A聽 study by the Plastics Forming Enterprises (PFE) sorted and characterized plastics materials found in the glass commodity stream from glass processing in California had some surprising results. More than 37% of the material found was not even considered small plastic and appeared to meet the criteria for recyclability, if the primary sort was optimized to prevent large plastics entering the glass residual.
Understanding the mix of recoverable commodities contained in the glass is key to the research of the Small Format Coalition (SFC). Since 2025, SFC has alerted policymakers to the presence and recovery possibilities of small non-glass packaging materials in the recycling stream.
The study materials underwent a primary sort and analysis by MSS Optical using random samples with multiple pulls from different inbound sources to anonymize the material according to industry review and analytical standards.聽 Half of all the material in the glass commodity stream was not glass. The MSS optical data showed roughly one-third is fiber, another 15 percent plastics, and varying-sized metals made up nearly five percent. There is also a notable presence of larger recyclable commodities from the glass stream along with the remaining material that was a variety of material that was not otherwise recyclable.
鈥淪tudies like this punctuate the need for infrastructure to capture small format materials in California in compliance with EPR,鈥� said Scott DeFife, president of Glass Packaging Institute(GPI). 鈥淎ll materials are all in the bin together, and the Small Format Coalition is working to finalize investments in technology in California that will impact the recovery and circularity of these products,鈥� said DeFife.
The secondary-sort material found 62% of the material studied met the American Plastics Recyclers (APR) definition of small plastics, less than two inches in size.聽 聽Among the total plastic material composition was 51% polypropylene (PP),16% polyethylene (PE), and 18% mixed resin black plastics.
鈥淐ollaborative investments will provide real-world, real-time data on the volume and characteristics of the small and large fibers, metals and plastics that are recoverable from what is incorrectly categorized in the glass commodity stream in California,鈥� said DeFife.
The SFC and its member producer brands, technology providers, end-market reclaimers, and other industry collaborators, including the Center for Circular Economy Smalls Consortium, anticipate this data will help to further inform Circular Action Alliance (CAA) and CalRecycle of the recyclability of many covered material categories in the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act.