The Latest

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    Photo illustration: Shaun Lucas/Industry Dive; Getty Images

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    Tracking packaging mergers and acquisitions in 2024

    Better Earth acquired software company Betterbin; Altor Solutions acquired Lifoam; Nordic Cold Chain Solutions acquired Minus Works; and Suzano acquired two facilities from Pactiv Evergreen.

    Updated Oct. 3, 2024
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    golubovy via Getty Images
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    Washington state fines 35 companies violating recycled plastic law

    Clorox, Ocean Spray and Albertsons are among the companies facing the highest penalties. Under the law, plastic beverage containers had to use at least 15% recycled content in 2023 and plastic trash bags had to contain 10%.

  • A large screen at an event shows a bubble graph of words that consumers believe makes a brand sustainable.
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    Katie Pyzyk/Packaging Dive
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    Consumers are confused by packaging sustainability claims

    Between greenwashing, confusing terminology and a lack of information, a lot gets lost in translation, according to speakers from the National Retail Federation, NielsenIQ and others at recent industry events.

  • A woman in a supermarket smiles and holds a smartphone above a carton
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    Courtesy of GreenBlue
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    How2Recycle Plus ready to take dynamic labels mainstream

    The new offering features a QR code so consumers can access localized recycling information. It will come at a higher price to brands than the more traditional How2Recycle Pro label. Danone will be the first to adopt it.

  • A box of Hot Pockets microwaveable sandwiches.
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    Permission granted by Nestlé USA
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    Packaging innovations: Hot Pockets go sleeveless, Henkel’s coating lightens dry food packaging

    Plus, hair care brand Overtone joins a Target sustainability initiative as it launches tubes with a new look and PCR.

  • Close-up shot of a food container with film that says recyclable.
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    K Neville via Getty Images
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    Deep Dive

    Hush-hush: Is greenwashing pushback prompting pivot to ‘greenhushing’?

    Companies must focus on data to back their sustainability claims instead of resorting to silence, or exaggerations, said sources from groups such as the U.S. Plastics Pact, Glass Packaging Institute and McCormick & Co.

  • Four speakers seated on a stage at the SPC Advance conference in Chicago on Oct. 1, 2024.
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    Maria Rachal/Packaging Dive
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    Paying their fair share: CAA and states detail approach to EPR enforcement

    The new CEO of Circular Action Alliance and state producer responsibility leads shared how they’ll collaborate on compliance and enforcement. A Colorado deadline this week brought a surge of producer registrations.

  • A view of vendor displays on the show floor at Pack Expo East at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia on March 20, 2024.
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    Maria Rachal/Packaging Dive
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    Packaging trade shows to watch in 2025

    Mark your calendar: These U.S. conferences and events will cover timely trends in sustainable packaging design, recycling technologies, regional market trends, substrate evolutions, automation and more.

  • Piles of organic material in the composting process, managed by a piece of heavy equipment
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    Mary Catherine O'Connor/Packaging Dive
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    BPI Summit highlights ongoing compostable packaging debate ahead of USDA decision

    World Centric, the California Compost Coalition, Athens Services, Dirt Hugger, A1 Organics, Moonshot Compost and others weighed in with their thoughts about this growing category of packaging.

  • Origin Materials' first commercial-scale plant for manufacturing CMF.
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    Permission granted by Origin Materials
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    Dart Container, Origin Materials announced workforce cuts in September

    New data shows U.S. manufacturing contracted and layoffs rose last month. News of workforce reductions by Berry Global and Origin cropped up in Canada, as well as at Dart’s corporate headquarters in Michigan.

  • A person in glasses and a long sleeve shirt stands on a stage in front of the word "Advance"
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    Permission granted by GreenBlue
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    The How2Recycle label is getting a new look

    The campaign to transform the instructional label program involves a refreshed design, enhanced data sources and partners handling different aspects of the system, and planning for greater investment in consumer education.

  • stacks of brown paper cups in a row in a coffeeshop setting
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    dmf87 via Getty Images
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    Pactiv Evergreen divests 2 facilities to Suzano for $110M

    The sale of sites in Arkansas and North Carolina is the culmination of a strategic review by Pactiv as the company also restructures its beverage and food merchandising businesses and explores footprint optimization.

