This package was redesigned to be recyclable through the Polyethylene (PE) (Identified as #2 or #4 plastics) recycling stream. This package can be recycled if you recycle your pallet or bundle wrap today as long as the package is Clean & Dry. Every waste hauler has different requirements for how clean & dry the package needs to be so we recommend you connect with them to confirm.
This package was tested through the Association of Plastic Recyclers Polyethylene Design Guide & Critical Guidance Testing. This is the most stringent testing for certifying recyclability and requires the film be fully reprocessed back into a film, known as film-to-film recycling.
The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), which was founded over 30 years ago by mechanical recyclers, is an international non-profit and the only North American organization focused exclusively on improving recycling for plastics. Their member base covers the entire recycling process—from design to collection to recovery to remanufacturing— because recycling is a highly interconnected system, and the success of each stage relies on what comes before and after it in the cycle.
If you already have an existing waste hauler, we recommend you connect with them and explain that you want to start recycling your pallet wrap, bundle film & ParfaitPro® bags. If your waste hauler is not capable of recycling this material today below is a list of some resources to kick the project off yourself. Note that recyclers like it when they can collect a lot of material at once so if you have a partner distribution center that can act as a central hub we recommend you engage with them.
Clean & dry means that all the product residue from the bag is removed. Here are some best practices on how to clean the bag:
Recycled plastic bags can be used to produce a wide array of new products. Currently, approximately 47% of recycled plastic film is used to produce lumber/decking, 35% goes back into film for things like new shopping bags, 12% is used for injection molding (the process used to produce plastic items like bottle caps, wire spools, and storage bins) and 6% is used for other applications.
The US Plastic Pact & The Consumer Goods Forum all recommend that flexible packaging move to mono-polyethene. This type of plastic has demonstrated market demand to be converted into recycled materials. The technology required to protect the product (packaging’s most important job) and be recyclable hasn’t existed until we co-developed it with our suppliers. ParfaitPro® knows our world needs this type of innovation and encourages other brands to adopt it as well.
When we embarked on this journey to innovate a recyclable plastic bag, our intention was that this would be the start of a broader adoption of recyclable packaging in the food industry, which is why we are excited for our peers to follow. We urge all in the food industry to work with their suppliers in making snack packaging recyclable. We encourage you to ask your suppliers & partners if they can shift their packaging to be recyclable in this same stream.
Bags should NOT be recycled in normal blue bin recycling unless you have pre-approved it with your waste hauler. Flexible films like this bag are generally more easily recycled in a separate collection scheme like is often down with pallet & bundle wrap. We hope eventually this bag can be recycled with all your normal recycling but at this time keep them separate.
No, your ParfaitPro® will still be the delicious high-quality it has always been. This new package has undergone significant testing to demonstrate that there is no impact to product safety & quality.
Recycled content offers a wide range of environmental benefits. We continue to work with organizations to advance the use of recycled content, but supply continues to present a challenge. By participating in film recycling program, consumers are helping to build that supply of clean, reliable post-consumer recycled material. Until this supply is reliable enough and safe for food packaging, we are unable to test its effectiveness with our ParfaitPro® packaging.
Most Compost facilities are only capable of breaking down yard waste or food scraps & the industrial scale Infrastructure needed to sufficiently break down compostable packaging continues to be limited in most communities. Less than 10% of Americans have access to industrial composting while the majority of food service business have access to PE film recycling.
ParfaitPro® R&D scientists continue to push the boundaries of advanced packaging material development. A paper bag is an ambitious goal for wet products. Given the careful attention to product quality there are several areas (specifically: ability to maintain shelf life, manufacture at rate, and ability to withstand puncture/physical abuse) that need additional technology advancements.
General Mills participates in a variety of industry coalitions, such as the Sustainable Packaging Coalition and the Association of Plastics Recyclers (APR), which aim to improve recycling and markets for recycled content. Another General Mills brand, Annie’s, designed a cereal liner that used 35% recycled content and was recognized by the APR Recycling Demand Champions program.
APR Recycling Demand Champions commit to purchase new post-consumer recycled content (PCR) through “work in process” (WIP) durable goods, or other applications for PCR, thereby playing a prominent role in expanding the market for mixed residential plastics, driving investment, increasing supply and producing more high-quality PCR. This campaign includes any and all NEW applications for PCR.
ParfaitPro®’s new recyclable bag are one step in the right direction. We envision a future in which all plastic films are recycled. That will take a lot of different groups acting in concert: brands inventing new technologies, consumers learning why and how to recycle, and the recycling infrastructure developing further.
Rather than wait for the perfect solution, ParfaitPro® believes it’s important to take incremental steps toward the vision of a more recyclable future. Our 2030 commitment is that all General Mills packaging will be 100% recyclable by 2030. We won’t stop working on this problem until every single wrapper is recycled. Our R&D scientists are exploring non-plastic alternatives to our wrappers. Today, none of these solutions are ready and, in some cases, the carbon emissions are several times higher than the plastic alternative.