APC expands certified-circular packaging for pet food
Bottom line
American Packaging Corporation said on June 9 it has advanced its certified-circular content packaging for food and pet food applications, expanding availability across all six of its U.S. Centers of Excellence, each of which now carries ISCC PLUS certification. The company says the materials use resins and films made through advanced recycling, which breaks plastic waste down to molecular building blocks that can be turned into packaging with properties comparable to virgin plastic. APC also said it has now commercialized the technology in a food application and can use it in layers and films intended for direct food contact, including pet food packaging. (prnewswire.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals and pet food industry stakeholders, the announcement points to another route brands may use to reduce virgin plastic in packaging without giving up the barrier performance, durability, and machinability that pet food formats require. That matters in a category where flexible, multi-layer packaging has been difficult to recycle, and where suppliers have been moving toward alternatives such as mono-material structures, recycle-ready designs, and ISCC-certified recycled-content options. At the same time, mass-balance claims tied to advanced recycling remain debated, so packaging claims and end-of-life realities will still deserve close scrutiny. (petfoodprocessing.net)
What to watch: Watch for named pet food brand adoptions, on-pack claims, and how APC positions certified-circular content alongside its recycle-ready pet food formats as sustainability expectations and packaging standards continue to evolve. (petfoodprocessing.net)
American Packaging Corporation is pushing further into sustainable pet food packaging with what it calls certified-circular content solutions, announcing June 9 that the offering is now available across all six of its Centers of Excellence and can be used in demanding applications including direct food-contact packaging for pet food. APC says the materials are produced through advanced recycling and verified through ISCC PLUS certification, a supply-chain standard used to track recycled inputs through a mass-balance system. (prnewswire.com)
The move builds on APC’s broader sustainability packaging strategy. In January 2024, the company announced ISCC PLUS certification for five manufacturing sites, saying that would allow it to source and convert advanced recycled resins and films. In May 2024, Pet Food Processing reported APC had also expanded its pet food portfolio with PE-based “design for recycle” formats for treats, kibble bags, rollstock, and premade pouches, aimed at improving compatibility with recycling systems without sacrificing shelf life or durability. (prnewswire.com)
In its latest announcement, APC said certified-circular content is now part of its sustainability offering across all six sites, and that it has already commercialized the technology in a food application. The company says advanced recycling breaks plastic waste into molecular components that can be used to make materials equivalent to virgin plastic, opening the door to use in extrusion tie layers, coating layers, and films for direct food contact, pet food, healthcare, and other sensitive uses. APC positions that as a way to incorporate recycled feedstocks where conventional mechanically recycled content has often been limited by performance or regulatory constraints. (prnewswire.com)
That pitch fits a broader trend in pet food packaging. Pet Food Processing reported in 2025 that flexible plastic remains the dominant format because it protects freshness and performs well in distribution, but the industry is under pressure to improve sustainability. Allison Reser of the Pet Sustainability Coalition said mono-material flexible packaging is currently viewed as a best practice because it is easier to recycle than multi-material structures. The same report also noted growing interest in food-safe, mass-balance, ISCC-certified recycled polymers, including for pet food applications. (petfoodprocessing.net)
Still, advanced recycling and mass-balance accounting are not universally accepted. Packaging Dive has reported that ISCC Plus certification allows recycled inputs to be allocated through a mass-balance approach, which supporters see as a practical way to scale food-contact recycled content. But the Association of Plastic Recyclers has warned federal regulators against unqualified recycled-content claims based on mass balance alone, arguing that such claims can undermine consumer trust. Critics outside the industry have gone further, questioning whether chemical or advanced recycling delivers the environmental benefits brands imply. (packagingdive.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this is less about the package itself than what it signals about the pet food supply chain. Pet parents are paying more attention to sustainability, and packaging has become part of brand credibility. Suppliers like APC are trying to solve a hard technical problem: how to reduce virgin plastic use while preserving food safety, product protection, filling-line efficiency, and shelf appeal. If certified-circular content performs as advertised, it could give pet food brands another option for high-barrier applications that have been difficult to shift away from virgin materials. But veterinary teams and industry observers should expect ongoing questions about exactly how recycled content is counted, what claims appear on pack, and whether those claims match real-world recyclability. (prnewswire.com)
The commercial implications could be meaningful if pet food brands adopt the format at scale. APC already markets a range of pet food packaging solutions, and its latest announcement suggests certified-circular content is moving from certification status into commercial use. That may appeal to brands trying to meet internal ESG targets or retailer expectations without redesigning every format around mono-material construction alone. (prnewswire.com)
What to watch: The next signals will be customer announcements, third-party validation of recycled-content claims, and whether regulators or industry groups tighten guidance around mass-balance labeling. Just as important, watch whether pet food brands pair certified-circular content with designs that improve actual end-of-life recovery, not just upstream sourcing claims. (petsustainability.org)