APR, ANIPAC partner to advance plastics recyclability, circular economy in Mexico

MEXICO – The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) and Mexico’s National Association of Plastics Industries (ANIPAC) have partnered to enhance plastics recyclability, encourage international design for recycling guidelines, and support the circular economy in Mexico.

APR will provide technical tools, training programs, and design criteria focused on enhancing packaging recyclability and strengthening markets for post-consumer recycled content.

Steve Alexander, president and CEO at APR, stated that collaboration among organizations across North America is fundamental to strengthening recycling infrastructure, promoting common technical standards, and accelerating the transition toward more circular and sustainable models for plastics. 

ANIPAC will contribute its reach and representation across the sector’s full supply chain while encouraging the adoption of international standards that increase the competitiveness of the industry.

Why Mexico Needs Design for Recycling Guidelines

Mexico’s plastics industry has grown significantly, but recycling infrastructure has not kept pace. 

Many packages are designed without consideration for end-of-life sorting, using multi-material structures, non-recyclable adhesives, or pigments that interfere with optical sorters. 

APR’s Design for Recyclability guidelines provide criteria for what makes a package recyclable: mono-material structures (all-PE or all-PP), removable labels, barrier coatings that do not contaminate the recycling stream, and avoidance of carbon black pigments that NIR sorters cannot detect. 

By adopting these guidelines, ANIPAC’s members can ensure that the packages they design today will be recyclable in the facilities of tomorrow.

Technical and Regulatory Exchange

The organizations point out that challenges related to waste management and regulation continue to gain importance. 

In response, the collaboration is set to facilitate the exchange of technical and regulatory information, as well as joint projects. 

Mexico has been developing its extended producer responsibility framework, with state-level EPR laws requiring producers to fund recycling systems. 

For Mexican packaging converters, access to APR’s technical resources provides guidance on how to meet those obligations without reinventing design standards from scratch.

From Design to Recyclate Markets

Strengthening markets for post-consumer recycled content means creating demand for the material that recyclers produce. 

If APR and ANIPAC’s design guidelines increase the supply of high-quality recyclate, but brand owners do not buy it, the system fails. 

The partnership includes work on market development, connecting recyclers with brand owners who have committed to using recycled content. 

Benjamín del Arco, president at ANIPAC, stated that this agreement represents a strategic step toward strengthening the competitiveness and sustainability of Mexico’s plastics industry, adding that the adoption of international design for recyclability guidelines allows the industry to advance toward more efficient solutions aligned with market needs and current environmental challenges, while providing greater technical certainty to all stakeholders across the value chain.

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