FPA opposes New York’s 75% packaging recycling mandate

USA – The Flexible Packaging Association has opposed New York’s proposed EPR legislation, warning that a 75 percent plastic packaging recycling rate by 2055 combined with an explicit ban on advanced recycling technologies would be unattainable, increase consumer costs, and disrupt the state’s supply chain.

The legislation also requires a 30 percent reduction in flexible plastic packaging and mandates that post-consumer recycled content be sourced exclusively from domestic US suppliers, a restriction the association says will create product shortages and compliance challenges that are effectively impossible to meet. 

The bills also require producers to bear all of New York’s recycling costs, rather than the shared funding models used in other states.

The Problem with the 75 Percent Mandate

Flexible packaging, stand-up pouches, flow wraps, and laminated films, is designed to be lightweight, durable, and protective. 

Those same properties make it difficult to recycle in conventional mechanical systems. Advanced recycling technologies (chemical recycling) break down flexible plastics into their molecular components, producing feedstocks for new plastics. 

By banning advanced recycling while mandating 75 percent recycling rates, the legislation sets a target that flexible packaging cannot meet with existing infrastructure.

Dan Felton, president and CEO of the FPA, explained that among the association’s concerns is that even with recent amendments, this legislation will eliminate the flexible packaging that keeps essential consumer food and other products safe and sanitary. 

He noted that retailers and consumers face increased product damage, higher replacement costs, and less reliable shelf availability.

Producer Funding Without Shared Responsibility

Unlike packaging EPR laws in other states, which share costs between producers, local governments, and recycling processors, New York’s proposal places the entire financial burden on producers. 

In areas where local governments opt out of providing recycling services, producers would face unpredictable disposal expenses with no cap. 

The FPA says it supports a circular economy and is calling for a science-backed EPR program that recognizes the environmental benefits of flexible packaging and invests in real-world recycling infrastructure.

When the Solution Bans the Technology Needed to Solve It

A recycling target that excludes the only technology capable of reaching it is not a mandate, it is a prohibition. New York’s proposed EPR bill would require flexible packaging to be recycled at 75 percent while banning the chemical recycling processes that make that rate possible. 

The FPA’s opposition is not about avoiding responsibility; it is about being asked to climb a mountain with no equipment.

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