October 14, 2025, New York, NY – Today, Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy (“the Closed Loop Center”), in collaboration with American Beverage, releases a new best practices guide for materials recovery facilities (MRFs) in the U.S., supporting MRFs in their work to optimize recovery rates, increase material quality and foster resilient operations. The guide, Materials Recovery Facilities: Effective Operation, Design and Management in Theory and in Practice, draws on insights from leading public and private MRF operators, recycling equipment vendors, recycling industry experts and others, establishing the industry standards needed to improve U.S. recycling infrastructure.

The guide is being released as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws gain momentum across the U.S.—with seven states already implementing them and more actively evaluating adoption. As these laws expand, there will be a growing need for transparency, performance-based metrics, and targeted education and funds to help MRFs adapt. This guide was created to aid MRF management personnel in identifying areas of improvement at their facilities and optimizing operations to maximize recovery of material streams and strengthen financial outcomes.

“The U.S. recycling industry is at a critical point, with policy changes shifting the status quo and creating opportunities for materials recovery facilities to operate at their highest capacity,” said Kate Daly, Managing Partner and CEO of the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners. “This guide’s insights help lay the foundation for stronger infrastructure, positioning U.S. recyclers to accelerate their critical work building resilient material supply chains.”

“Collaboration with MRF operators, commitment to high standards, innovation and transparency are essential for Producer Responsibility Organizations to achieve EPR targets,” said Jeffrey Fielkow, Chief Executive Officer, Circular Action Alliance. “Circular Action Alliance supports this playbook by Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy, as a practical guide for collaboration to maximize recovery and deliver program compliance and measurable results for a circular economy.”

MRFs play a critical role in managing residential recyclables, and with the right operational strategies, their recovery rates can improve dramatically. The guide outlines proven approaches to material flow design, equipment configurations, maintenance routines, municipal contract updates and staff training, among other areas. Developed through direct engagement with MRF operators—both public and private—as well as equipment manufacturers, the manual draws on site visits, real-world testing and case studies to highlight what works. This guide delivers actionable insights to help MRFs increase material capture, reduce residuals, and enhance both environmental and financial performance.

In addition to the guide itself, a set of complementary templates are available for download and can be utilized by MRFs to establish best practices in their facilities, with key guidance on areas including:

• Metrics and Performance Optimization
• Equipment Maintenance and Spare Parts Management
• Facility Management and Staff Organization
• Industry Relations

The Closed Loop Center commissioned Resource Recycling Systems (RRS) to support this work. “Materials recovery facilities are at the center of how communities recycle, and this guide equips them with clear, tactical practices to optimize performance in today’s evolving policy landscape,” said RRS Co-CEO Resa Dimino. “Through this collaboration with Closed Loop Partners and American Beverage, we’re underscoring practical ways operators can increase material capture, reduce residuals, and strengthen both environmental and financial outcomes as EPR programs expand.”

“One of America’s beverage companies’ highest priorities is creating a circular economy for our valuable, recyclable bottles and cans, and supporting the infrastructure that makes this possible,” said Kevin Keane, CEO of American Beverage. “Through this new guide, we aim to support key players along the recycling value chain to be well-positioned for success.”

This report is part of Closed Loop Partners’ broader work to support recycling and circular economy infrastructure in the U.S. across its platform. Closed Loop Partners’ innovation firm, the Center for the Circular Economy, has partnered with several leading recycling facilities across the country to test the recovery of packaging materials. Closed Loop Partners’ investment firm, Closed Loop Capital Management, has catalyzed millions of dollars to bolster regional recycling infrastructure, stabilize recycling businesses during volatile times, and support novel technologies and facility expansions. And Closed Loop Partners’ operating group, Closed Loop Builders, launched Circular Services, one of the largest private recycling and circular economy infrastructure companies in the U.S., serving many of the fastest-growing markets and largest companies in the country.

Following the release of this report, Closed Loop Partners will continue to collaborate with and invest in recycling programs, facilities and infrastructure across the country. Through this work, the firm aims to support recycling operators who are critical to keeping valuable materials in circulation and building a circular economy.

Download the full report here and learn more about Closed Loop Partners’ broader work to advance material recovery here.

About the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners

Closed Loop Partners is at the forefront of building the circular economy. The firm is comprised of three key businesses that create a platform for systems change. Closed Loop Capital Management is the firm’s investment group, managing venture capital, and catalytic capital & private credit investment strategies on behalf of global corporations, financial institutions and family offices. Closed Loop Builders is the firm’s operating group, incubating, building and scaling circular economy infrastructure and services.

The Center for the Circular Economy is the firm’s innovation center. The Center executes research and analytics, unites organizations to tackle complex material challenges and implements systemic change that advances the circular economy. The Center’s expertise spans circularity across the full lifecycle of materials, connecting upstream innovation to downstream recovery infrastructure and end markets.

Learn more about the Center for the Circular Economy at https://www.closedlooppartners.com/the-center/.

About the American Beverage Association

American Beverage is the national trade organization representing America’s leading non-alcoholic beverage companies. We represent a broad spectrum of beverage producers, distributors and franchise companies that make American products with American workers in America’s hometowns. Together, they provide more than 275,000 family-supporting careers and deliver $324 billion in economic impact nationwide. Visit AmericanBeverage.org for more information.

About Resource Recycling Systems

Resource Recycling Systems (RRS) is a sustainability consulting firm specializing in circular economy and materials management solutions for businesses, communities, and the broader future. With four decades of experience, RRS’s team of diverse experts delivers comprehensive services focused on reducing waste, enhancing recycling processes, and minimizing environmental impacts across supply chains. RRS serves North American and global markets, including MRFs, recyclers, brands, manufacturers, government, and institutions. Learn more at recycle.com.

September 29, 2025, New York, NY — The Composting Consortium, managed by Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy, today announced the selection of municipal and compost producer-led projects across the U.S. that will receive grant funding to advance composting infrastructure and the recovery of food-contact compostable packaging. This milestone was made possible through the Consortium’s leadership and funding partnership with Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), North America’s leading authority on compostability, with technical support from the US Composting Council (USCC), which is dedicated to the development, expansion and promotion of the compost manufacturing industry. Together, the organizations are working to scale circular outcomes for certified compostable packaging and food scraps across the country, amidst growing industry and consumer demand to reduce food and packaging waste sent to disposal.

A diverse set of eight projects was selected for the funding opportunity—from municipal efforts expanding composting access and education, to infrastructure upgrades at compost facilities that increase regional processing capacity. The grants arrive at a pivotal moment, driving continued momentum for food waste diversion.

