The wind-down of the Hefty ReNew programme in the United States, scheduled to conclude by June 2027, highlights the ongoing global challenges of collecting and processing hard-to-recycle flexible plastics. Established to divert hard-to-recycle plastics—such as multi-layer films, pouches, and polystyrene—from landfills using co-mingled orange bags, the initiative's closure reflects the complex economics and logistical hurdles inherent in post-consumer flexible packaging recovery.
While the programme succeeded in diverting significant volumes of material to downstream partners for chemical recycling and energy recovery, maintaining such specialised collection streams has proven difficult to scale. The decision to phase out the scheme over the next three years suggests that voluntary, bag-in-bin collection models face persistent headwinds regarding material contamination, high sorting costs, and volatile end-market demand for pyrolysis feedstock.
For UK waste companies and packaging converters, this development serves as a cautionary tale as the UK prepares for mandatory household collection of flexible plastics under upcoming Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Simpler Recycling regulations. UK operators must note that relying on voluntary consumer sorting without robust, automated sorting infrastructure and stable chemical recycling outlets can jeopardise the long-term viability of film recovery.
For Turkish recyclers, who rely heavily on imported polymer scrap and are increasingly looking to upgrade mechanical recycling capabilities, the struggles of US flexible collection schemes emphasise the premium value of clean, mono-material streams. As chemical recycling pathways remain economically sensitive, mechanical recycling of high-quality, source-segregated polyolefins (such as LDPE and PP) remains the more resilient route.
A key takeaway for the industry is that flexible packaging design must pivot more rapidly towards mono-material simplicity. Relying on complex downstream collection and advanced recycling schemes to handle multi-layer materials is increasingly high-risk; instead, upstream design-for-recycling must do the heavy lifting to ensure materials can be processed via standard mechanical infrastructure.
