New Jersey is extending exemptions to its law requiring recycled content in food-contact packaging by three years, citing “limited availability” of food-safe materials and to allow time for infrastructure to scale.
The law requiring post-consumer recycled content (PCR) took effect in January 2022, but food-contact packaging and containers were temporarily exempt until Jan. 18, 2027. In a Sept. 2 memo, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) said it was extending exemptions through the end of 2029, and “does withhold the right to extend the exemption further as permitted by law.”
In a Sept. 10 statement, the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) said it was “deeply disappointed” by the decision to delay recycled content requirements for food packaging and containers, and questioned the methodology informing the delay.
“The decision discounts the proven use and availability of postconsumer recycled content, as well as the environmental and economic benefits of using recycled plastic. We are also concerned that such a consequential change was made without an opportunity for public comment or meaningful stakeholder engagement.”
APR owns Resource Recycling, Inc., publisher of Plastics Recycling Update.
APR also called for the state to “reverse course and maintain the original implementation date” and “to strengthen enforcement and transparency under the existing law, including publishing an updated list of manufacturers and their compliance status, enforcing penalties for noncompliance, and providing greater transparency around the basis for approved waivers.”
In late August, NJDEP responded to a Plastics Recycling Update query, saying enforcement of the law was “ongoing. The NJDEP has issued warning letters to known manufacturers that failed to register with the NJDEP.
“As required by the law, manufacturers have 90 days from the day they receive the warning letter to submit their delinquent registration(s). If a manufacturer fails to register within those 90 days, they will be subject to penalties for non-compliance with the registration requirements. At this time, all notified manufacturers are still within the 90-day timeframe, so penalties have not yet been assessed.” The agency maintains a list of registered manufacturers on its website.
Decision ‘contradicts’ law’s purpose
APR went on to say, “Delaying the requirements across the board will instead prolong reliance on new plastic and contradict the underlying goals of the law: to build sustained demand for recycled materials and reduce plastic waste.”
On its site, the NJDEP said the law “is intended to stimulate recycling markets by requiring manufacturers to include recycled materials in certain containers and packaging products that are sold or offered for sale in New Jersey. By requiring manufacturers to utilize postconsumer recycled content, demand shifts from new plastic, paper, and glass to recycled sources.”
In addition, APR said, “Recycled content requirements work by creating the market demand necessary to sustain and grow recycling. Delaying recycled content requirements sends exactly the wrong signal to companies that have prepared to comply, to recyclers that have invested, and to communities that expect the materials they recycle to be put back to productive use.”
Other industry associations expressed similar sentiments. Laura Stewart, executive director of the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), said her group understands concerns about the availability of post-consumer recycled material but was disappointed by the decision.Â
“Well-designed PCR policies provide the stable demand needed to sustain domestic recycling operations, encourage investment, and advance circularity,” she said. “The current challenges underscore the need to pair recycled-content requirements with policies that increase collection, strengthen domestic recycling infrastructure, and support economically sustainable end markets.”
One of a handful of states with similar laws, New Jersey has often been cited as a major demand driver for recycled content. The state’s economy is among the 10 largest in the US, driven by pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and other industries.
However, Christian Bruey, director of sustainability and external affairs at PP recycler PureCycle, said: “New Jersey is only one of many different near-term drivers of customer interest in adoption of recycled content in consumer-focused products. New Jersey’s extension does not impact current and upcoming extended producer responsibility obligations in other states or those brand owners with public commitments to sustainability.”
Bruey pointed out that the extension applies only to food-contact packaging, while rigid plastic containers currently require 10% postconsumer recycled content but will increase to 20% in 2027. “NJDEP’s qualification of PureFive resin as compliant recycled content under the law, announced in May 2026, applies across all of the relevant categories,” he added.
“This extension does not eliminate the work brands still need to do to meet the 2030 requirements of the law. Brands that trial and adopt early will build meaningful supply relationships to be prepared for future regulatory mandates,” he said.
Agency questions supply constraints, quality
In the memo, NJDEP said it had “concluded based on research that the existing technologies available for creating food-safe PCR are not yet at a scale to warrant a mandatory adoption across the industry. Also, the limited availability of food-safe PCR restricts the ability of food product manufacturers to meet the PCR standards of the law.”
In addition, “The NJDEP’s research also concludes that a potential impact to food quality could result from a large-scale mandate of including postconsumer recycled content in food packaging and containers. Extending this exemption will grant allowable time for the necessary technological development, research, and testing to occur.”
The agency “expects that by January 1, 2030, the availability of food-grade PCR will be more robust and technological advancements will enable the widespread use of PCR in food packaging and containers.”
Both APR and a major US polyolefins recycler pushed back against NJDEP’s assertions.
“Recycled plastic has been safely used in food-contact applications for more than 30 years,” APR said.
Scott Saunders, general manager, recycling division at KW Plastics, said, “Supply for HDPE blow molding grade – natural, white and mixed color – is not constrained. HDPE mixed color injection grade is readily available as well as PP white and mixed color.”
In addition, plastic beverage containers and glass containers filled with a beverage, along with non-food containers, were not included in the original exemption and have been required to contain 15% PCR since 2024.
Although glass beverage containers were already subject to the minimum PCR requirements, Scott DeFife, executive director of the Glass Packaging Institute, said: “All materials are struggling to get quality content out of the US waste management system.”
Existing guardrails, unintended consequences
APR also said the law had given companies five years to prepare for food-contact requirements, and established a targeted waiver process for specific circumstances in which compliance may not be feasible. “Companies facing legitimate challenges already have a path to seek relief without postponing requirements for those that are prepared to comply.”
One example is PureCycle, whose PP is produced using a dissolution recycling process. The resin recently qualified as compliant with the New Jersey law after the company engaged extensively with state officials. And “we intend to be a resource to the NJDEP as it evaluates future modifications to the regulations,” Bruey said.
The decision also creates “real economic consequences for US recyclers that have invested in equipment, capacity and operations in anticipation of growing demand for recycled content,” APR said. “Those investments depend on predictable markets.”
A sudden change to the timeline “risks leaving recyclers with stranded assets while packaging companies continue using new plastic instead of recycled materials collected from local communities.”
In response to an emailed request for additional information, an NJDEP auto-response said: “We are currently experiencing a high volume of inquiries regarding implementation of the law. Therefore, it may take 5-10 business days before the Department is able to respond to your request.”