“The deployment of these grant dollars is a critical part of Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy’s broader work to develop local circular systems,” said Kate Daly, Managing Partner and Head of Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy. “Our partnership with BPI and USCC on this inaugural grant program showcases the power of industry leadership and collaboration to deliver outsized impact, accelerate infrastructure upgrades, and advance food waste and compostable packaging diversion goals.”

“This grant program is more than just funding. It’s about building a foundation for a circular bioeconomy that works in practice and eventually at scale,” said Rhodes Yepsen, Executive Director of BPI. “Each project helps fulfill the value proposition of compostable packaging, transforming food scraps and food-contact compostables from everyday waste into a valuable soil amendment, creating good green jobs, and fostering resilient, thriving communities.”

“USCC is excited to have provided technical support to a grant program that delivers real, on-the-ground impact and infrastructure building for the small businesses and local governments powering circular organics systems across the U.S.,” said Linda Norris-Waldt, Executive Director of USCC. “The innovation and ingenuity we saw in the applications and selected projects make one thing clear: the composting industry is ready to grow—and targeted funding can unlock transformative change.”

From California to Maryland, the selected projects demonstrate scalable models for compostable packaging recovery and community engagement:

Expanding Access to Organic Collections Across the U.S.

These projects focus on increasing equitable access to composting infrastructure and services, particularly focused on areas or populations that have historically lacked them.

• Washtenaw County, MI – Piloting 2–3 drop-off sites to serve households without access to curbside food waste collection, with the potential to divert up to 45,000 pounds of food waste and compostable packaging.
• City of Takoma Park, MD – Installing organics collection infrastructure in low-income multifamily housing, paired with outreach and data collection to inform citywide expansion.
• Rubber City Reuse (Northeast Ohio) – Launching 15 organics drop-off sites across four counties, serving up to 1.2 million residents.

Increasing Circular Outcomes of Compostable Packaging

These projects are increasing the ability of compost facilities to accept and process certified compostable packaging, a critical step in keeping materials out of landfill and transitioning to a more circular economy.

• Compost Colorado (Denver, CO) – Doubles processing capacity at the only front-range compost producer in Colorado that accepts compostable packaging.
• Veteran Compost (Alexandria, VA) – Installs new infrastructure to double processing capacity to 2 million pounds per year.
• Bennett Compost (Philadelphia, PA) – Updates site to begin accepting certified food-contact compostable packaging for the first time at their Lawncrest facility, serving as a model for other smaller-scale facilities in the region.
• Skagit Soils (Mount Vernon, WA) – Adds new equipment to prepare for increased volumes of food waste and compostable packaging in response to upcoming state legislation.

Strengthening Composting Programs Through Improved Education and Community Engagement

This grant project emphasizes education, storytelling and community engagement to maximize certified compostable packaging diversion and create high-quality finished compost that can be used to enhance local soils.

• City of Modesto, CA – Updates and enhances the City’s educational, outreach and marketing materials to bring clarity and consistency to the community—highlighting certified compostable packaging as a key part of successful composting programs.

Following the deployment of these grants, the Composting Consortium will continue to test, validate and scale solutions across the compostable packaging value chain, from field testing and labeling to infrastructure development and end-market engagement. Together with BPI and USCC, the Consortium is accelerating the transition to a circular economy for organics, where compostable materials are recovered at scale and returned to the soil as valuable resources.

About the Composting Consortium

The Composting Consortium is an initiative of Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy. The Consortium brings together leading voices across the composting and compostable packaging ecosystem––from the world’s leading brands to best-in-class composters running the operations on the ground. Through in-market tests, deep research and industry-wide collaboration, we are laying the groundwork for a more robust, resilient composting system that can keep organics and compostable packaging in circulation. To learn more, please visit: https://www.closedlooppartners.com/composting-consortium/

About Biodegradable Products Institute

The Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) is North America’s leading authority on compostable products and packaging, certifying over 50,000 products from collection bags to food containers. For more than two decades, BPI has given consumers confidence in compostability claims with the backing of science-based standards, while enabling authentically sustainable choices for brands and packagers. BPI champions a systems-wide transition to the circular bioeconomy through rigorous testing, policy advocacy, and industry collaboration, building the infrastructure for “A World Without Organic Waste”—where food scraps and certified compostable packaging become resources. BPI is a non-profit 501(c)(6). To learn more, visit www.bpiworld.org and follow us on LinkedIn.

 About the US Composting Council

The US Composting Council is dedicated to the development, expansion and promotion of the compost manufacturing industry. The USCC meets this mission by encouraging, supporting and performing compost-related research, promoting best management practices, establishing standards, educating professionals and the public about the benefits of compost and compost utilization, enhancing compost product quality, and developing training materials for compost manufacturers and markets for compost products. USCC members include compost manufacturers, marketers, equipment manufacturers, product suppliers, academic institutions, public agencies, nonprofit groups and consulting/engineering firms. The USCC is a non-profit 501(c)(6) organization and is affiliated with the Compost Research & Education Foundation (CREF), a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation that promotes public and private compost research and education activities.

One of the most important design decisions for reuse is selecting the right material. It’s also one of the most complex. 

While it would be easier to dictate one material for all reuse systems, the reality is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Different materials bring different advantages—and different challenges. Each has its merits for diverse situations and locations––from durability to recyclability, customer experience and cost. The variables are many, and the tradeoffs must be considered to yield the best results.  

In our work to bring reuse to market, we evaluate each material based on how well it fits into a given system: How often will it be returned? How will it be washed and stored? What will the customer do with it after use? Can it be recovered at end-of-life? 

Operational logistics, return rates and customer behavior all play a role in deciding which material is most appropriate. For example, where return rates are lower, lightweight materials with a lower environmental breakeven point are more effective. Where return rates are high, more durable materials will likely have a more positive long-term impact—even if they cost more upfront. 

To illustrate the complex interplay between materials and reuse systems, we explore the tradeoffs of the three most common materials for reusable packaging today: 1) plastic, 2) metal, and 3) glass and ceramic.  

PLASTIC: LIGHTER WEIGHT, LOWER CARBON IMPACT

Plastics for reusable foodservice applications can range from lower-stiffness materials like HDPE or PP, to more rigid resins like PET. 

The Pros 

One of plastic’s key advantages is its light weight. In fact, advances in manufacturing now allow reusable packaging to be lighter without compromising performance. For example, some expanded PP designs feature a lightweight foamed core sandwiched between two solid skin layers, adding insulating air pockets while reducing material use and maintaining durability. Plastics can also withstand being tossed carelessly into a return bin, while stainless steel may dent and glass or ceramic may break. Having a lighter weight per packaging unit translates into a lower purchase cost and smaller manufacturing carbon footprint compared to metal, glass and ceramic.  

