Plastic Products Manufacturers NAICS 3261

May 27, 2026 - Recycled Food Packaging

• A new United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report is raising concerns about the safety and regulatory challenges tied to recycled plastics used in food packaging. The report calls for updating existing regulatory frameworks to ensure safe production and application of recycled food-contact material and notes that growing demand for recycled food-contact materials is creating pressure for globally harmonized safety standards to address potential chemical contamination risks. For makers of plastic products, especially producers of food packaging, the findings could lead to stricter testing requirements, greater regulatory scrutiny, and higher compliance costs for recycled resin use. The report also highlights increasing demand for traceability systems, improved recycling stream controls, and more advanced risk assessment processes. Plastic packaging manufacturers may need to invest in cleaner recycling technologies, supply chain transparency, and material verification systems to maintain access to food packaging markets as sustainability goals and food safety expectations evolve.
• The Iran war is creating cost and demand pressures for plastic product manufacturers, particularly those tied to packaging, Packaging Dive reports. Rising oil prices are increasing the cost of petroleum-based resins, a key input for plastics, with even modest oil increases translating into higher per-pound production costs. Manufacturers are already receiving price hike notices from feedstock suppliers and facing higher transportation and logistics expenses due to disrupted shipping routes like the Strait of Hormuz. Additionally, inflation and geopolitical uncertainty are weakening consumer spending, which reduces demand for packaged goods and, in turn, plastic packaging. Supply chain disruptions are also tightening availability of raw materials, further complicating production planning. Overall, plastic product makers face a challenging environment of rising input costs, logistical disruptions, and softer demand, with the duration of the conflict determining whether these impacts remain temporary or become longer-term structural challenges.

• California’s attorney general has sued three plastic bag makers alleging they deceived consumers over whether the bags were ultimately recycled, The Wall Street Journal reports. The AG filed suit against Novolex, Inteplast, and Mettler, alleging violations of environmental marketing claims and false advertising and unfair competition laws, according to WSJ. Meanwhile, California is settling with four plastic bag producers: Revolution Sustainable Solutions, Metro Poly, PreZero US Packaging, and Advance Polybag, resolving allegations that they violated the same laws. As part of the settlement, the companies have agreed to halt plastic bag sales in California and collectively pay more than $1.75 million, per WSJ. California law has specific recyclability standards to reduce plastic pollution and waste: plastic bags are only allowed if they are recyclable, clearly labeled as such, and include instructions for consumers to recycle them.
• Producer prices for plastic products manufacturers hit a record high in April, up 3% compared to a year ago, after inching up 0.5% in the previous April-versus-April annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Employment by the industry continues to slide, falling 1% year over year in March, while average wages at plastics and rubber product manufacturers rose 3.6% in April to $26.20 per hour, BLS data show. Over the past three years, employment growth for plastic products makers declined by 5.5%, lower than private growth of 2.2%.