of incidental film and flexible packaging per year on one shift, with the potential to double that amount as material volumes support a second shift.
Improving Quality of Material and Bales - Pico Rivera, California
A new secondary sort line at Valemi’s facility supported by the Coalition will make it possible to recover more film and flexible plastic packaging. The project is an important proof point in southern California for how further sortation of this material type from a variety of sources—curbside single-stream, multifamily and commercial single stream, MRF residue from curbside processing, and dedicated film extraction from MRFs and retail locations—can yield a significant amount of film and flexible material and increase the quality of what is then available for use in new products.
Resources that Need a Ride: Colorado
Colorado’s Circular Economy Development Center (CEDC) is addressing the transportation gap for film and flexible packaging in rural communities through its Circular Transportation Network, which arranges for delivery trucks to pick up recyclable materials on existing routes. Funding from the Coalition supported the purchase of a baler for the primary hub, and operational startup funding to support new routes that will eventually serve residential recycling programs in as many as twenty-five (25) participating communities.
A Sustainable Drainage Solution Using Film and Flexibles - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
HydroBlox, a drainage solution company, creates permeable, durable products made entirely of postconsumer plastic, including difficult-to-recycle packaging like film and flexibles. A grant from the Coalition enabled the installation of a film and fiber shredder and necessary electrical upgrades, allowing the company to process an additional 3,000 tons of film and flexibles packaging annually, a 50% increase from its current capacity.
Are you a processor ready to improve your capture and sort capabilities?
Is your company ready to build scalable recycling solutions and a pathway to compliance in California?
Thank you to our partners and founding members.