In addition to the lower carbon footprint of producing lighter weight materials, the transportation footprint and cost of lighter materials is also comparatively lower. Today, plastic still offers the fastest path to environmental breakeven point for reuse, which is especially important for systems with low or unpredictable return rates. 

Plastic packaging can also be molded into different shapes and colors, increasing brand differentiation and consumer appeal. Plastics are generally perceived as less premium than other durable materials––but that is not necessarily a drawback, in the case of reuse. The lower perceived value may discourage consumers from keeping the packaging forever, supporting higher return rates for returnable packaging models. However, clear communication will be required to ensure customers don’t mistake reusable packaging for single use. When plastic reusable packaging needs to be decommissioned, there is a clear pathway to ensure that these materials don’t end up in landfill. These plastics are accepted in curbside recycling in most cities, and there are strong end markets to keep recycled PET, HDPE and PP in circulation in the U.S. 

The Cons 

Plastic comes with messaging challenges. It can be confusing to “eliminate single-use plastics” and then replace it with another plastic item. Plastic also doesn’t tolerate heat and exposure to acidic foods as well as other materials. It may also stain or retain odors from certain foods, requiring earlier decommissioning. 

Human health is also a concern with plastics. Raw material extraction, processing and manufacturing can create health concerns for workers and communities. Some consumers are starting to think more about the potential health impacts of using plastics, especially for food and beverage. While a scratch in stainless steel is typically only an aesthetic issue, a scratch in a rigid plastic product can be both an aesthetic and food hygiene issue. One concern is the consumption of microplastics, which have been found in tap water, beer, sea salt and tea. Another concern is chemical leaching from additives used to enhance plastic performance. Food-grade plastics used in packaging and foodservice applications undergo rigorous FDA testing and are approved by regulators as safe for their intended use.  

In our study of consumer perceptions of different reusable hot cups, consumers expressed low interest in trying reusable clear plastic cups for hot coffee or tea, and many reported they would throw clear cups in the trash or recycling instead of returning them. Recycled plastic, however, received high interest for trial and return, and consumers showed relatively low concerns related to leaching. 

In summary, plastic can play a critical role in the transition from early-stage activations to a scaled reuse economy. For programs with high reuse rates, plastic is still an option for functional and financial reasons, but metal, glass and ceramic have also become viable options. 

METAL: GREATER DURABILITY, LONGER LIFE 

Metal reusable packaging is often made of stainless steel or aluminum. 

The Pros 

Metal packaging’s key advantages include durability and the ability to provide what many consumers describe as an “improved” or “premium” experience. Metals—especially stainless steel—are incredibly durable. When used for packaging, it retains its quality through many washing cycles, making it ideal for reuse models with high return rates, such as closed-loop settings (for example, school cafeterias) and bring-your-own (BYO) programs.  

Metal is also technically highly recyclable and offers a strong end-of-life pathway—if it’s captured. Aluminum is widely accepted in U.S. recycling systems and has a strong secondary market, with minimum degradation from repeated recycling (in contrast to plastic). However, metal packaging often requires linings to be compatible with many food, beverage and personal care formulas, creating recycling and washing challenges.  

Stainless steel is also 100% recyclable, though not commonly accepted curbside. However, because it is a high-value material, reuse operators can potentially find recovery alternatives for decommissioned packaging via business-to-business recycling.  

The Cons 

The benefits of metal come with trade-offs, particularly higher financial and environmental costs.  

Metals are generally more expensive than plastic, making them less affordable for some businesses and consumers. The process of mining and converting raw materials into metal is also very carbon intensive.  

For certain applications, like hot or frozen items, metal packaging can be polarizing. In one study, we found that one third of consumers prefer metal cups due to insulation and perceived quality, while another third avoid them, often citing taste concerns or discomfort with how hot the cup feels. But context matters. Coffee drinkers may need double-walled steel formats that insulate well, while sport fans might prefer an aluminum cold cup to keep them cool at a summer game.  

GLASS AND CERAMIC: ELEVATED EXPERIENCE, HIGH SATISFACTION

This includes packaging made of borosilicate glass, a type of glass known for its high resistance to thermal shock and chemical corrosion.  

The Pros 

Glass and ceramic offer an elevated consumer experience in many product categories, with consumers defining them as “aesthetically pleasing”. Both materials are well-liked for dine-in environments, in both home and retail settings. These materials are also highly stable and compatible with food and personal care products. They do not retain odors or flavors, and can be effectively sanitized across many use cycles. 

If recycled glass is used, the environmental benefits are notable. Using 10% more cullet––also known as recycled glass––in glass manufacturing can save 2–3% of energy and reduce CO2 emissions by 4–10%. Reuse of glass at scale has also been used for beverage globally. In the U.S., reuse is limited but does exist in programs like Oregon’s BottleDrop Refill and local dairy operations like Straus Creamery and Oberweis Dairy in the Midwest.  

The Cons 

While extremely sturdy and durable overall, one drop on a hard surface, or a collision with another product can result in chips or cracks that render the product unusable. This limits the scalability of returnable programs that depend on broad consumer participation in open systems.  

From a financial and environmental standpoint, glass and ceramic are also costly to manufacture relative to plastic. Both are made from widely available raw materials but have energy-intensive manufacturing processes and high transport emissions due to their weight. Forming raw materials into glass requires melting them at high temperatures, which accounts for 70% to 80% of the energy consumption of the entire manufacturing process and is typically accomplished by burning natural gas. The good news is that according to NREL, glass manufacturing emissions can be reduced by over 80% through recycled content, electrification and renewable energy. .  

One major issue with ceramic is that it cannot typically be recycled—when collected, it is often downcycled into materials like brick or concrete. Glass, on the other hand, is highly recyclable, with established pathways to recover reusable glass at the end of its life, if the right systems are in place. The highest value recycled glass is collected through drop-off programs where it can be sorted by color before it breaks, as mixed color cullet is of little to no value to processors. However, U.S. recyclers face big challenges collecting and sorting curbside glass today. Small-format plastics contaminate glass streams at materials recovery facilities (MRFs)and most glass is sent to landfill. This is a key challenge that the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners is looking to solve through its Consortium to Recover Small-Format Packaging.  

Material Fit Depends on System Design  

This partial analysis illustrates the complexity involved in selecting materials for reuse systems—and the need to go beyond a static lifecycle analysis. Aligning material selection with system design is critical. Because of the complexity and relative novelty of reuse systems in many product categories, innovation and experimentation are more important than ever. As reuse systems evolve, the Center for the Circular Economy’s pragmatic, data-driven and collaborative approach will continue to reduce risk in reuse, and accelerate the scale-up of the materials and systems that work.  

