Can this be recycled? WRAP and OPRL partner to end UK household recycling confusion

01 Mar 2019 --- UK WRAP and The On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) organization have formed a strategic partnership to provide consistent messaging on packaging labels and improve household and on-the-go recycling levels. Announced during Packaging Innovations 2019 this week in Birmingham, UK, these measures are designed to help the UK recycling industry reach its UK Plastics Pact target to recycle 70 percent plastic packaging by 2025 and its Circular Economy package target to recycle 70 percent of all packaging by 2030.

PackagingInsights speaks to Jane Bevis, Chair and Director of OPRL, from the Packaging Innovations show floor. Bevis explains that UK surveys conducted over the last decade have consistently found consumers to be confused about recycling and the profusion of recycling labels.

“OPRL’s latest research shows that advice on-pack is the single most important source of information for citizens on recycling. Our latest consumer insight research shows the Möbius Loop and Green Dot are not understood by UK consumers, whereas OPRL labels are both widely recognized, understood and acted on,” Bevis says.

A Which? 2018 survey found that 48 percent of the UK public believe that the Green Dot Symbol (two green arrows joined in a circle) means that the packaging can be recycled. In fact, it means that the company has paid into a scheme that supports recycling and use of sustainable materials, not that the product itself is recyclable, or made of recycled material.

“The UK Government’s proposal for a mandatory label, akin to other European countries, would help remove this confusion by ensuring consistent labeling. By working together collaboratively, this partnership with WRAP will ensure consistent messaging on recycling on-pack and through all other channels such as Recycle Now campaigns, as well as the materials that are produced for local authorities to use,” Bevis adds.

“Differentiating between plastic types is a mystery for consumers”
Although there is some confusion over recycling plastic packaging, all plastic bottles from drink and household products are collected by local UK waste authorities. Bevis points out that 80 percent of councils now collect pots, tubs and trays, although this has grown substantially in recent years.

“The biggest challenge is recycling plastic flexibles and films,” notes Bevis. “To consumers, differentiating between different plastics is a mystery which is why the work under the UK Plastics Pact to simplify the range of polymers used is so welcome. We will be able to give simple Yes/No advice in future which will remove the confusion.”

The quest for fully recyclable plastic laminates is a key objective for the plastics packaging industry. Amcor and Mondi have achieved significant ground in this space with the launch of AmLite with new film technology and the BarrierPack, respectively. Both of these innovations are recycle-ready.

“Consumer recycling behavior is crucial”
“54 percent of citizens put at least one item in the general rubbish bin that could have been recycled,” adds Peter Maddox, Director of WRAP UK. “Therefore, helping citizens to recycle more, and more often, is crucial to achieving the targets we have committed to. It makes absolute sense that we do this in close partnership with OPRL, whose on-pack messaging is recognized and understood by more than three in four citizens.”

To achieve packaging recycling targets of 70 percent by 2030 (Circular Economy package target) and 70 percent of plastic packaging by 2025 (The UK Plastics Pact target), the partnership will focus on:

• Providing consistent messaging on-pack to reduce confusion amongst consumers in the UK about what can and can’t be recycled.
• Improving the quality and quantity of household recycling in the UK.
• Improving the quality and quantity of “on-the-go” recycling in the UK.

WRAP will continue its delivery of the Recycle Now citizen campaign alongside broader recycling messages, while OPRL will remain responsible for on-pack recycling messages, using Recycle Now iconography under exclusive license.

Bevis believes this is the essential link to Recycle Now’s wider messaging that gives the consistent visual cue to consumers so that they instinctively know this is a recycling message.

“We’re proud that food and beverage manufacturers have been involved in OPRL right from our launch in 2009. They included OPRL labeling as part of their commitments in the original Courtauld Commitment led by WRAP. We’re proud to have so many great groceries brands actively using our labels to engage their customers in recycling their packaging – and delighted that many startups now see us as an industry standard in sustainable production,” Bevis concludes.

By Joshua Poole, with additional reporting from Laxmi Haigh