By KEYNA CORY
At every grocery checkout, shoppers face a familiar choice: paper, plastic or reusable? What most people don’t see is the complex system working behind the scenes to make sure those bags, and the materials that go into them, are collected, recycled and remade into something new.
In Florida, that system is increasingly shaped by Novolex, one of the world’s largest packaging manufacturers, and Florida’s largest grocer, Publix. Together, they are proving that recycling can work at scale, delivering economic value while reducing waste and advancing sustainability.
Novolex: A Leader in Circular Packaging
With more than 100 production facilities and seven Regional Mixing Centers across North America and Europe, Novolex employs over 20,000 people and produces packaging across 120 categories and 250 brands. Its 39,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs) cover everything from takeout containers to retail bags. What makes Novolex stand out is its ability to design products with recycled content and then invest in the infrastructure needed to recover those materials.
Programs like Bag2Bag® demonstrate this leadership. Through Bag2Bag, plastic bags and film collected at grocery store drop-off bins are processed into recycled resin and remade into new bags or packaging. This ensures that Floridians who recycle at the store can be confident that their plastic film is not discarded, but reborn.
Convenient Recycling Access at Publix
Publix has been a recycling pioneer since the 1970s, when it first partnered with paper mills to recycle cardboard. Today, every Publix store offers front-of-store bins where customers can return bags, wraps, and other flexible plastics.
Publix has updated signage to clearly identify acceptable items, reducing contamination and educating customers on materials that typically aren’t accepted curbside. In 2024 alone, Publix collected 21 million pounds of soft plastics. Publix also encourages customers to choose reusable bags.
Signage throughout the interior and exterior of their stores reminds shoppers to bring them, and for every reusable bag sold, Publix donates a portion of the profit, up to $250,000 annually, to the Arbor Day Foundation to support tree plantings in degraded watersheds and forests of greatest need in Florida. Since 2016, this program has planted 1.5 million trees in Florida.
Local Manufacturing, Local Jobs
The circular economy is not just about recycling; it’s also about supporting communities. In Jacksonville, Novolex’s Hilex Poly plant anchors this vision. The facility provides skilled jobs while producing millions of pounds of packaging annually. By integrating recycled content into its products, the plant demonstrates how sustainability and economic development go hand in hand.
Scaling Recycling Capacity
While Florida’s recycled film is often processed outside the state, it plays a critical role in feeding Novolex’s larger recycling network. Facilities in places like North Vernon rely on Florida’s collected bags and wraps to make recycled resin. That material, in turn, is incorporated into products used every day in Florida, from Office Depot bags with 30 percent recycled content to foodservice packaging.
Why It Matters for Florida
Florida faces unique waste challenges – rapid population growth, millions of visitors each year and limited landfill space. By supporting recycling infrastructure, partnering with grocers, and reinvesting in local manufacturing, Novolex and Publix are showing that solutions are within reach. Their work gives Floridians not just the option to recycle, but the confidence that their efforts truly make a difference.
In the end, whether you choose paper, plastic, or reusable, the bigger choice is clear: Florida is building a more sustainable future, one bag at a time.
Keyna Cory serves as the Executive Director of the Florida Recycling Partnership Foundation, a coalition of leading Florida businesses and associations dedicated to educating policymakers, business leaders and the public on the value of recycling and the importance of recycling correctly.
