Insights from 394 CPG brand and retailer respondents indicate that the types of packaging they will use will change significantly over the next decade. Still, the groups are not predicting an overall contraction in the packaging industry. Despite the growing popularity of the plastic reduction movement and bans, the substrate "is not going away," Rebecca Marquez, director of custom research at PMMI, said in a webinar discussing the report's findings.
In fact, plastic dominates the current substrate use of respondents: 75% use plastic materials, 61% use paper, 14% use glass and 13% use metal. Despite recycling challenges, flexible plastic packaging is set to explode in the coming years, data suggests.
"No matter what language you see about plastics and how much you try to reduce them, plastics are going to continue to grow," said Rebecca Marquez. It’s that we need to increase opportunities for people to recycle these materials.” According to The Recycling Partnership data cited in the report, less than 2 percent of the U.S. population is currently able to recycle soft plastics at the curb.
Many respondents expressed plans to replace rigid plastics and metals with flexible plastics. They also expressed interest in moving from multi-material flexible packaging to a single material, which would improve recyclability.
In 2021, beverage packaging will account for 47.4% of the respondents' packaging volume, and food will account for 44.9%; other categories include personal care, household products and pet care, accounting for 7.7%. based on the breakdown of major food categories dominated by confectionery and savory snacks, “we really need to expect more films in smaller packaging sizes,” Marquez said, according to Mordor Intelligence, from 2028-2030, the compound annual growth rate of films The rate may reach 4%-6%, and the Flexible Packaging Association predicts that the compound annual growth rate of the entire plastic will be 3%-4%.
Certified products, such as corrugated and recycled paperboard, are also expected to increase in use.
One of the most interesting findings, the groups said in the webinar, is that CPGs and retailers expect their use of compostable paper and plastic materials to increase significantly, with a sharp rise expected by 2027 and a compound annual growth rate through 2032 It will reach 15%-16%. However, since compostable packaging currently only accounts for a small market share, this growth will not significantly affect the overall packaging volume.
The report warns that the U.S. currently does not have the infrastructure to support composting on this scale. Currently, 27 percent of Americans can compost at the curb, and 11 percent of composting services accept packaging. Some composting programs also don't accept compostable packaging due to pollution concerns, such as Colorado's A1 Organics, which will remove products from its list of acceptable materials starting next month.
Dan Felton, executive director of AMERIPEN, said in the webinar: "Clearly, we have an opportunity here to address an emerging and growing packaging component problem...We need to start the conversation now."
The webinar speaker explained that there is no single solution for end-of-life packaging and that establishing multiple approaches will be key to achieving greater recyclability and sustainability.