CALL FOR INNOVATION

Are you developing materials or technologies that could reshape reuse systems?

We’re always looking to collaborate with innovators designing and building solutions for real-world systems—solutions that deliver on performance, cost and environmental impact. Contact us at [email protected]

SUMMARY TABLE

July 29, 2025, New York, NY – In a continued push to reduce single-use bag waste, the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag—an industry collaboration managed by Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy—has launched the largest retail campaign of its kind in California, inviting customers to “Break Up With Single-Use Bags.” Supporting the initiative are Target, CVS Health and The Kroger Co. through its local banners Ralphs and Food 4 Less.

Now rolling out in nearly 1,000 stores across Southern California, the campaign significantly expands the Consortium’s reach and marks a milestone for bag reduction and reuse, engaging and inviting more than 10 million customers to reduce single-use bag waste and build a more circular future for their communities and the retail industry.

The campaign launches at a pivotal time, as major retailers recognize the need to support customer behavior change to meet waste reduction goals. California was the selected market for the campaign in anticipation of a significant policy shift: beginning in January 2026, the state will ban all single-use and thicker plastic bags, offering paper as the only single-use bag option. This transition presents a key opportunity for impact, based on evidence that well-designed policies, paired with effective consumer engagement, can drive meaningful reductions in single-use bag waste.

“Break Up With Single-Use Bags” is an ongoing, open campaign, inviting customers and retailers to participate in vital work to shape the future of retail, one that does not create single-use bag waste. The campaign encourages people to let go of familiar––yet operationally and environmentally challenging––habits of disposable bag use, and transition toward more resource-efficient low-waste choices.

“This campaign reflects a growing movement of retailers and communities working together, guided by data and a shared vision, to shift the retail experience toward one that eliminates waste altogether by reducing our reliance on disposable bags,” said Kate Daly, Managing Partner and Head of the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners.

The campaign includes a major rollout across Orange County, San Diego County and the Inland Empire, with a suite of customer engagement strategies, including in-store signage, checkout prompts, parking lot signage and out-of-store marketing, all designed to engage shoppers at key decision points. The campaign’s tactics and design were informed by data and insights from the Center for the Circular Economy’s previous in-market community-wide activations, including the 2024 Petaluma Reusable Cup Project in California and the 2023 Bring Your Own Bag pilot in Denver, Colorado, and Tucson, Arizona.

The in-market tests in Denver and Tucson deployed similar strategies and resulted in statistically significant reductions in single-use bag consumption. In Denver, where bag legislation is already in place, single-use bag transactions decreased by 11.7 percent. Across both markets, the pilot was estimated to have reduced single-use bag use by approximately 9.5 million bags annually. This upcoming in-market activation in California builds on proven tactics, with an expanded scope and extended timeline—running for over a year to generate deeper insights into long-term behavior change and systems-level outcomes.

“At Target, we’re proud to offer products and services that provide our guests with more sustainable options,” said Agata Ramallo Garcia, vice president, head of enterprise sustainability at Target. “We’re thrilled to support efforts like the Beyond the Bag Initiative that offer guests convenient solutions that reduce environmental impact and make a meaningful impact for the communities we serve.”

“The health of our environment is directly connected to the well-being of the people and communities we serve,” said Jenny McColloch, VP of Sustainability and Community Impact at CVS Health. “This connection drives our commitment to creating a more sustainable future across everything we do at CVS Health. This latest initiative aims to collaboratively address waste in our neighborhoods, stores and everyday decisions, creating a positive impact for individuals and the planet.”

“At our Ralphs and Food 4 Less stores, we’re helping customers take small but meaningful steps toward reducing waste,” said Salvador Ramirez, Corporate Affairs Manager at Ralphs and Food 4 Less. “‘Break Up With Single-Use Bags’ is about more than just bags––it’s about building habits that align with the values of our shoppers and the goals of our Zero Hunger | Zero Waste plan.”

The Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag brings retailers and communities together to create lasting impact and learnings that can be scaled to new markets, and is inviting more retailers and community partners to join the movement. Other participating retailers include Consortium Supporting Partner Dollar Tree and independent local retailers. All retailers in the participating communities are welcome to access the free signage toolkit, activate customer prompts and take part in reshaping retail norms around waste.

Visit www.closedlooppartners.com/beyond-the-bag/bub to download campaign materials and join the “Break Up with Single-Use Bags” movement.

About the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners

Closed Loop Partners is at the forefront of building the circular economy. The firm is comprised of three key businesses that create a platform for systems change. Closed Loop Capital Management is the firm’s investment group, managing venture capital, private equity and catalytic capital & private credit investment strategies on behalf of global corporations, financial institutions and family offices. Closed Loop Builders is the firm’s operating group, incubating, building and scaling circular economy infrastructure and services.

The Center for the Circular Economy is the firm’s innovation center. The Center executes research and analytics, unites brands and retailers to tackle complex material challenges and implements systemic change that advances the circular economy. The Center’s expertise spans circularity across the full lifecycle of materials, connecting upstream innovation to downstream recovery infrastructure and end markets.

Learn more about the Center’s work at https://www.closedlooppartners.com/the-center/

About the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag

The Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag, managed by Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy, is a multi-year industry collaboration across retail sectors that identifies, tests and implements viable design solutions and models that more sustainably serve the purpose of the current retail bag. The Consortium’s Beyond the Bag Initiative drives forward a circular future for retail by reducing single-use bag waste through education, incentives, nudges and policy. Target, CVS Health and The Kroger Co. are Strategic Leads of the Consortium, with Dollar Tree, Meijer and Walmart as Supporting Partners. Learn more at www.beyondthebaginitiative.com.

MORE PARTNER QUOTES

“At Dollar Tree, we’re committed to delivering everyday value while helping our customers reduce waste for a healthier planet. The Break Up with Single-Use Bags campaign is a natural fit for us—it’s about making small changes that are both easy and affordable for customers to act on every time they shop, while also being good for our communities.” – Jennifer Silberman, Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer, Dollar Tree

“The Break Up with Single-Use Bags campaign reflects the kind of collaborative, community-powered solution that will have lasting influence. We are pleased to partner with Closed Loop Partners and the Beyond the Bag initiative to connect diverse regional stakeholders, enabling the significant breadth and reach of this program. By engaging individuals, businesses, and local jurisdictions, this campaign empowers sustainable behavior change across Southern California—meeting people where they are, providing a practical climate solution, and making a measurable impact on the waste challenges we face regionally and beyond.” – Jessica Toth, Executive Director, Solana Center for Environmental Innovation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in San Diego

“Reducing single-use waste is key to a sustainable California. As we move toward a statewide transition away from plastic bags, the “Break Up with Single-Use Bags” campaign arrives at the perfect time, showcasing how businesses, communities, and individuals can work together to support meaningful, lasting change.” – Sen. Catherine Blakespear | California Senate District 38

“We must take steps to reduce our plastic waste. Switching to reusable bags is a small change that can make a big difference. We can all do our part to protect our planet, save marine life, and clean up our communities.” – Rep. Mike Levin | California U.S. Representative, 49th District

Reuse is not easy.  

