Composting Consortium impact report highlights half a decade of impact across cross-sector research, field testing and industry collaboration on compostable packaging recovery and composting infrastructure in the U.S.

The Closed Loop Center for the Circular Economy’s latest report maps realistic pathways to recover more prescription pill bottles—starting with lower-risk opportunities for bulk packer bottles and building toward longer-term solutions for consumer-facing prescription pill bottles.

This report supports Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs), regulatory agencies and legislative staff in developing thoughtful EPR programs and EPR investment strategies.

This report explores the opportunities and challenges for repair, reuse & resale for toys in the U.S.

The guide shares best practices for recycling facilities to optimize operations as Extended Producer Responsibility laws accelerate.

In this report, we spotlight several important regions across the U.S. where our work to build density and scale circular solutions has pushed past the linear economy, accelerating a circular economy powered by local communities and supply chains, and positioned for global reach and connection.

More than 330 communities and 12 states across the U.S. have enacted legislation to reduce the environmental harms of single-use plastic bags—from litter and marine pollution to material recovery challenges. But what types of policies actually work, and under what conditions?

Demand for recycled food-grade PP is growing, driven by policy shifts­­ and brand commitments to incorporate more recycled materials in their packaging. But a significant lack of data on the available volumes of recycled food-grade PP in the recycling system has made it difficult to amass sufficient quantities of food-grade PP to meet growing market demand.

Every day, 225,000 tons of single-use packaging are used in the U.S. Research and in-market tests over the last decade have shown the importance of reuse in recovering material value and reducing single-use waste. Retail stores––as central hubs of consumer interaction––are uniquely positioned to lead this transition to reuse.

Insights and impact from the nation’s first citywide program to offer reusable to-go cups to every customer with no deposits or fees.

This report examines the challenges and opportunities in recovering small-format rigid plastics, providing insights into collection systems, processing technologies..

Cultivating new habits that reduce waste is hard, but the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag is laying the foundation to make this possible.

Municipalities––counties, cities and more––play a critical role in developing robust composting infrastructure and collection programs that divert organics from landfill

This report by the Composting Consortium dives deep into the current state of food waste composting infrastructure in the U.S., explores investment opportunities and offers policy recommendations to accelerate the scaling of this critical infrastructure. Our focus centers on commercial-scale composting facilities with the capacity to accept the most complex organics streams, including post-consumer food scraps alongside food-contact compostable packaging.

The built environment—those man-made structures where we live, work and play—casts a profound impact on our quality of life and well-being.

The Compost Policy Toolkit offers valuable insights for navigating the complexities of compostable packaging policy and food waste diversion.

This policy brief explains the role that policy can play to support robust compost end markets, enrich soil quality and promote sustainable practices.

Does compostable packaging successfully break down in commercial compost systems?

A study to assess the extent to which compostable packaging is currently processed within existing large-scale AD infrastructure in the U.S. The analysis, done in partnership with BioCycle and Target Renewables, LLC., was focused on those facilities that process hundreds to thousands of tons of organic waste per day.

The study examines five commonly held assumptions about contamination and compostable packaging, and breaks down in-field realities in a data-backed and easy-to-follow format.

This policy brief explains the importance of conducting needs assessments for EPR that account for composting infrastructure and compostable packaging. 

In the transition to a circular economy––one where waste is eliminated, materials are circulated, and nature is regenerated––we need to consider the key role of one of the earliest forms of material cycling: composting.

In this report, we present our learnings on reusable packaging from the perspective of U.S.-based customers, providing a glimpse into prevailing attitudes and the factors shaping this rapidly evolving landscape.

In this report, we focus on paper cup recovery, by assessing critical nodes of the paper cup recovery value chain—paper mills, material recovery facilities, brands, consumers and local communities—to demonstrate how, together, these stakeholders can sustain a market for paper cup recycling. Each has a unique and critical role to play in enabling cup recycling.

In our 2023 impact report, the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag shares key learnings—from year one to three—walking through our iterative process of identifying possible solutions, testing them in-market and learning from these tests with the ultimate goal of broader implementation to reach scale. These lessons learned and impact highlights lay the foundation for ongoing work to reinvent in the retail bag in the coming years.

This policy brief explains the importance of clear and consistent labeling designs standards for compostable packaging to reduce packaging waste, outlining 5 recommended actions for policymakers.

Our report unpacks effective design and labeling techniques to improve the proper diversion of food-contact compostable packaging to the appropriate material stream.

The Playbook highlights 25 tactical and proven bag waste reduction strategies sourced from 16 retailers in and outside the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag that can drive near-term, positive environmental impact and cost savings.

In this report, Beyond the Plastic Bag, the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag shares key insights and analysis gathered from collaborative reusable bag pilots conducted across select CVS Health, Target and Walmart stores throughout Northern California in 2021.

This report assesses the current state of molecular recycling technologies across the United States and Canada, examining technological capabilities, market readiness, and regulatory frameworks.

The goal of this report is to reflect the current landscape of technology providers focused on converting waste plastics into a variety of safe and high-quality materials, as well as the scale of opportunity for these providers to meet demand.

In the report, the investment firm and innovation center outlines key lessons learned and shares a blueprint and open-source resource to encourage collaboration and the growth of reuse models.

As part of our Advancing Circular Systems for Plastics & Packaging Initiative, Closed Loop Partners published Navigating Plastic Alternatives in a Circular Economy to demystify the rapidly growing and evolving landscape of plastic alternatives, with a focus on bio-based plastics, biopolymers and compostable products and packaging.

The seminal report on the single-use retail bag assessing the current context of the bag spanning consumer behavior, alternative materials, legislation and new innovative solutions on the horizon.