The Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) is excited to announce that in 2025, we’ll be launching or evolving the focus for five of our Collaboratives:

• SDO Film Recovery Collaborative: The Flexible Packaging Recovery Collaborative will be evolving into the SDO Film Recovery Collaborative to focus on Store Drop-off. Get involved by registering for the Collaborative’s first meeting on January 14 at 2 PM ET. 

• • Note: If you’re already a part of the Flexible Packaging Recover Collaborative, you will automatically be included in the SDO Film Recovery Collaborative. 

• PCR Mandates Collaborative: In January, we’ll launch this new Collaborative with a focus on navigating the evolving legislative landscape of policy related to post-consumer recycled content mandates. SPC members can reach out if they’re interested in joining this Collaborative’s steering committee. 

• Recovery Technologies Collaborative: This new Collaborative will work to understand how packaging companies can harness recovery technologies like AI and robotics for better collection and sortation. SPC members can sign up to join the Collaborative’s first meeting on January 23 at 2 PM ET. 

• Environmental Trade-offs Collaborative: This new Collaborative will launch in March and help members unpack how to make sense of common trade-offs such as a higher carbon footprint for more recyclable packaging. Request to join here so we can loop you into our first meeting in March. 

• Packaging EPR Collaborative: The Packaging Policy Collaborative will evolve into the Packaging EPR Collaborative in 2025 to focus on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation. Request to join here so we can loop you into our next meeting on December 5 at 2 PM ET. 
  • Note: If you’re already a part of the Packaging Policy Collaborative, you will automatically be included in the Packaging EPR Collaborative. 

Every SPC Collaborative follows the same guiding belief: When we get experts from all sides of the packaging supply chain together to tackle a specific problem, we can build a community centered around advancing solutions to some of the most pressing sustainable packaging problems. In 2025, we’re excited to build on the progress of our eight Collaboratives, which produce resources, like this framework for scaling reuse, or drive exciting progress, like the How2Recycle label design refresh. 

Let’s dive into each of these new or evolved Collaboratives so you can find the best avenue for getting the most out of your SPC membership. 

More on SPC’s New and Evolving Collaboratives

SDO Film Recovery Collaborative

From beverage overwraps to bread bags, plastic film packaging is present on countless packaging formats; however, right now this material can’t be collected in curbside recycling programs. With the SDO Film Recovery Collaborative, we’re evolving the Flexible Packaging Recovery Collaborative and narrowing our focus to Store Drop-off.

In 2025, this Collaborative will strive to rebuild trust in the Store Drop-off system as a legitimate pathway for film collection. We will explore how consumers interact with the Store Drop-off system and seek out the input of retailers on opportunities for improving the quantity and quality of films collected through this avenue.

Get involved: SPC members can register for the Collaborative’s first meeting on January 14 at 2 PM ET. 

PCR Mandates Collaborative

Lately, we’re seeing an uptick in regulators using PCR Mandates to increase recycled content in packaging. We know from conversations with members that the path forward on PCR mandates — the rates and dates for compliance — is not always clear. 

That’s why we’re excited to launch the PCR Mandates Collaborative. Together, we’ll develop a new dataset or tool that meets the needs of SPC members as they navigate the complex legislative landscape surrounding PCR mandates. 

Get involved: SPC members can register to join our first meeting on January 16 at 2 PM ET. 

Recovery Technologies Collaborative

At just 21%, recovery rates across the U.S. have room for improvement. Our new Recovery Technologies Collaborative will work to understand how packaging companies can harness recovery technologies like AI and robotics for better collection and sortation.

This Collaborative also plans to support the increased recovery of packaging materials to be used as feedstock by the recycling industry by deepening members’ understanding of MRF acceptance and exploring alternative collection and sorting methods. 

Get involved: SPC members can sign up to join the Collaborative’s first meeting on January 23 at 2 PM ET. 

Packaging EPR Collaborative

With packaging EPR already passed in five states across the U.S., EPR is here to stay. Of course, no one EPR program is the same , so how can we address the patchwork of policies across the country?

In 2025, we’re evolving the Packaging Policy Collaborative into the Packaging EPR Collaborative to give Members an opportunity to learn more about the complex legislative landscape of policy related to packaging sustainability and end of life. This Collaborative will bring interested members together to discuss questions, share experiences, and identify needs for education, collaboration, and action on packaging EPR. 

Get involved: Request to join here so we can loop you into our next meeting on December 5 at 2 PM ET. 

Environmental Trade-offs Collaborative

Every piece of packaging — no matter its recycled content or material — comes with an environmental trade-off. For years, Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) have been a key tool helping to guide our understanding of packaging impacts, but questions about how to make sense of and reconcile environmental trade-offs remain. We’re excited to dive deeper into the resulting tensions and decisions  with the launch of this Collaborative. 

Under our Packaging Design Pillar, the Environmental Trade-offs Collaborative will focus on providing LCA resources and creating a decision matrix for reconciling the pros and cons of material choices with existing sustainability goals. 

Get involved: Request to join this Collaborative here so we can loop you into our first meeting in March. 

More Updates from SPC’s Collaborative

In case you missed it, SPC also launched two Collaboratives in 2024, the Inclusion & Representation in Packaging Collaborative and the Paper Packaging Recyclability Collaborative. 

In 2025, we will be pausing our Retailer Collaborative, the Chemical Recycling Collaborative, the Packaging Design Collaborative, and the Reusable Packaging Collaborative following the completion of work streams for these Collaboratives. SPC will continue updating members on some of these topics through regular newsletters, which you can sign up for here. 

We’re proud of the work that our members and steering committees have accomplished in each of these Collaboratives, and we want to thank the SPC community for your dedication and continued support of these Collaboratives’ work streams. 

Get involved to make the most of your membership today.