Materials

  • Three small cartons with pull rings on top that have messaging for various dairy products.
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    Katie Pyzyk/Packaging Dive
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    Packaging innovations: Tetra Pak squares up food cartons, Hormel slims down bacon portions

    Plus, American Packaging Corp. cubes out its flexible pouches.

    By • Nov. 6, 2026
  • Large rolls of fiber material on industrial equipment inside a manufacturing facility.
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    Katie Pyzyk/Packaging Dive
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    DOJ subpoenas Smurfit Westrock, IP, PCA, Cascades over containerboard pricing

    The action is related to a grand jury investigation, the companies disclosed this week. They’re also still defendants in an ongoing class-action price-fixing lawsuit.

    By • Updated Nov. 6, 2026
  • A close-up view of corrugated boxes that are banded together and stacked.
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    Getty Images
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    Containerboard production still down in Q3, with some improvement

    For the second consecutive quarter, the rate of decline slowed for North American containerboard production. Meanwhile, overall North American boxboard production showed a slight increase in Q3.

    By • Nov. 2, 2026
  • A round aluminum food tray has a pouch in it with folded lids.
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    Permission granted by Wyda Packaging USA
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    Wyda rethinks its aluminum container packaging

    The Brazilian aluminum trays specialist took inspiration from baseball card packaging when developing a product for the U.S. market, where it’s eyeing further expansion in the coming years.

    By • Oct. 30, 2026
  • A trade show booth with manufacturing equipment and branding for TemperPack.
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    Katie Pyzyk/Packaging Dive
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    Q&A

    TemperPack CEO talks biomaterial R&D with Cruz Foam acquisition

    Peter Wells discusses the company’s broader M&A strategy, approach to AI, an upcoming advancement from cold chain to “warm chain,” and why he’s excited to get a “B.”

    By • Updated Oct. 21, 2026
  • A sealed brown cardboard box with a white shipping label and packing tape sits on a red and silver metal conveyor belt system in a warehouse. Background includes industrial shelving, other packages, and factory equipment. The floor is polished red and the setting is brightly lit.
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    Alamy
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    Containerboard prices flat in October following September bump

    Sources expect containerboard producers will continue implementing their third round of 2026 price increases into next year. Meanwhile, some analysts predict another hike in the coming months.

    By • Oct. 19, 2026
  • Green plastic bottles on a conveyor belt.
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    Group4 Studio via Getty Images
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    Sponsored by Rittal and Eplan

    Building the foundation for traceability: How Rittal and Eplan support safer, smarter food and beverage packaging lines

    Catching a CPG recall early requires infrastructure built for traceability and hygiene from day one.

    Oct. 19, 2026
  • A blue-green plastic pouch features messaging for a product called "LinearEdge."
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    Permission granted by Dow
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    Dow, APC partner on ‘easy tear’ MDO-PE film

    American Packaging Corp. spent nine months partnering with Dow on R&D for a monomaterial polyethylene that offers consumers a cleaner tear. APC sees an “urgent” need for this product in confectionery, snacks and beyond.

    By • Updated Oct. 14, 2026
  • A close-up view of various old corrugated boxes that are flattened.
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    Getty Images
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    Amid push for recycled fiber packaging, virgin demand remains strong

    Customer requests for recycled fiber are growing, but virgin still plays an important role. “Without sourced virgin fiber coming into the system, at some point all of the fiber is too short to make boxes,” said a Smurfit Westrock leader.

    By April Reese • Oct. 12, 2026
  • Three fiber-based cans have branding for Cheez-It and Club crackers on the outside.
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    Courtesy of Mars Snacking
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    Packaging innovations: Sonoco’s snack hack for Mars, Amcor flips for pet food

    Plus, R.R. Donnelley launches a paper mailer, Veritiv introduces a compact solution for GLP-1 shipments and Pregis adds a metallized polyethylene sealant film.

    By • Oct. 1, 2026
  • Person holding hamburger in a wrapper
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    Getty Images
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    Federal legislation would nix PFAS in food packaging

    This is the second time around for the Keep Food Containers Safe from PFAS Act. More than a dozen states have already passed laws restricting PFAS in packaging, but the federal government so far hasn’t taken such action.

    By • Sept. 29, 2026
  • Close-up view of the edge of flattened corrugated boxes, showing the corrugating medium between the linerboard layers.
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    Getty Images
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    Third time’s the charm? Index partially recognizes latest containerboard price hikes

    This is the first month that Fastmarkets RISI recognized North American containerboard producers’ most recent price hikes — the third such wave in 2026.

