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As global plastics treaty talks falter, food and beverage brands are finding ways to take action independently, using smarter packaging design, data insights and technology to boost recyclability, reduce reliance on virgin plastics and drive circularity in their supply chains. By tackling these challenges now, companies can stay ahead of regulations and consumer expectations. Yaseed Chaumoo, managing director at waste analytics platform Greyparrot, explores.

As recent global plastics treaty discussions drew to a close once again without an agreement, it’s clear there’s a gap between ambition and accountability. Major players who stand to gain more from continued plastics production backed recycling infrastructure, whilst countries bearing the brunt from the growing pollution crisis urged for production cuts. With no clear consensus reached and the negotiations dissolving into disagreement, brands have been left without clarity on next steps.

As these global treaty discussions show, diplomatic compromises and delays can often hinder meaningful steps towards circularity. Facing EPR fees and growing pressure from consumers to adopt better packaging practices, the lack of a binding treaty will leave brands considering what action they can or should take independently. In the absence of regulatory cohesion, private sector players can make progress of their own.

What this means for the F&B industry

Food and beverage industry leaders have rightfully been asking for clarity on plastics regulation. Without a significant plastics treaty, fragmented market frameworks can disrupt investment strategies, confuse packaging design requirements and slow down progress on reducing plastic waste. In a bid to counter this, brands and producers have formed their own call for action.

Convened by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and WWF, the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty counts 300+ members including Unilever, PepsiCo, Mars and Coca-Cola. It represents an industry-wide stance calling for concrete action on plastic production and a clear path forward for packaging design requirements. For global brands, having consistent regulation across borders simplifies how they can shape international investment and packaging design strategies.

Despite the lack of an agreement on a global forum likely stalling progress on plastic reduction, the Business Coalition is a positive indication that brands aren’t willing to let this be the case.

The production vs recycling debate

There is no question that an effective treaty would have agreed both a cap on plastics production and improvement in recycling infrastructure. However, historically the entire plastic supply chain is skewed towards production of virgin plastics. Virgin plastic is often cheaper than materials like rPET and rHDPE, and until now there has been little financial incentive for brands and packaging producers to choose the recycled version.

As the plastics crisis grows, we are starting to see small shifts. The impact of regulation like extended producer responsibility (EPR) and plastics packaging taxes are beginning to tip the balance. A binding agreement that caps virgin plastic production would have helped stack the deck further in favour of recyclates.

However, in its absence, we anticipate seeing brands leaning into regulatory incentives like EPR fees and taxes, and benchmarking against the industry to help drive their decision making. Coca-Cola is often seen as a pioneer in recycled materials, completing itsexpansion of 100% recycled PET bottles nationwide in January this year.

The challenge facing the plastics supply chain is both upstream (considering materials and blends) and downstream (where we look at the challenges around sortability and recyclability). Choosing recyclates has a better outcome for the whole waste journey, and the initial upfront cost shouldn’t deter brands. Products designed for recovery and recyclability are easier to sort and reuse, helping divert waste from landfill and incineration. More efficient recovery means a steady stream of high-quality material back into the circular economy.

The role of technology and data

As recycling operations adopt AI waste analytics and sorting automation, these technologies are playing a critical role in tackling the plastics crisis. Innovations are boosting efficiency in facilities and increasing the supply of higher-quality recyclates to feed back into the plastics chain. And as AI computer vision sees and classifies waste for operational purposes, a powerful byproduct is the ability to generate packaging recyclability data at the brand level -unlocking a database of insights the industry has never had before.

The waste industry has previously lacked digitisation and less than 1% of waste is properly measured, leading to huge data blind spots. This missing insight into packaging’s end-of-life has resulted in a fractured ecosystem and recyclers have been unable to collect data at scale that would provide strategy-level guidance to food and beverage leaders.

The persistent data gap for post-consumer products has forced many brands to rely on assumptions or one-off tests to measure their packaging design performance in recovery facilities. This poses a particular challenge when it comes to well-intentioned brands that turn to plastic alternatives like composite drinks cartons and 'compostables'.

In 2022, a UK study revealed that 60% of home-compostable plastics don’t fully disintegrate in home compost bins and inevitably end up in our soil. And for the compostables that do make it to the recycling facilities, our infrastructure isn’t established to process them efficiently, meaning that most of these products end up in landfills and incinerators. By contrast, data exploring the recovery and sortability of two plastic water bottle companies found that small design tweaks – like shape, label size and crush resistance – contributed to a 3.7% higher recovery rate than the industry average.

Packaging designers need the data from the waste facilities themselves, to gain a better understanding of what good design for circularity looks like. And beyond data, implementing innovation and new technology from the very start of a product’s waste journey can have a profound effect. From systems that monitor the fill-level of rubbish bins and dumpsters, to recycling robots that make waste sorting more efficient, to AI waste analytics throughout sorting facilities, the waste sector is steadily improving.

We need to see collaborative efforts

Above all, the industry needs clarity. The coalition of businesses and pioneers leading the charge in the brand space shows that there is a shared interest in a more sustainable, circular relationship with plastics. However, brands need to know where to spend their resources, so they don’t fall foul of future regulations. A global plastics treaty could eventually provide a binding policy and framework for all key players, but without it we can’t stall progress.

A more transparent, collaborative packaging value chain is in the interest of producers, policymakers and the waste sector. Improving recycling infrastructure, using materials that are easier to recover, and recognising where technology can be a support will all be vital components as we continue to fight the plastics crisis. Brands can make meaningful progress on circularity, provide the waste sector with a steadier stream of recyclable material, and reduce our overall dependence on virgin plastics. All without relying on a global treaty to cap production.