Plastic Packaging: Time to Rethink the Model
- John
- May 5
- 2 min read
Our latest report, Where Now for Plastic Packaging?, delivers a clear message to brands, policymakers, and stakeholders across the plastics value chain: recycling is not solving the plastics crisis, and it never will.
Globally, only 9% of plastic is recycled, a figure expected to reach just 17% by 2060. Meanwhile, plastic production is on track to triple by that same year, Packaging accounts for nearly half, most of it used once and discarded.
The solution? Investment in scalable, systemic reuse.
Reuse has the potential to reduce plastic waste from packaging by 90% or more. Even modest shifts, such as reusing 10% of products, could reduce plastic leakage into the ocean by 50% (WEF). Consumer readiness is also strong: 68% of surveyed UK adults in 2025 said they would adopt reuse systems if made convenient.
Yet reuse is still given only a marginal role and minimal investment. The share of reusable packaging among major brands has declined from 1.6% in 2019 to just 1.3% in 2023. This stagnation is driven in part by current frameworks that group reuse with recyclability and compostability that enables companies to meet targets through packaging redesign rather than systemic change.
Now is the time for coordinated action:
Brands must move beyond recyclability claims and embed reuse into design and delivery.
Regulators must set enforceable reuse targets together with declines in plastic use and align incentives toward prevention of plastic use, not disposal.
Stakeholders across the value chain must collaborate on scalable infrastructure, policy frameworks, and consumer access.
We do not need more recyclable plastic. We need less plastic — and smarter systems.
Read the full report and explore REUSE Foundation’s work in building a reuse-first future: www.reusefoundation.org
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