Panini World Cup Album Creates Multi‑Tonne Problem From Hard‑To‑Recycle Sticker Backings

Overview

• Early sales figures reported this weekend indicated roughly 6.7 million sticker packs were sold, a volume that media estimates converts to about 47 million stickers and roughly 11.7 tonnes of silicone-coated liner.
• The liner is paper coated with a silicone film that slows decomposition and needs a costly, specialized separation process to recover cellulose for reuse, which limits practical recyclability.
• Polpel in Guarulhos is currently the only Latin American firm known to run a separation process and it is collecting liners by mail or at São Paulo drop-off points until August 10 with proceeds from recovered fiber pledged to GRAAC.
• Suppliers such as Dow say they are working with partners to improve recyclability, while Panini had not answered media questions about disposal guidance at the time of reporting.
• Experts say Brazil’s producer‑responsibility rules leave ambiguity about who must collect multi‑component waste, so the burden to return liners often falls on consumers and small collection campaigns rather than on producers or national infrastructure.