National Recycling Database empowers US circular economy with localized information
04 Mar 2022 --- The Recycling Partnership has developed a National Recycling Database, offering a comprehensive source for local recycling information across the US. The digital tools will offer individuals, companies, and the government access to localized recycling program details.
This “first-of-its-kind” database is designed to empower households, manufacturers, retailers, brands, policymakers, environmental organizations, and government officials to understand how individual recycling programs are conducted, what materials are recyclable at the local level, and ultimately how to improve packaging recyclability.
The US recycling system is not a unified or governmental entity but rather a network of 9,000+ separate local recycling programs. Each program has specific parameters for which materials can be recycled, and municipalities collect recyclables in different ways.
The technology marks the first time that a systematic search of community programs has been completed and aggregated into a database that can answer questions for consumers, companies, and recycling professionals, such as “Is this container recyclable in my town?”, “How do we design packaging for recyclability?” and “How can we improve recycling in my community?”
The Recycling Partnership’s National Database contains continuously updated data that will make it possible to answer these questions and more through a suite of tools currently under development.
The database will help companies ensure their products are recyclable.
Apple lends a hand
The Recycling Partnership says it has created the first database that indicates what materials are accepted for recycling based on specific community programs, versus general information about what’s recyclable in an area, with “generous support from Apple.”
The complex database incorporates research of all local US recycling websites with communities of over 2,500 households (97% of the US population) and a custom neural network that captures local recycling changes as they occur.
The Recycling Partnership is actively working to deliver a series of digital tools that will harness the breadth and depth of the database for multiple audiences. The first offering will be a chat-bot tool – available this spring through both The Recycling Partnership’s website and other online channels – that will answer household recycling questions to address common confusion (for example, “Is my yogurt container recyclable in my community?”).
The database will also be used in tandem with its recent Pathway to Circularity Recyclability Framework, supporting companies in taking action to ensure their product is recyclable. Though some packaging may require further innovation, the database will allow for the recyclability of these packages to be communicated in real-time to consumers.
Collaboration potential
Given the power of the National Recycling Database, The Recycling Partnership envisions multiple opportunities to collaborate with communities, App creators, and other partners. As tools are released, The Recycling Partnership will be engaging community and industry partners to gather feedback on the data and input on future offerings.
The organization currently uses the database to strategically target investments, focusing on communities that most need support. Ultimately, the National Recycling Database will fuel the transformation of today’s US recycling system into a system of the future, allowing:
- Consumers to access trustworthy local recycling information
- Local recycling program coordinators to convey updated and correct recycling information to residents
- Retailers and brands to design packaging for maximum recyclability
- Material producers to determine steps to overcome impediments to recyclability
- Policymakers at the state and federal level to determine what is accepted for recycling at the local level.
“We are thrilled to share this powerful database that offers a hyperlocal and a high-level view of the US recycling system at any given moment,” says Aaron Burman, VP of Data & Analytics. “We’ve built a state-of-the-art neural network to detect changes in community websites, but this is just the data foundation for a suite of tools that will help drive circularity throughout the US economy.”
“Advancing a circular economy requires concerted efforts and focus at all levels of the recycling supply chain,” adds Sarah Dearman, VP of Circular Venture. “The National Database will enable us to strategically affect package design, convey real-time recyclability information, and target action to improve the recycling system where it is needed most so that we can build a circular packaging system of the future together in an informed, cohesive manner.”
In related news, the Closed Loop Local Recycling Fund in California has received a US$35 million injection from PepsiCo Beverages North America to bring relief to the region’s “recycling deserts.”
Edited by Joshua Poole
