The Packaging Data Hub reveals that only 18% of plastic packaging is recycled in practice across 50 countries representing 80% of global plastic waste, with significant variations by country, packaging format, and whether extended producer responsibility schemes are in place.
- Only 18% of plastic packaging is recycled across 50 countries covering 80% of global plastic packaging waste
- Flexible packaging represents 40% of plastic waste but has just 10% recycling rates
- Low- and middle-income countries achieve twice as high recycling rates where EPR schemes exist
- The EU recycles 35% of plastic packaging, falling short of the 2030 mandatory target of 55%
- The platform tracks 12 plastic packaging formats across countries using data from 100+ vetted sources to support corporate strategy, regulatory compliance, and ESG reporting
Systemiq and Earth Action launched a new data platform to tackle gaps in packaging recycling data.
Based on the data currently in the Hub, approximately 18% of plastic packaging is recycled in practice across the 50 countries it covers, which together account for around 80% of the world's plastic packaging waste.
Across these markets, flexible packaging makes up around 40% of plastic packaging waste, yet only around 10% is currently recycled. In low- and middle-income countries, recycling rates are around twice as high where EPR schemes are in place. The EU recycles around 35% of its plastic packaging, against a 2030 mandatory target of 55% under the PPWR.
Systemiq
Key takeaways:
· The platform brings together harmonized, comparable data on 50 countries and 12 plastic packaging formats, giving companies, policymakers, investors and environmental organizations a shared picture of what happens to packaging after use.
· Corporate partners Amcor and Colgate-Palmolive helped shape, test and validate the methodology behind the Packaging Data Hub through its Technical Advisory Board, alongside Mars, Nestlé, Unilever and others.
· It draws on more than 100 vetted public and proprietary sources, alongside data-sharing partnerships with producer responsibility organizations, recyclers, materials recovery facilities and other operators.
· Users can search, compare and download data by country, packaging format and year. The platform estimates the volumes of packaging entering each market, collected for recycling and recycled in practice, going beyond broad material averages to give a more detailed view of individual formats.
· For packaging teams, this means being able to compare the performance of a particular format across markets, set their packaging strategy, identify where to investigate or invest, and report with figures they can explain and defend, while preparing for regulations such as the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and California’s SB 54, and the extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes.
· The same data can support voluntary reporting, such as CDP and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Global Commitment, Scope 3 calculations and ESG disclosures.