Transitioning everyday goods from disposable to reusable — products and packaging that are returned, collected, washed, refilled then redistributed — is complex. For decades, the retail industry has relied on a system where hundreds of thousands of product categories have been optimized to stay fresh and stable through supply chains, deliver a great consumer experience, and be conveniently disposed of anywhere after years of use. Moving away from this is no small feat. At a small scale, the cost of washing and collecting containers alone currently can be prohibitive. That’s before the price of the reusable container itself is factored in, divided by the number of times it’s actually reused.  

Reuse is possible.  

Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy spent the last seven years building multi-brand, multi-sector collaborations that are solving complex reuse challenges that many brands can’t tackle on their own. In Petaluma, California, the Center launched the nation’s first citywide reusable cup program, and saw consumers adopting and maintaining new reuse behaviors almost overnight. Return rates increased week by week, while costs went down. Similarly, our reuse pilots in retail stores throughout Denver and Tucson drove a significant shift in consumer behavior by rallying public and private sectors behind a commitment to move beyond single-use bags and make reduction and reuse a daily norm. 

Reuse is coming to retail, and to entire cities. 

Today, there’s renewed momentum — and urgency — driving the growth of reuse. New policy mandates, on top of consumer and climate pressures, are pushing brands and retailers to refocus on solutions that reduce waste. The first reuse target of SB-54, the California law that mandates packaging reduction and reuse, is effective in just 18 months. It’s no longer a question of whether brands need to build capability in reuse but how and when.  

That’s why the Center for the Circular Economy is launching the Reuse Cities Initiative, the largest ever citywide reuse program in the U.S. Starting in California in 2026, the initiative builds upon the Center’s reuse work in cities across the U.S., including Denver, Tucson and Petaluma and is designed to address the two biggest barriers to scale: 

1. Cost — how to reduce the cost of reuse to make it viable for brands, retailers and consumers; 
2. Consumer behavior — how to offer consumers great options that help them build the daily habits needed to return and participate consistently. 

Reuse can scale.  

The Center has established an in-market implementation approach that works. In collaboration with brands, operators, municipalities and innovators, over the last seven years, we’ve already built the blueprint to shift consumer behavior and reduce system costs—now we’re applying these lessons at scale: 

• Collaboration: Citywide activation and cross-sector alignment helps drive measurable behavior change; 

• Supply Chain Redesign: Partnerships between brands, innovators and operators unlock shared infrastructure and logistics improvements; 

• Consistent Messaging: Unified consumer messaging across partners helps reinforce trust and drive loyalty; 

• Packaging Engineering: End-to-end testing to reach environmental breakeven points faster; 

• Operational Alignment: Seamlessly integrating reuse into retail and foodservice environments without disrupting operations increases retailer adoption. 

As an extension of the NextGen Consortium’s successful in-market reuse programming, the Center is bringing this proven framework to life through a long-term city launch in California. The timing couldn’t be better: this initiative will lay the groundwork for compliance with SB-54 by building critical reuse infrastructure, including a high-volume, tech-enabled washing facility. This facility will support higher throughput, lower costs, and more standardized operations — bringing reuse closer to cost parity with single-use packaging.  

The Reuse Cities Initiative will focus on reusable packaging across multiple retail categories, initially building off of the NextGen Consortium’s in-market food service packaging reuse programming,  and anchored on high-volume venues like stadiums, schools, possibly an airport, where we can deliver better unit economics and higher return rates.    

Retailers play a key role. 

Retailers and consumer brands from all sectors can play a big role in the Reuse Cities initiative. The initiative is setting up new regional reuse infrastructure that is initially set up to service the foodservice brands in the NextGen Consortium, but can expand to serve other packaging categories.  

Leveraging the infrastructure (washing, reverse logistics, tracking systems, community education program) from the Reuse Cities Initiatives, brands and retailers will have an accessible entry point to reuse. Just as the beverage industry laid the foundation for current recycling systems, the foodservice sector is pioneering this next wave of at-scale reuse in retail and beyond.   

To learn more about how your team can engage with the 2026 citywide launch, get in touch with us at [email protected]. 

July 15, 2025, New York, NY — The Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag, managed by Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy, released a new in-depth analysis of single-use bag legislation in the U.S., setting a new standard in environmental policy research. The comprehensive policy white paper, “Legislation in Action: Measuring the Impact of U.S. Single-Use Bag Policies on Waste Reduction,” evaluates the efficacy and impact of various legislative mechanisms, including a comparison of bag fees and outright bans across diverse communities, revealing how different strategies influence bag waste reduction and consumer behavior.

Amidst increasing bag policy implementation across U.S. states, the white paper also reveals never-before-seen primary research into New Jersey’s pioneering legislation, the Get Past Plastic Act, which eliminated both single-use plastic and paper bags in grocery and big box stores. The rigorous analysis offers elected officials, regulators, community leaders and community stakeholders an objective summary of legislation’s impacts and potential unintended consequences on a community, enabling officials to effectively tailor legislation to their constituents and desired outcomes.

A key finding of the Consortium’s analysis on single-use bag legislation notes that while policy can be one of the most effective tools to reduce single-use bag waste, consumers must also be supported in adopting waste-free behavior. The Consortium’s 2023 in-market activations in Denver and Tucson, which tested consumer-facing bag reduction solutions in 375 stores across 160 different retailers, resulted in a 4.8% decrease in single-use bags across the two markets and an 11.7% reduction in Denver, where there was legislation. Overall, the city-wide activations resulted in up to 9.5 million single-use bags reduced annually across the two markets.

Building on these in-market findings and its in-depth policy analysis, the Consortium will launch a new consumer campaign this summer, encouraging consumers to bring their own reusable bags or choose not to take a single-use bag at all. Details of the campaign will be released in the next month.

“Policy is a major driver of the transition to the circular economy. While there is no single solution to reduce single-use bag waste, our rigorous analysis of legislation and in-depth understanding of consumer norm setting can provide communities with the tactical resources they need for a waste-free future,” said Kate Daly, Managing Partner and Head of the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners. “We look forward to sharing more insights on policy and the circular economy and activating in-market work alongside our partners to turn waste reduction practices into everyday habits.”

The Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag invites retailers, policymakers and community leaders to learn more about the efficacy of legislation through our detailed policy white paper. To access the full policy report, please visit closedlooppartners.com/beyond-the-bag/legislation/

About the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners

Closed Loop Partners is at the forefront of building the circular economy. The firm is comprised of three key businesses that create a platform for systems change. Closed Loop Capital Management is the firm’s investment group, managing venture capital, private equity and catalytic capital & private credit investment strategies on behalf of global corporations, financial institutions and family offices. Closed Loop Builders is the firm’s operating group, incubating, building and scaling circular economy infrastructure and services.

The Center for the Circular Economy is the firm’s innovation center. The Center executes research and analytics, unites organizations to tackle complex material challenges and implements systemic change that advances the circular economy. The Center’s expertise spans circularity across the full lifecycle of materials, connecting upstream innovation to downstream recovery infrastructure and end markets.

Learn more about the Center’s work at https://www.closedlooppartners.com/the-center/

About the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag

The Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag, managed by Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy, is a multi-year industry collaboration across retail sectors that identifies, tests and implements viable design solutions and models that more sustainably serve the purpose of the current retail bag. The Consortium’s Beyond the Bag Initiative drives forward a circular future for retail by reducing single-use bag waste through education, incentives, nudges and policy. Target, CVS Health and The Kroger Co. are Strategic Leads of the Consortium, with Dollar Tree, Meijer and Walmart as Supporting Partners. Learn more at www.beyondthebaginitiative.com.

When it comes to reuse, words matter. As we reinvent reusable packaging systems to thrive in today’s world, effective communication is as crucial as any operational consideration. Successful systems depend on brands and solution providers effectively guiding consumers to feel inspired and empowered to reuse—or at the very least, to foster awareness of and participation in new reusable programs. 

Reuse comes with new habits: using and disposing is such an engrained part of our daily lives that asking people to return packaging takes significant cognitive effort. It involves asking time-starved consumers to digest new information and to act on it consistently throughout their day-to-day lives. To break through the noise of the 50-400 ads that bombard Americans every day, the first challenge of a new reuse program is to disrupt. Then, there are a few quick seconds to explain the new system and inspire consumers to take action, seeding a new habit that will be formed over time with consistent repetitions. 

In 2024, Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy led an unprecedented collaboration in California that got an entire city reusing. The NextGen Consortium’s Petaluma Reusable Cup Project1 took on the challenge of making reusable cups a citywide norm. Working together with leading global brands, 30 local businesses and many local champions, we launched a campaign to inspire Petaluma to be part of the solution. The campaign reached 8.7 million media impressions, with 80% of people in the city aware of the program. In-store comms and signage played a disproportionate role in successfully driving awareness, understanding and returns. 

In its three months, the initiative saw over 220,000 cups returned in the town of ~60,000 residents. Valuable learnings from over 1,000 consumer interviews and surveys during the Petaluma Reusable Cup Project taught us the best practices to strengthen reuse messaging.  

Below are 5 keys strategies for brands and innovators to get their customers to reuse: 

1. Use consistent keywords and familiar phrases. People often don’t read instructions when approaching their trash bins, so they need consistent use of simple keywords to understand what they are supposed to do differently. A catchy slogan like ‘sip, return, repeat’ helps land the message. The use of clear fonts and bold text is also vital to cementing these new instructions.  
2. Lean on visual cues. Logos and symbols are important cues to quickly trigger the desired action. As it takes time for a logo to stand alone and carry its own meaning, symbols should be used along with words until they are recognized widely. It took time for the chasing arrows to become the universal sign for recycling, and it will take some time for reuse logos to get there too.  
3. Colors are an effective and accessible communication tool. Colors transcend words and logos. The right color selection can make consumers pause and look for more information. Colors can also convey that a product is more premium, influencing how shoppers subconsciously think about disposal. Matching the color of the bin to packaging can cue that items are meant to go there. In Petaluma, using color to signal that purple cups go in the purple bins helped business and consumers explain and understand the system quickly. 
4. Don’t overwhelm your customers with the problem of all packaging waste. Focus on the solution at hand and desired action, instead of the full scale of packaging waste to be solved for the planet, to help consumers engage meaningfully. And it’s best not to overpromise. Consumer communications should prioritize the part of the solution users need to participate in (i.e., in returnable packaging systems, to “return” packaging after use) rather than abstract or highly technical ecological benefits (i.e., that a reusable cup helps to avoid XX tons of CO2e).  
5. Gratitude and positivity go a long way. To show impact and build trust, corresponding signage and employee prompts can help drive home reuse as a new norm. Phrases like “thanks for being part of the solution” clue customers into how their action is contributing.  Gratitude can also serve as positive reinforcement to accelerate a new social norm. Showcasing how many single-use cups have been prevented from going to landfill also helps reinforce the desired behavior and can be framed as a community achievement. 

Show up consistently to deliver the message.

Packaging is the main vehicle for communication; each word and square inch counts to inspire and educate consumers on desired circular actions. Here’s how the Petaluma reusable cup was designed to disrupt, engage and inspire consumers to return: 

 When and how to use messaging on your packaging and collection bins: 

Language is just one part of the reuse culture; collaboration and consistency are key.

No matter how effective it may be, one sign, ad or piece of packaging design alone cannot spark a culture of reuse. It takes trusted brands, businesses, as well as public and community influencers working together to reshape the norm away from single-use packaging. 

As brands refine language to make reuse compelling, being at the table with the right partners is critical to making reuse stick. As reuse moves from closed systems to city-wide programs, using words that resonate––and collaborating with partners across the value chain––will be a key driver to further scale.  

May 6, 2025, New York, NY — The Composting Consortium, managed by Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy, is launching a grant program in collaboration with the US Composting Council (USCC) and the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) to help composters and municipalities expand their ability to process certified compostable packaging and food scraps. Eligible U.S. compost manufacturers and municipalities are invited to apply for funding to support on-site improvements, public education and market development that allow for the inclusion of these materials.

The Consortium’s grants aim to support financing for crucial upgrades that enable the processing of certified compostable food packaging and food scraps, which reduces packaging and food waste in landfills and supports a circular economy for organics. Funding can be used by composters and municipalities in various ways, such as offsetting the costs of installing new equipment to address contamination from conventional plastics, conducting trials for the inclusion of compostable packaging, or updating signage, stickers and other marketing and outreach materials that clearly communicate the acceptance of certified compostable packaging to help improve participation and reduce contamination.

