There is considerable pressure on flexible packagers to incorporate as much reclaim as possible. Some of this pressure comes from resin prices and some from the sustainability programs retail outlets use to determine shelf positioning, as well as from some large packaging companies that employ similar scoring systems when selecting vendors. Thus, as the flexible packaging industry grows there is a parallel growing demand for usable reclaim.
The amount of plastic materials reclaimed from the waste stream has grown significantly in both the post consumer and post industrial segments, with materials from flexible packaging making up a significant amount of the overall volume. Not only has the growth of flexible packaging in markets formerly held by cans and paper added to the plastic scrap volume, it has also altered the characteristics of the material in ways that have challenged recyclers and recycling equipment manufacturers.