Consumer goods companies are joining forces through The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) to set the agenda for the development of new plastic recycling technologies through its newly published Golden Design Rules.

The CGF's Coalition of Action on Plastic Waste has published an independent scientific study which demonstrates that the chemical recycling of hard-to-recycle plastic waste could reduce the climate impact of plastic when compared to waste-to-energy incineration.

The Coalition's 42 member companies; including the Coca-Cola Company, Colgate-Palmolive, Danone, GSK, L'Oréal, Mars, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Sainsbury's, Unilever and Walmart; have been guided in the global commitment by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and in line with the newly announced UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution.

The Golden Design Rules cover the design of plastic packaging under a set of voluntary, independent and time-bound commitments that will create significant value for the industry and wider system and build the necessary momentum for achieving the further design changes required to achieve the targets laid out in the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment.

The latest design rules focus on eliminating unnecessary plastic packaging, by reducing headspace and plastic overwraps, as well as increasing recycling value in various types of plastic, including PET thermoformed packaging, flexible consumer packaging and rigid HDPE and PP. Business-to-business plastic packaging will also be targeted, with the elimination of all unnecessary packaging that doesn't reach the consumer. The rules also cover the use of clear and accurate on-pack recycling instructions, which will help consumers to ensure that packaging is sorted for the appropriate end-of-life solution.

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