Rethinking the Future of Plastic Packaging: A Recycling Challenge We’re Tackling Head-On
The packaging world is facing a pivotal reckoning—and nowhere is this more evident than in the growing pressure to move away from single-use plastics. One of the largest e-commerce retailers in the world is currently grappling with the question of what to do with plastic mailers that, while functional, pose significant environmental and operational challenges.
Plastic packaging like these shipping mailers—made from multi-layer plastic film—are technically recyclable but practically unrecyclable for most communities. Why? Because plastic film is not accepted in most curbside recycling programs. It can jam machinery at material recovery facilities (MRFs), contaminates otherwise valuable recycling streams, and often ends up in landfills despite best intentions.
The Problem With Plastic Shipping Pouches
- Not accepted in most curbside recycling programs
- Difficult to process and disruptive to recycling facility operations
- Can take over a century to break down in landfills
- Often mislabeled as recyclable, confusing consumers and contaminating recycling streams
In fact, consumer drop-off programs—once seen as a workaround—are failing. Investigations have found that the overwhelming majority of plastic mailers placed in designated bins are never actually recycled. And as public scrutiny mounts, so does the urgency to act.
What’s Changing—and Why It Matters
The industry is shifting. In Europe, leading online retailers have already phased out plastic mailers in favor of fully recyclable, paper-based alternatives. In North America, a significant transition is also underway, with commitments to remove plastic air pillows and redesign packaging operations around sustainable paper-based materials.
But that still leaves millions of pounds of plastic in circulation—new, unused, and looking for a second life.
Where Mid America Paper Recycling Comes In
At Mid America Paper Recycling, we’re not just watching this transition—we’re helping drive it. One of our newest and most ambitious projects involves responsibly managing the recycling of nearly 90 trailers of these plastic mailers, keeping them out of landfills and supporting our partner’s efforts to find more sustainable solutions.
While we can’t name the customer, it’s fair to say this project reflects a much larger movement in the packaging industry—a turning point where sustainability, practicality, and innovation must intersect.
Our Role: Turning Waste Into Opportunity
We’ve built our name on helping companies reclaim the value of their paper waste. But did you know we do the same for plastic?
Plastic is now as common as paper in commercial and industrial settings—and just as capable of holding untapped value. It piles up fast, takes time to collect, and costs money to dispose of. Worse, when it ends up in landfills, it depletes natural resources and sets back sustainability goals.
That’s where we come in.
- We help you manage plastic scrap more efficiently
- We market your materials to qualified buyers to generate revenue
- We support your sustainability goals with real, measurable progress
Our plastics recycling program is built on the same foundation as our nationally recognized paper recycling network—delivering customized solutions backed by deep expertise and strong industry connections.
And we’re not limited to the easy stuff. Mid America has the capability to handle many of the hard-to-recycle plastics that others won’t touch. From mixed polymers and air bags to shrink wrap and multi-layer films, we’ve successfully moved materials that would otherwise be destined for landfill. It’s all part of our mission to transform waste into value—and sustainability into action.
Some of the Plastic Materials We Recycle:
- #1 PET – Polyethylene Terephthalate
- #2 HDPE – Natural and Color
- #3 PVC – Polyvinyl Chloride
- #4 LDPE – Low Density Polyethylene
- #5 PP – Polypropylene
- #6 PS – Polystyrene, including commingle plastic
- Polycarbonate, ABS, Acrylic, Engineering Grade Plastics
- LDPE Film (shrink wrap), HMW drums, Mixed Rigid Plastics
We handle material in many formats—baled, loose, regrind, repro, purge, post-consumer, and industrial. Whatever your scrap stream looks like, we can help you turn a problem into a profit center.
A New Era of Responsibility
Plastic mailers may be on the way out. But until the last one is phased out, the challenge remains: how do we manage this waste stream responsibly?
At MAPR, we believe recyclables are more than a sustainability checkbox—they’re a source of efficiency, a path to innovation, and a competitive advantage for forward-thinking companies.
Let’s make sure that every pound of plastic scrap ends up where it belongs: in the recycling stream, not the landfill.
📋 Start with our 10-minute Waste Audit and see what’s possible:
https://www.midamericapaper.com/waste-reduction-audit
