At a Glance
- Closed-loop recycling keeps materials in use — a PET clamshell becomes another clamshell, not carpet fiber.
- The main issue isn’t tech, it’s collection — recyclers lack a clean, consistent material supply.
- Local systems and smart design (APR guidelines, no black or mixed materials) can keep recycling truly circular.
- Real progress needs access, economics, and behavior — ask “Will this get recycled?” not just “Is it recyclable?”
You’ve probably heard “closed-loop recycling” thrown around in sustainability meetings (unless you weren’t paying attention). Maybe you’ve even used it in marketing materials. But here’s what most people don’t realize: There’s a massive gap between packaging that’s technically recyclable and packaging that actually gets recycled into something useful.
Most food packaging isn’t making the round trip back to food packaging. It’s either ending up in landfills or getting turned into park benches and carpet fibers — which is still recycling, sure, but it’s not closing any loop.
This week, we spoke with Conor Carlin, Founder and President of Clefs Advisory LLC, a leading voice in sustainable packaging solutions. As the 2024 President of the Society of Plastics Engineers and former North American General Manager at ILLIG, Conor has established himself as an authority in packaging sustainability and innovation. With specialized knowledge spanning sustainable materials, advanced packaging technologies, recycling solutions, environmental policy, commercial strategy development, and packaging industry market intelligence, Conor operates at the critical intersection of packaging innovation and environmental sustainability.
So what does “closed loop” actually mean? Why does it matter for your business? And more importantly, what’s actually working right now? Let’s take a deeper look into the current state of recycling in the U.S. and how close we are to truly closing the loop.
What Is Closed-Loop Recycling Anyway?
Okay, let’s start with the basics. The concept of a “closed loop” comes from nature in its simplest form. A leaf falls off a tree, breaks down, and feeds the soil that nourishes the same tree. Nothing wasted. Everything cycles back, and “The Circle of Life” from The Lion King is heard by all.
For packaging, “closed loop” means a bottle becomes a bottle again. Your PET clamshell becomes another clamshell. And when your berry container gets recycled into carpet fiber? That’s recycling, but it’s not closed loop. That material just left the packaging world forever.
Closed loop keeps materials at their highest value. A bottle is worth much more as another bottle than as carpet padding.
Why Doesn’t More Stuff Actually Get Recycled?
It’s a fair question. Here’s something that might surprise you: Recycling facilities aren’t the problem (though it is troublesome when the infrastructure doesn’t exist, as it is with many regions across the nation). Many recyclers report running well below full capacity. They could handle significantly more material without buying new equipment.
The real issue? They can’t get enough recyclable material.
According to a study conducted by Resource Recycling Systems (RSS), U.S. recyclers are operating well below capacity — able to process nearly 2 billion more pounds of post-consumer plastic each year without new equipment — but can’t get enough clean, collected material due to limited recycling access, inconsistent collection, and high contamination rates.
Let’s pause for a moment: This is where a critical distinction often gets missed. Collection, sorting, and recycling are three separate steps, each headed by different responsible parties, and failure at any one of them breaks the system.
Collection is simply whether materials are picked up at all through curbside or drop-off programs, provided (or not) by municipalities, and varies in existence and frequency by region. Sorting is what happens next, when materials are identified, separated, and prepared at a Material Recovery Facility (MRF), which may be privately owned — meaning sorting capabilities will vary between MRFs. Recycling only happens after that — but by material. This means that when a MRF separates glass from other products, it goes to a glass recycling facility, when it separates PET from other products, it goes to a PET recycling facility, and so on.
When people say something “isn’t getting recycled,” the breakdown usually happens long before the recycling stage ever begins.
Large portions of the country still don’t have access to collection and/or sorting programs, and consequently, less access to recycling. Where recycling exists, collection may be spotty.
Think about the journey your packaging needs to make: It’s used, collected, sorted, cleaned, reprocessed, and turned into something new. Materials can fall out of the loop at every stage.
What Makes Closed-Loop Systems Actually Work?
The systems that work best keep things local. Shipping recyclables across the country — or across oceans — defeats the purpose. You’re burning fuel and racking up costs to move materials around.