The grant program is launching at a critical time, as the U.S. composting industry is still in an early stage of accepting food scraps––with a majority of facilities only accepting yard trimmings––and consumers are increasingly seeking opportunities to divert food waste. Today, approximately 70% of the roughly 200 commercial compost facilities in the U.S. that process food waste also process limited formats of food-contact compostable packaging. Around 45% of curbside food scrap collection programs and 65% of drop-off collection programs allow certain formats of compostable packaging, with the understanding that accepting these materials helps divert more food waste from landfill, where it is a significant emitter of greenhouse gases.

“As the composting industry continues to grow, ensuring that compost manufacturers have the tools and incentives to successfully accept and process certified compostable packaging and food scraps is crucial,” said Frank Franciosi, Executive Director of the US Composting Council. “This funding will help strengthen the circular economy for organics, compostable packaging and our industry.”

“Composting plays a vital role in reducing organic waste in landfills and building healthy soils––but updates are needed to ensure that our composting system can meet the volumes and diversity of materials entering the organics stream today,” said Paula Luu, Senior Project Director at Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy and Composting Consortium lead. “These grants can provide composters and communities with the resources they need to scale their impact and support zero waste goals.”

“These new grants build on BPI’s micro-grant program launched last year, which promoted programs that already take compostable products, by providing larger sums that can move the needle by encouraging the development of new or expanded access to programs,” said Rhodes Yepsen, Executive Director of the Biodegradable Products Institute. “Partnering with the Composting Consortium, whether on grants, field testing, contamination studies or consumer testing, aligns with our core mission, and we are excited to continue our collaborative approach to building pathways that are good for business, for people and the planet.”

The grant program builds on the Composting Consortium’s ongoing work to strengthen composting infrastructure, validate best practices for processing compostable packaging, and advance policies that support the industry. By partnering with composters and municipalities, the Consortium, USCC and BPI seek to close the loop on compostable materials and ensure they, and the food nutrients they carry, are diverted from landfill and processed by composters.

Grant applications are now open, with a submission deadline of June 13th, 2025. All funded projects must be completed by March 1, 2026. For more information on the grant program, including eligibility criteria for composters and municipalities and application details, please visit https://www.closedlooppartners.com/the-center/composting-grant-program/

About the Composting Consortium

The Composting Consortium is an initiative of Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy. The Consortium brings together leading voices across the composting and compostable packaging ecosystem––from the world’s leading brands to best-in-class composters running the operations on the ground. Through in-market tests, deep research and industry-wide collaboration, we are laying the groundwork for a more robust, resilient composting system that can keep organics and compostable packaging in circulation.

About the US Composting Council

The US Composting Council is dedicated to the development, expansion and promotion of the compost manufacturing industry. The USCC meets this mission by encouraging, supporting and performing compost-related research, promoting best management practices, establishing standards, educating professionals and the public about the benefits of compost and compost utilization, enhancing compost product quality, and developing training materials for compost manufacturers and markets for compost products. USCC members include compost manufacturers, marketers, equipment manufacturers, product suppliers, academic institutions, public agencies, nonprofit groups and consulting/engineering firms. The USCC is a non-profit 501(c)(6) organization and is affiliated with the Compost Research & Education Foundation (CREF), a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation that promotes public and private compost research and education activities.

About Biodegradable Products Institute

The Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) is North America’s leading authority on compostable products and packaging. The organization is science-driven and supports a shift to the circular economy by promoting the production, use, and appropriate end of lives for materials and products that are designed to fully biodegrade in specific biologically active environments. BPI’s certification program operates in conjunction with education and advocacy efforts designed to support the broader effort to keep food scraps and other organics out of landfills. To learn more about BPI, please visit www.bpiworld.org.

March 25, 2025, New York, NY – Today, Closed Loop Partners publishes new data revealing high volumes of recycled food-grade polypropylene (PP) captured at materials recovery facilities (MRFs). The study, led by the Closed Loop Foundation and Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy, in collaboration with technology company Greyparrot and four U.S. MRFs, leveraged AI-powered vision systems to characterize the PP recycling stream with unprecedented detail. These results fill data gaps on the availability of food-grade PP, which can create new opportunities to return this material to foodservice packaging supply chains.

The findings are released amidst growing demand for recycled food-grade PP, driven by policy shifts­­––including recycled content mandates and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)––and commitments from brands to incorporate more recycled materials in their packaging. Despite increased market demand, there has been a significant lack of data on the available volumes of recycled food-grade PP in the recycling system. With no easy way to track, differentiate and separate food-grade and non-food-grade PP, these materials typically blend together at MRFs, making it challenging to amass the appropriate quantities of food-grade PP to meet growing market demand.

With funding from the NextGen Consortium and the Closed Loop Foundation, the Center for the Circular Economy teamed up with Greyparrot and four MRFs to reveal what was in the PP recycling stream, including the volume of food-grade and non-food-grade items, as well as color, format and other critical identifying features. Nearly 45 million individual PP and non-PP objects were characterized over the course of the study, revealing newfound granular details on the PP comprising the stream.

The study revealed 3 key findings:

1. Clear and white food-grade PP is abundant: On average, more than 75% of the PP captured in the study was white or clear, most of which was also presumed to be food grade. Furthermore, over 30% of clear PP packaging identified were beverage cups. This has important implications for meeting growing food-grade PP demand and how to retain more value in the system.

2. AI-enabled technologies can reliably quantify and classify recyclables with granularity, at scale: AI systems, such as the Greyparrot Analyzer, proved reliable in providing effective material characterization data at previously unavailable scales. This indicates the potential for AI to drive value to MRFs through increased intelligence and data granularity on material flows.

3. AI can help measure and track facility and equipment performance: Upgrades to optical sortation technology at MRFs had a notable impact on improved material sortation. This was progress that the AI technology was able to track and provide critical analytics on, indicating the potential for AI to offer enhanced performance evaluation data for MRF operators.

“The data captured demonstrates what is possible for the future of recycling and circular materials management, when powered by technology that can enhance transparency in the recycling system and increase high-quality material recovery,” said Kate Daly, Managing Partner and Head of the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners. “As we continue our work with many of the world’s largest retailers and foodservice brands, we look forward to identifying more opportunities to pull valuable food-grade materials back into foodservice packaging supply chains––a critical step toward recycled content goals and packaging circularity.”

“This work provides important data and transparency around the performance of AI technology and its capabilities within MRFs. We are proud to contribute critical data on the presence and quantity of food-grade objects within the PP stream,” said Gaspard Duthilleul, COO of Greyparrot. “In just three months, Greyparrot Analyzers characterized over 45 million PP and non-PP materials—a process that would take nearly four years manually, as manually characterizing just 1,000 pounds of material can take an entire day. This scale uncovers new opportunities for data collection at recycling facilities, serving as the foundation for increased recovery of valuable materials.”

