McKinsey: Recyclability equates to sustainability for US residents

A McKinsey survey shows packaging recyclability is top of mind for sustainability-backing Americans, although convenience and price remain paramount.

glass bottle recycling
Surveyed Americans consider glass to offer the most sustainable form of packaging, a McKinsey survey has found.
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The 2020s have brought with it the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and geopolitical uncertainty, all of which have influenced the behavior of household consumers in the United States, according to global consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

Those factors prompted McKinsey to conduct a global survey of tens of thousands of people earlier this year, including 1,000 in the U.S., to find if views about packaging choices had changed. A report posted to the company’s website this week and co-authored by five McKinsey staff members specifically examines survey responses emanating from the U.S.

The report by McKinsey’s Daniel Nordigården of its Toronto office, David Feber in the Detroit office, Felix Grünewald and Markus Pley in the firm’s Zurich office and Mark Conrad in Stockholm focuses in part on the finding that a product’s recyclability is the most important characteristic for U.S. consumers when considering the sustainability of packaging, though a significant portion is also concerned with the level of recycled content and reusability.

Before sustainability is even considered, however, the survey results indicate Americans consistently rank the quality, price and convenience of products as more important than the environmental impact of products, followed by food safety and shelf life, which also ranks ahead of sustainability aspects.

Additionally, when asked to rank types of packaging based on their level of sustainability, U.S. consumers surveyed perceived glass to be the most sustainable, followed by paper and metal (aluminum and steel).

“This is consistent with the importance of recyclability to U.S. consumers: Glass, metal and paper are the packaging types with the highest levels of recycling rates and recycled content in the United States,” the report says, citing U.S.-based trade association statistics.

While extended producer responsibility (EPR) and beverage container deposit-return system (DRS) programs often are actively lobbied against by corporations, the survey results indicate U.S. consumers believe it is brand owners and packaging producers, not retailers or consumers themselves, that should be held responsible for sustainability in packaging, according to McKinsey.

The overall proportion of Americans who care about sustainability has not fallen, and McKinsey says companies in the packaging value chain will need to tailor their strategies to respond to the nuanced, evolving consumer views on sustainable packaging.

To that end, the report says companies attempting to build market share should consider four strategies: understanding the granularity of consumer behavior, engaging the full packaging value chain, designing packaging to meet the full set of consumer needs and preferences and prioritizing consumer education.

Companies in the recycling supply chain may be heartened to learn the 2025 survey found 77 percent of respondents said recyclability is extremely important or very important.

McKinsey singles out multimaterial packaging as a form of packaging that often cannot be recycled in existing recycling systems, which it says poses a significant and unresolved challenge in recycling today.

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SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC

An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

Sponsored Content

SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC

An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

Sponsored Content

SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC

An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

Sponsored Content

SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC

An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

The full report on the U.S. survey results can be found on the McKinsey & Co. website.

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