If you’ve been in the conversation about sustainable packaging at all in the last few years, you’ve seen the rise in use of recycled content in plastic packaging. But what exactly is post-consumer recycled (PCR) content, and where does it fit into the sustainable packaging landscape? Is it really sustainable? In this Deep Dive we’ll focus on PCR in plastic packaging. Post-consumer recycled content refers to materials that have already been used by consumers, recycled, and then repurposed into new products, including packaging. A piece of packaging is said to have some percentage of PCR – if for example, a plastic bag with 20% PCR was made of 20% recycled content, and the other 80% was virgin (new) content. In the world of sustainable packaging, PCR is most commonly part of the discussion in plastics (you may also hear PCR spelled out as “post-consumer resin” in the context of plastics), but most kinds of packaging can have recycled content – glass, metal, paper, and more. For whatever reason, the term PCW (post-consumer waste) is sometimes used, especially in paper products, but the concept is the same.

Sonoco announced that two members of the Company’s Board of Directors will be leaving. Marc D. Oken, 75, chairman and founder of Falfurrias Capital Partners, a Charlotte, N.C., private equity firm, has reached the Board’s mandatory retirement age and will not stand for reelection at the Company’s 2022 Annual General Meeting. Oken joined the board in 2006 and serves on the Company’s Executive Committee as well as the Executive Compensation, Audit and Corporate Governance and Nominating committees. In addition, Lloyd M. Yates, 61, who was recently named President and Chief Executive Officer of NiSource, Inc. (NYSE: NI), a Merrillville, IN, energy holding company, extended his resignation to Sonoco’s Board, effective March 1, 2022. Yates served on Sonoco’s Board since 2019 and is a member of Audit, Financial Policy and Employee and Public Responsibility committees. Yate’s resignation was not the result of any disagreement between Yates and the Company, its management, board of directors or any committee thereof, or with respect to any matter relating to the Company’s operation, policies or practices.

The U.S.-based nonprofit Food System 6 (FS6) announces the launch of a comprehensive startup program in partnership with global sustainable food packaging leader Huhtamaki. The Huhtamaki Circular Economy Startup Program by Food System 6 is designed to accelerate the development of young and promising companies working for a more sustainable future. It will focus on identifying and developing early-stage companies with innovative and promising sustainable solutions in areas such as waste diversion, sustainable packaging alternatives, new materials innovations, and regenerative production models. “Our program is happening at a critical time. The COVID-19 crisis has exposed the vulnerabilities that already existed in our fragile food system,” said Caesaré Assad, Chief Executive Officer of Food System 6. “We need solutions now that will support regeneration and circularity across agriculture, food distribution and production. By supporting entrepreneurs, we can rectify the problems that impact people and our planet to create a stronger, resilient, and equitable world.”