--- title: "Packaging Group Lays Out Sustainability Options in New Guide" id: "45760" type: "post" slug: "packaging-group-lays-out-sustainability-options-in-new-guide" published_at: "2019-02-22T21:13:57+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T23:42:23+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2019/02/22/packaging-group-lays-out-sustainability-options-in-new-guide/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2019/02/22/packaging-group-lays-out-sustainability-options-in-new-guide.md" excerpt: "The Sustainable Packaging Coalition, in an effort to encourage uptake in recycled content in packaging, is offering a guide that lays out the strengths and weaknesses of different reusable materials—both from a material and manufacturing standpoint." taxonomy_category: - "Learning" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Environment and Sustainability" - "recycling" - "Repackaging" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "C-Level" - "Director" - "Manager" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Industry Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Packaging Group Lays Out Sustainability Options in New Guide If your industry is trying to encourage a certain behavior, it always helps to lay out the options in an easy-to-follow way. Which is why the Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s recent efforts to explain and clarify the process for using recycled content in packaging might prove a great lesson for those looking to try a similar tactic. SPC’s new [Design for Recycled Content Guide (opens in a new tab)](https://recycledcontent.org/) breaks down the different types of plastics that can be used, the challenges and opportunities that can come with using them, and the attributes of the different materials that might make one work better than another in a given context. The guide covers nearly half a dozen different variants of plastic, along with paperboard, corrugate, glass, aluminum, and steel. The coalition says that the process goes both ways—both in terms of recycling materials and reusing them. In other words: If there’s no market, it becomes harder to do. “Designing recyclable packaging is critical to creating a supply of recycled materials,” the guide says. “However, for the recycling system to be robust and healthy, the practice of designing for recyclability must be accompanied by a practice of providing market demand for recycled content.” Accordin to SPC, the guide came about through interviews with various stakeholders, including manufacturers, converters, brands, and retailers. The commentary helps to contextualize the guide’s key points. The goal of the guide, said Kelly Cramer, who leads the How2Recycle program within SPC and is GreenBlue’s director of program management, is to offer “actionable frameworks to allow and encourage” better use of sustainability in the manufacturing process. “To that end, Sustainable Packaging Coalition is hopeful that its Design for Recycled Content Guide better illuminates what that path can or should look like for companies to make more circular packaging,” [Cramer said in a news release (opens in a new tab)](https://sustainablepackaging.org/projects/design-for-recycled-content-guide/) . The guide is available to both members and nonmembers. A close-up shot of plastic granules that might be used in manufacturing. (LukaSvetic/iStock/Getty Images Plus) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#Environment and Sustainability](https://associationsnow.com/tag/environment-and-sustainability/) [#recycling](https://associationsnow.com/tag/recycling/) [#Repackaging](https://associationsnow.com/tag/repackaging/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [PodcastSustainable Events: How Associations and DMOs Are Leading the ChargeMarch 31, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/03/31/sustainable-events-how-associations-and-dmos-are-leading-the-charge/) - [VideoAmerican College of Emergency Physicians: ACEP Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation ProgramSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/american-college-of-emergency-physicians-acep-geriatric-emergency-department-accreditation-program/) - [VideoUrban Land Institute- Project Recovery: Rebuilding Los Angeles After the January 2025 WildfiresSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/urban-land-institute-project-recovery-rebuilding-los-angeles-after-the-january-2025-wildfires/) - [PodcastAssociations NOW Presents: All for the Love of Chicago: Rethinking the Destination ExperienceSeptember 10, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/10/associations-now-presents-all-for-the-love-of-chicago-rethinking-the-destination-experience/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2019%2F02%2F22%2Fpackaging-group-lays-out-sustainability-options-in-new-guide%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !