Nestle, an influential multinational food manufacturer has committed $2 billion to develop alternatives to current plastic for packaging food. Nestle hopes to reduce and eventually eliminate single-use plastic currently representing approximately 1.9 million tons annually with only two percent manufactured from recycled stock.

Most multinationals have pledged to recycle plastic and to use alternative materials. Proctor and Gamble has a goal of halving fossil-based plastic by 2030. Unilever plan to reduce plastic packaging from fossil fuels by half before the end of 2025.

The use of multi-layered packaging film combining aluminum and plastic, as used in the food industry, represents a challenge to recycling plants.

It is evident that consumers are demanding recycling and alternatives to fossil-derived plastic. This has had an impact on legislators worldwide characterized by banning single-use plastic bags. The entire recycling industry in the EU and the U.S. was thrown into disarray in 2018 when China altered its policy on importation of scrap plastic to be recycled in plants that generated environmental contamination and became economically infeasible.