    Updated Oct. 1, 2024
  • A lineup of plastic cleaning product containers without labels
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    tarasov_vl via Getty Images
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    Q&A

    What’s next for product certification amid concerns about PFAS and toxics in plastic

    Lagging regulation and a potential “toxic treadmill” with recycled content are viewed as just some of today’s pressing challenges. Clean Production Action Executive Director Mark Rossi reflects on two decades of change in the field.

  • A jar of pasta sauce sits next to boxes of pasta and cereal, with their date labels facing out, on a kitchen counter
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    Cole Rosengren/Packaging Dive
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    California Gov. Newsom signs food date label law, updates PCR reporting rules

    This marks the first state law requiring products to include standardized “best by” and “use by” language in an effort to reduce food waste. Newsom also acted on two microplastics-related bills.

  • Three people sit in chairs on a stage and one person stands at a podium, with a green background behind all of them that says Packaging Recycling Summit.
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    Katie Pyzyk/Packaging Dive
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    Insights from the 2024 Packaging Recycling Summit

    AI applications, recycled plastic supply and demand, and how brands are thinking about extended producer responsibility were among the topics Packaging Dive covered from this year’s event in California.

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    Courtesy of Nespresso
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    Nespresso spotlights aluminum in marketing campaign

    The Nestlé coffee brand timed the campaign to New York's Climate Week as it seeks to position itself as a more sustainable format than other single-use coffee products.

  • Two bottles of wine - one rose, one chardonnay - on a wood table with a charcutier board, and two empty wine glasses
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    Courtesy of Albertsons Companies
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    Packaging innovations: Bottle material changes from Albertsons and Johnnie Walker

    Plus, Cambio Roasters and Glatfelter debut new coffee pod packaging, while Sleever partners with Cambio for a biodegradable shrink sleeve.

  • A large screen at a conference shows how artificial intelligence works for recycling equipment.
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    Katie Pyzyk/Packaging Dive
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    Advancements push AI from jargon into practice for packaging management

    Glacier demonstrated at the Packaging Recycling Summit how it developed new AI models through partnerships with Colgate and Amazon to capture more recyclables at MRFs.

  • Styrofoam containers
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    Genevieve Isabelle via Getty Images
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    Research spotlights how food-contact chemicals found in packaging show up in humans

    Challenges with regulating food-contact chemicals and materials “are diverse and legislation often does not keep up with the latest scientific understanding,” researchers wrote in a widely covered scientific journal article.

  • A stack of molded fiber containers.
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    Permission granted by Renw
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    New molded fiber company will use industrial hemp as main feedstock

    Renw seeks to minimize reliance on forestry assets in packaging by expanding the growth of industrial hemp, which will be used as a feedstock at the company’s molded fiber production facilities.

  • A person speaks on a stage in front of a green background that says Packaging Recycling Summit.
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    Katie Pyzyk/Packaging Dive
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    Dan Felton to leave Ameripen, become Flexible Packaging Association’s CEO

    Felton will continue to advocate on behalf of packaging stakeholders, having worked through what he called “seismic shifts to the industry in terms of new laws and regulations” since 2020.

  • Close up view of corrugated cardboard
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    Photo illustration by Shaun Lucas/Packaging Dive; photograph by Vudhikul Ocharoen via Getty Images
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    Tracker

    Packaging manufacturers set big sustainability goals. How are they doing?

    Sappi North America released its 2023 sustainability report, which addresses its efforts to meet a 2030 emissions goal and expand its “renewable” paper-based packaging through facility investments and R&D.

    Updated Sept. 19, 2024
  • Driscoll's
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    Permission granted by Driscoll's
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    Thermoform reclamation rises along with rPET demand

    As one speaker at the Packaging Recycling Summit called thermoforms an “untapped source” for reclaimed PET, Rumpke Waste & Recycling plans to begin accepting the containers in curbside recycling.

  • Equipment at ExxonMobil's advanced recycling facility in Baytown, Texas
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    Courtesy of ExxonMobil
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    Lawsuits from California AG and others take aim at ExxonMobil’s chemical recycling claims

    Coordinated lawsuits target the company’s role in pollution and describe the limitations of mechanical and advanced recycling to manage waste. Packaging companies have partnered with ExxonMobil to source recycled plastics.

  • Bundled stacks of flat corrugated boxes.
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    samritk via Getty Images
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    Containerboard pricing holds steady as box demand sees uneven recovery

    The latest Fastmarkets RISI monthly data showed flat pricing for domestic containerboard. While Cascades is attempting its third price increase this year, so far others have not followed.