The Recycling Partnership (The Partnership) announced a $4.25 million grant to FCC Environmental Services’ materials recovery facility (MRF) in Houston, Texas, to improve its ability to recycle film and flexible packaging (FFP). The Partnership’s grant, supported by PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz, and the Film and Flexibles Recycling Coalition, will enable a facility retrofit to recover incidental FFP, address cross-contamination of other recyclable commodities, create high-quality bales, and offer key data and learnings for building a roadmap to scaling FFP recycling.

FFP plays a critical role in the food and beverage industry, providing a safe and effective barrier for products and offering convenience and extended shelf life for consumers. FFP, such as plastic bags, pouches, and wraps, makes up 34 percent of the total U.S. plastics packaging industry, yet it has an incredibly low annual recycling rate. This is largely due to the complexities of recycling FFP due to disruptions in recycling equipment and contamination of other recyclable commodities such as paper, high processing costs, and limited end-market demand, which have led to reluctance by both communities and processors to accept FFP in their local programs and facilities.

“Plastic film and flexible packaging are widely used but have historically been excluded from curbside recycling due to processing limitations and contamination concerns,” said John Rabon, Vice President of Recycling at FCC. This upgrade represents an important step forward—offering Houston residents new opportunities to recycle more and reduce what ends up in the landfill. While still early, the initiative is designed to strengthen material recovery for the City of Houston and provide learnings that can help guide scalable, sustainable solutions across the country.”

Investments to build recycling infrastructure for FFP are critical as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation has been passed in seven states, including California, the world’s fourth-largest economy, whose requirements will impact packaging supply chains nationwide. EPR is creating pressure to significantly increase the FFP recycling rate, which could lead to steep fines or potential product bans. Partnerships with companies like PepsiCo and Kraft Heinz, and facilities like FCC, are essential steps toward creating scalable solutions to help the industry meet EPR compliance requirements.

“To meet these mandates effectively, investment now in the supply chain to turn FFP into new products is critical,” said Kate Davenport, Chief Impact Officer at The Recycling Partnership. “That is why we founded the Film and Flexibles Recycling Coalition and its new CalFFlex initiative, aiming to address the long-standing challenges of FFP collection, enhance effective processing, and drive demand for these recycled materials. By awarding our largest single grant to an individual MRF, we are developing solutions to demonstrate how effective capture and higher quality at this stage of the value chain could provide feedstock for burgeoning markets to use to make new recycled products and thus provide key data to inform compliance pathways and focused interventions.”