Polytag launches plastic packaging tracing initiative with major UK retailer 

20 May 2024 --- Recycling tech firm Polytag has announced UK retailer M&S as a founding member of its Polytag Ecotrace Programme, an initiative aimed at optimizing the tracing and recycling of single-use plastic packaging in the UK.

The program will deploy a wide network of Polytag’s Invisible UV Tag detection equipment in strategically chosen recycling centers that handle high volumes of waste. 

Commenting on the Polytag Ecotrace Programme, Alice Rackley, CEO of Polytag, says: “Currently, FMCG brands have no visibility of what happens to its single-use plastic once it has been put in the bin. As extended producer responsibility legislation comes into force, brands will need to take responsibility for packaging materials.” 

“Not only does our Ecotrace Programme aim to solve this problem by bringing together leading players across the UK to capture barcode-level information on single-use plastic, but it stands as an example of what passion and collaboration paired with tangible action can do,” she says. 

“We would like to thank M&S for being the first partner to join our new initiative. Other businesses that are interested in joining the program should get in touch and become part of this story, which is set to shake up the industry.”

Packaging Insights will be hosting a webinar on Innova Market Insights’ Top Trends 2024: “How are businesses pioneering responsible solutions?” on June 12. Rackley will be joining as a panelist to discuss Polytag’s work and the future of digital technologies. 

UV tag reading tech 
Polytag is inviting FMCG brands, retailers, and waste management businesses to join the program to unlock granular data on over 50% of the UK’s household waste recycling stream.

As a founding member of the program, M&S will gain real-time insights into where, when and how much of its single-use plastic packaging is collected and sorted at recycling centers across the UK. This never-before-seen data — at the barcode level — will provide a verified benchmark for understanding the recycling rates of its used plastic packaging, according to Polytag. 

Polytag’s Invisible UV Tags are printed onto labels at production. Once the packaging item enters the recycling stream at a recycling center, a Polytag UV Tag Reader identifies the Invisible UV Tag. Detecting materials allows for accurate sorting and cleaner feedstock for UK-sourced recycled PET packaging materials.

Recycled PET is under high demand from FMCG brand owners, as environmental pledges are growing and the textiles industry is increasingly purchasing the material from the packaging supply chain. 

Members of Polytag’s program will be helping develop a nationwide Invisible UV Tag Reader network and get a subscription to the Polytag dashboard. This online hub displays live lifecycle data on a brand’s plastic packaging materials as they enter the recycling stream, from consumer to recovery.

By Louis Gore-Langton