The U.S. Plastics Pact Celebrates 5 Years of Advancing the Circular Economy for Plastic Packaging

WALPOLE, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The U.S. Plastics Pact (USPP) is celebrating five years of bringing together companies, nonprofits, governments, and innovators to tackle one of the nation’s most urgent sustainability challenges: creating a circular economy for plastic packaging.

Since its founding in 2020, the USPP has united every segment of the plastics value chain around ambitious, shared goals—turning vision into action and demonstrating that real progress is possible through collaboration and accountability. The USPP is one of 13 national and regional Plastics Pacts worldwide, collectively spanning every continent and representing more than 900 organizations.

“From the beginning, our mission has been to convene the full plastics value chain around targets that once felt out of reach,” said Jonathan Quinn, President & CEO of the U.S. Plastics Pact. “Over the past five years, we’ve seen what can happen when ambition meets action: companies innovating together, policies informed by real-world data, and systems built for impact. While we are proud of this progress, this milestone is also a call to action—we must go further, faster.”

USPP Activators—member companies and organizations committed to advancing circularity—are leading the way. Collectively, they have:

• Reduced their use of virgin plastic,
• Increased the amount of recycled content in packaging, and
• Outperformed industry peers on key sustainability metrics.

These results reflect the power of shared goals and transparent reporting. By bringing the right stakeholders to the table, the USPP has proven that collaboration can drive measurable change and set a higher bar for the entire industry.

As the Pact transitions from its original Roadmap to 2025 to the new Roadmap 2.0, it enters its next phase with updated targets and a continued resolve to eliminate plastic waste.

“Our work is rooted in transparency,” said Marcu Alexander, Director of Development & Strategic Initiatives at the USPP. “When we set ambitious goals, we do so knowing that challenges will arise—and we commit to addressing them openly. We are deeply grateful to the Activators who have been with us since day one, and to those who have joined along the way. Your leadership makes this progress possible and strengthens our shared journey toward a truly circular future.”

Looking ahead, the USPP will continue to serve as a convener for the entire plastics value chain, fostering innovation and providing the tools, best practices, and shared knowledge needed to accelerate progress.

“Five years in, we are proud of what we’ve built—and even more motivated to keep going,” Quinn added. “The journey toward a truly circular economy for plastic packaging is ongoing, and the best is yet to come.”