Closed-loop material value recovery refers to the efficient collection and reprocessing of used materials for re-use in the next generation of products. Effective recovery preserves the embodied value and environmental safety of materials throughout their life-cycle. This is especially true for used packaging materials. The best recovery opportunities for packaging materials at end-of-life – the most effective ways to preserve their value – are determined by a combination of factors, including policy, funding, infrastructure and technology, geography and demographics, and market forces. A focus on only one type of material, one recovery method, one part of the packaging supply chain, or one part of the country will simply not be able to create the kind of change necessary to capture the material and economic value of the packaging materials we use on a daily basis. The relative success of packaging recycling programs in the European Union suggests that strong, cross-border policies, such as the EU Waste Framework Directive and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, can provide the necessary framework under which efficient packaging material recovery systems operate. European nations tend to harmonize within their borders as well; some require stewardship organizations to serve the entire country with collection, sorting and reprocessing infrastructure. Australia and Ontario, Canada provide additional examples of recovery systems working towards harmonization but operating outside of the European context. In the United States, however, because waste has traditionally been managed at the local level, jurisdictions develop different priorities and practices, resulting in conflicting infrastructures, interests, and incentives. A notable example: while neighboring rural and urban recycling systems share geography and face similar challenges – reducing transportation costs, securing adequate funding, building a recycling constituency – both may suffer from weak links between their jurisdictions. Noting the prevalent gaps in US recycling systems offers opportunities for useful critiques; noting the many successes around the world within various country, state, and municipal systems identifies practical innovations and emerging best practices – a harmonized systems approach, a four- or five-bin collection system, investment in state of the art sorting technology, extended producer responsibility legislation, “hub and spoke” regional recycling – that may be applied nationwide across the US, and for the purposes of this report, in California.