While the characterization study focused on uncovering better data at one node of the PP recycling value chain, the results underscore that strong recycling data can enhance recovery opportunities and create new value up and down the recycling system.

These insights lay the groundwork for additional studies that can generate new, valuable recovery opportunities further downstream. Moving forward, Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy will continue to identify opportunities to leverage new data and innovations to advance material recovery with the recycling industry and global retail and foodservice brands.

This collaborative work aims to drive greater recovery of food-grade polypropylene––and other materials––and keep these valuable resources in circulation in local supply chains. To learn more and to visit closedlooppartners.com/center

About the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners

The Center for the Circular Economy is the innovation arm of Closed Loop Partners, a firm at the forefront of building the circular economy. The Center executes research and analytics, unites organizations to tackle complex material challenges and implements systemic change that advances the circular economy. The Center for the Circular Economy’s expertise spans circularity across the full lifecycle of materials, connecting upstream innovation to downstream recovery infrastructure and end markets. Learn more about the Center for the Circular Economy at closedlooppartners.com/the-center

About Greyparrot

Greyparrot (greyparrot.ai), the leader in AI waste analytics, is applying AI to globally scale recycling and save millions of tons of waste from landfills and incinerators. By providing deeper, more intelligent insights about waste stream composition and value, Greyparrot is helping the waste sector recover more value from waste processing lines and reduce the environmental impact of waste.

The company’s waste intelligence platform, including Greyparrot Analyzer and Greyparrot Sync (API), reveals real-time insights on over 111+ waste categories across seven layers of data, including financial value, brand, and GHG emissions, captured at multiple locations across a recycling facility. In 2024, Greyparrot analyzed over 40 billion waste objects helping drive efficiency to save hundreds of thousands, to millions, of dollars per facility — while diverting millions of tons of waste away from landfills, oceans, and incinerators.

Using Greyparrot insights, recycling professionals, plant builders, packaging producers, and FMCG brands can make decisions to help them increase recycling efficiency, comply with recycling regulations, and improve recyclable packaging design.

Eco-Products®, a Novolex® brand and certified B Corp, is a provider of foodservice packaging made from renewable, recycled and reusable materials. In 2023, the company launched CIRC (Controls Intended to Remove Contamination), an easy-to-use set of customizable tools and frameworks to help generators––such as restaurants and stadiums––packaging manufacturers, distributors, haulers and composters control and manage contamination from non-compostable products and get rid of contamination before it makes its way to the composter.  

Composting Consortium: We know that contamination is a systemic challenge and one of the greatest barriers to the recovery of compostable packaging. As a brand who sells and manufactures these compostable materials, tell us how you’re combating the pervasive challenge of contamination in food waste streams.

Eco-Products: Contamination in compost streams is the defining challenge for composters, often leading to inefficiencies and increased costs. We’ve experienced this reality firsthand in Colorado, where Eco-Products is headquartered. Contamination from non-compostable materials has wreaked havoc on the local composting ecosystem in Colorado. We believe that food-contact compostable packaging—in addition to recyclable and reusable materials—has a key role to play in diverting food waste from landfill. We want to see compostable packaging succeed as a solution, but we know that contamination must first be solved to achieve that reality. We know this challenge isn’t exclusive to Colorado, and we knew we had to do something about it, so we developed a program called CIRC (Controls Intended to Remove Contamination).

Composting Consortium: How exactly does the CIRC program work and who is it for? 

Eco-Products: Unlike third-party certifications, CIRC is a customizable tool that is designed to build trust, transparency and accountability between generators—such as restaurants, stadiums or event venues—packaging manufacturers, distributors, haulers and composters. The CIRC Toolkit offers a menu of recommended contamination controls spanning Procurement, Operations, Communication, and Composter & Hauler Engagement that we call “the scorecard.” Each section has a list of controls that are practical and useful for mitigating contamination in the compost stream. The program verifies that foodservice operators have taken key steps to avoid sending non-compostable items to composters, ensuring that everyone involved in the composting process is aware of their role in preventing contamination. With CIRC, composters can have greater confidence in the organics streams they receive.

Composting Consortium: Can you give us an example of how a stakeholder can use the tool?

Eco-Products: Yes! For example, a restaurant can reference the ‘Procurement’ section of the scorecard for a list of best practices and guidance when ordering and stocking certified compostable packaging. By following these order requirements, the restaurant can feel confident that the products they’re ordering have been approved by the certifier, the operator and the composter.

Composting Consortium: What makes CIRC different from other solutions?

Eco-Products: One of the standout features of the CIRC program is its open-source nature. This means that anyone, regardless of whether they are an Eco-Products customer, can access and benefit from the program’s resources.

For composters, the primary benefit of CIRC is the reduction in contamination, which leads to more efficient composting processes. With fewer non-compostable materials to sort out, composters can focus on their primary duty: producing high-quality compost.

For haulers and distributors, reducing contamination can lower the costs associated with handling and transporting contaminated loads.

For businesses and organizations committed to food waste reduction, adopting the CIRC program can contribute to a more sustainable waste management system. Restaurants, stadiums, and other venues that implement CIRC can enhance their reputation among environmentally conscious customers. Demonstrating a commitment to reducing waste and supporting composting efforts can attract and retain customers who value sustainability.

Composting Consortium: What advice would you give to brands, generators, haulers or composters who are struggling with contamination?

Eco-Products: Try using CIRC! To date, our program has been piloted at two locations: Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois and the University of Colorado, Boulder. In both instances, we’ve seen great results and dramatically reduced levels of contamination. We are calling on more stakeholders to utilize this free resource and are happy to support any organizations or businesses with the use and implementation of this tool.

Composting Consortium: What are your future plans for the CIRC program and how do you envision supporting the expansion of composting infrastructure?

Eco-Products:  We plan to expand our CIRC program this year by creating supplemental resources, including a check list for assessing operational contamination risk factors. By helping reduce contamination issues through CIRC, we aim to help create a pathway for compostable packaging to succeed as a solution for food scrap recovery.

Composting Consortium: What inspired you to join the Composting Consortium as a Material Innovation Partner?

Eco-Products: When we learned that the Composting Consortium launched a Material Innovation Platform last year, we knew we had to get involved. The Composting Consortium’s groundbreaking research and in-market testing over the last three years has paved the way for dialogues in this industry that are helping to move the needle for compostable packaging. In particular, the Disintegration Study was a game-changer for the industry—offering data and proof points on how certified compostable materials break down in compost piles. We’re excited to continue our partnership with the Composting Consortium because we believe that this initiative is uniquely positioned to scale food waste composting infrastructure, help solve for contamination and drive positive, lasting change for the industry.