Industry leaders back packaging data hub for unified recycling metrics

GLOBAL – Systemiq and Earth Action have launched the Packaging Data Hub, an analytics platform aimed at resolving long-standing variations in post-consumer plastic waste accounting, with Amcor and Colgate-Palmolive among the initial corporate partners backing the initiative.

Initial platform metrics show that roughly 18 percent of plastic packaging is recycled in practice across the 50 monitored countries. 

These jurisdictions collectively generate approximately 80 percent of global plastic packaging waste. 

Within this geographical footprint, flexible packaging accounts for an estimated 40 percent of plastic waste volumes yet records an actual recycling rate of only around 10 percent. 

The stark gap between volume and recovery highlights a persistent challenge in the packaging industry, where lightweight, multi-material flexible formats remain difficult to process in conventional recycling infrastructure.

EU Recycling Rate Falls Short of PPWR Target

The platform calculates the current European Union plastic packaging recycling rate at around 35 percent, well below the 55 percent target established for 2030 under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. 

This calculation falls below official EU baselines because the Hub registers material only after collection and sorting and processing losses have been deducted, isolating the net usable secondary polymer. 

The difference between official and net figures demonstrates how measurement methodology shapes perceived progress toward regulatory targets, and underscores the gap that producers must close through design changes, infrastructure investment and recycled-content sourcing.

EPR Correlates With Doubled Recovery Performance

Across low- and middle-income countries, the presence of extended producer responsibility regulations correlates with a doubling of recovery performance. 

This correlation supports policy arguments for producer-funded collection systems, though the relationship between regulation and outcome depends on enforcement, infrastructure maturity and informal sector integration.

Inaccurate Data Creates Financial and Regulatory Risk

Data inaccuracies pose direct financial and regulatory liabilities for corporate brand owners. Incomplete market intelligence can trigger misallocated capital spending, unwarranted product reformulations and exposure to scrutiny over unverified public claims. 

To counter these vulnerabilities, the system compiles unified metrics across 12 distinct plastic packaging configurations in 50 countries, covering estimated volumes entering commerce, tonnages collected for recovery, and final yields recycled in practice. 

The methodology was tested and approved by a technical advisory board featuring packaging specialists from Amcor, Colgate-Palmolive, Mars, Nestlé and Unilever, with strategic direction overseen by a steering committee comprising the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, WWF, CDP, WRAP, the Global Plastic Action Partnership and The Consumer Goods Forum.

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