Smaller, regional recycling centers make more sense than giant centralized facilities. When collection, sorting, and reprocessing happen close together, the economics and environmental math work.
PET bottles are probably the best example. Most bottles claiming high-recycled content actually came from other bottles. The collection systems exist. The technology works. High-fives all around for sustainability!
But even this has limits — sorry to cut the celebration short. When states set ambitious recycled content mandates, the available supply often falls short. The ambition is there. The collected material isn’t always keeping pace, even if proper sorting systems are in place at MRFs.
Does Package Design Really Matter That Much?
Yes, big time.
Your design choices today determine whether your packaging can close the loop tomorrow. The Association of Plastics Recyclers has clear guidelines — they’re the difference between packaging that gets recycled and packaging that pretends to be recyclable.
Avoid problematic elements: Certain inks, dyes, labels, adhesives, and multi-material constructions can all cause major issues.
Black packaging deserves special mention. For years, sorting equipment couldn’t see black materials. The technology’s improved (only for MRFs that have the sorting capabilities to identify black plastic), but black can only become black. You can’t lighten it or change the color. This devalues black recyclables and limits what they can become next.
What’s Standing in the Way of Closed-Loop Recycling Success?
Three big things: Access, money, and people.
Access is foundational. You could design the world’s most recyclable package, but recycling can only happen after a material is collected and sorted. If a package isn’t picked up through local collection systems in the first place, it never has the chance to be recycled.
This is where access breaks down. Rural areas often lack adequate collection and sorting infrastructure because distances are too great and populations too sparse to make curbside pickup or centralized sorting facilities economically viable. As a result, many materials that are technically recyclable never even enter the recycling stream.
Economics creates another barrier. Virgin plastic often costs less than recycled content. Without mandates or strong consumer demand, companies choose the cheaper option. Let’s also not forget that virgin is easier to process.
Then there’s behavior. There are tens of thousands of different polymer grades. Consumers can barely tell the difference between the main types. They often practice “wishcycling”—tossing stuff in the blue bin and hoping for the best. This contaminates entire bales of good material.
What’s Actually Working Right Now?
Mandatory recycled content requirements may push things forward, even when the targets seem aggressive. These mandates create demand that collection systems then scramble to meet. The idea is that if you mandate it, the infrastructure will evolve to supply it. We’ll see how that plays out.
Food waste programs deserve a mention here, too. Organics make up a huge portion of what goes into U.S. landfills — often more than you’d expect. Communities collecting food scraps and yard waste separately keep methane out of landfills and create useful compost instead. That’s a loop that actually makes sense to regular people.
So, What Should You Actually Do to Close the Loop?
Start by asking better questions. Don’t just ask, “Is it recyclable?” Ask “Will anyone actually recycle this?” and “What happens to it next?”
A technically recyclable package that never gets collected accomplishes nothing. Ask harder questions: Where will consumers recycle this? What infrastructure exists in your markets? Can this realistically return to food-grade use?
Follow design guidelines from groups like APR. They’re based on what actually works in real sorting facilities.
Think about geography. If most customers live somewhere without proper recycling access, your recyclable packaging claims ring hollow. You might need different approaches for different regions.
Be honest about limitations. The gap between what is technically recyclable and what is actually recycled today remains significant — often because collection volumes, sorting access, or end-market demand aren’t yet there.
That doesn’t mean materials with future potential shouldn’t be collected. In many cases, continued collection is what enables recycling infrastructure to develop by building volume, data, and economic viability over time. The risk comes when brands present future-ready materials as if they’re already being recycled at scale.
Consumers and regulators are quick to spot that kind of overreach. It’s better to be transparent about what’s working now, what’s still developing, and where real progress is being made — rather than making claims that can’t yet be backed up.
Closed-loop recycling isn’t a perfect solution. It’s a better direction. Our packaging systems are still young. We’re figuring this out as we go.
The goal isn’t perfection tomorrow. It’s building systems that work at scale, in real communities, with economics that make sense. That’s a loop worth closing.
Are you interested in learning more about food packaging and sustainability? Visit our Learning Center today and explore a variety of topics.
Would you like to know more about Conor Carlin and his work at Clefs Advisory LLC? Connect with him on LinkedIn today.
