Smithers: The impact of recycling and waste on the packaging industry

Smithers reports that in 2024, 418-million tonnes of packaging garbage were produced globally, with 134-million tonnes of packaging materials being disposed of by landfilling, incineration, or environmental leakage. The report accounts that roughly 85% of all single-use plastic packaging winds up in landfills or as unregulated waste.

The global per capita consumption worldwide in 2024 amounts to 53-kilogrammes per person, out of which 36-kilogrammes are recycled, and 17-kilogrammes are disposed of.

The emphasis of the report is on the emerging theme of the critical and widening gap between the amount of packaging waste produced and the current global capacity to manage it sustainably.

Juan Rodriguez, who has authored the report, said, “The world is producing more packaging waste than its current systems can handle sustainably, leading to escalating environmental and economic burdens.”

According to projections, the amount of packaging waste is expected to continue its upward trajectory, along with recycling rates that are expected to increase slightly. 

The report investigates the transition of the packaging industry to a circular economy model, fuelled by regulatory challenges, technical innovation, shifting customer needs, and economic factors. The report emphasises the need for an urgent and quick shift to a circular economy paradigm.

Rodriguez said, “Technological innovation is pivotal across the packaging lifecycle, focusing on enhancing sustainability through improved recyclability.”

There is an examination of the impact of consumer behaviour, the availability and sufficiency of current infrastructure, the economic feasibility of recycling initiatives, the role of packaging design on its end-of-life management, the role of ongoing technological advancements in both recycling processes and disposal methods, a thorough evaluation of the effectiveness of policies, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes.

In addition, the report deals with questions about the impact of urbanisation on garbage rates, developments in technology to make packaging recyclable, how nations are trying to control packaging to cut waste without lowering the amount of packaging, and where the supply chain might see the biggest shifts in recycling rates.

The report acknowledges that developing efficient disposal plans requires an understanding of regional differences in factors, including population density, consumption trends, and economic situations.

Smithers highlights two opportunities in the industry. Firstly, chemical recycling technologies show promise for complex plastics, and secondly, advancements in recycling techniques, including plastic mechanical recycling, are enhanced by AI-driven sorting and improved washing.