    By • Sept. 18, 2026
  • tan plastic bags at a grocery store checkout
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    Getty Images
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    Plastics get pulled into tariff turmoil

    Plastic bags, lids and caps are among products listed at a 50% tariff rate, but there's still confusion. “It's up to the exporters and importers to identify what the correct codes are,” said a packaging and logistics analyst.

    By • Sept. 17, 2026
  • Juice cartons with red screw cap in supermarket shelf.
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    Getty Images
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    Mill survey shapes polycoated paper recycling design guidance

    The guide considers white and brown fiber mill compatibility. PCPA wants it to be reflected in Circular Action Alliance’s California program plan.

    By • Updated Sept. 18, 2026
  • A close-up view of several flexible paper pouches.
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    Getty Images
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    6 CPGs team up on paper flexibles R&D

    Colgate-Palmolive, Nestlé and PepsiCo are among the CPGs focusing on small-format, recyclable and biodegradable flexible fiber packaging. Such solutions “do not exist today” at scale, per the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

    By • Sept. 16, 2026
  • A close-up view of stacked PET water bottles.
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    Getty Images
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    NAPCOR envisions cutting PET bottle life-cycle emissions 57% by 2050

    Lightweighting is a leading strategy to accelerate decarbonization. Srinivasan Prabhushankar, technical director at NAPCOR, highlighted "credible methodologies where the proof is there that this is achievable."

    By • Sept. 15, 2026
  • Atlantic Packaging
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    Permission granted by Atlantic Packaging
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    Passing the sniff test: Overcoming PCR’s odor and color challenges

    Sensory issues related to scent and tint pose unique hurdles for brands looking to incorporate more recycled plastic in consumer goods packaging. It’s spurring more creative applications for PCR.

    By Shefali Kapadia • Sept. 15, 2026
  • Four different colored tubes of Colgate toothpaste with the message "Recycle Me!" printed on the tubes.
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    Courtesy of Colgate-Palmolive
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    Judge sets date for Colgate toothpaste tube recyclability trial

    Attorneys now indicate they plan to subpoena MRFs and waste management companies, including WM and Republic Services, for additional information.

    By • Sept. 14, 2026
  • A tightly packed bale of crushed plastic bottles, compressed into a rectangular block and wrapped in clear plastic film. The bale contains various colored plastic bottles, flattened and compacted together, ready for recycling.
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    Alamy
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    New Jersey delays PCR requirements for food-contact packaging to 2030

    The state’s Department of Environmental Protection said technologies still don’t exist at scale to reliably meet the requirements. The Association of Plastic Recyclers disagreed, citing concerns about stranded assets.

    By Marissa Heffernan • Sept. 11, 2026
  • Stacks of flattened pizza boxes move across a production line in a manufacturing facility.
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    Katie Pyzyk/Packaging Dive
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    Smurfit Westrock, Pratt seek investigation into ‘unfairly traded’ pizza box imports

    The two companies petitioned the U.S. International Trade Commission and Department of Commerce to investigate and deliver duties for pizza boxes imported from three countries.

    By • Sept. 10, 2026
  • Stacks of cardboard boxes in a logistics center
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    Getty Images
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    Fastmarkets RISI plans to add corrugated box cost index

    This is a “major development” that could affect the decades-old model for monthly corrugated pricing, according to analysts. The public has less than a month to provide comments about the proposal.

    By • Sept. 9, 2026
  • Two people in protective gear shift through various-sized pieces of metal on a wooden table.
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    Alamy
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    In the bin or not? How MRF operators decide which packaging to take.

    As EPR laws and reputational concerns drive brands to push for their product packaging in accepted material lists, those debates have grown more complex.

    By Marissa Heffernan • Sept. 9, 2026
  • A knife next to a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and a PBR box featuring a Jason Voorhees cut-out mask.
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    Courtesy of Pabst Blue Ribbon
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    Packaging innovations: PBR creates fear with beer

    Plus, BW Converting makes pet food pouring easier, Green Food Pack Co. wants consumers to give their paper cups a spin and Ahlstrom creates a path to grease resistance.

    By • Sept. 4, 2026
  • A person in a hard hat inspects a bale of recyclables
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    Getty Images
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    Paper, cardboard recycling rates were flat in 2025: AF&PA

    Recycling rates held steady despite declines in U.S. paper and paperboard production in 2025, which illustrates the industry’s resilience, according to the American Forest & Paper Association.

    By • Aug. 31, 2026
  • U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
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    Evelyn Hockstein via Getty Images
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    Packaging industry braces for impacts from U.S.-Canada trade war

    Trade associations representing manufacturers of fiber, metal and glass packaging weighed in on expected effects — mainly higher costs — that could affect companies along both countries’ supply chains.

    By • Aug. 26, 2026