The RFID label maintains the functional benefits of RFID technology, such as inventory visibility, product traceability and loss prevention, while aligning with recycling infrastructure requirements.
ThePackHub
These initiatives highlight the ongoing efforts to innovate within packaging and recycling, helping industries to reduce their environmental impact and move closer to a sustainable, circular economy.
Avery Dennison's RFID labels designed for PET recyclability earn APR recognition
Avery Dennison has introduced what it describes as the first RFID label to receive Design for Recyclability (DfR) recognition from the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR). The label, which incorporates the company’s CleanFlake adhesive technology, is specifically engineered to cleanly detach from PET containers during mechanical recycling processes, making it compatible with North American PET recycling streams. This innovation addresses a common challenge, as conventional labels and adhesives can contaminate recycled PET and lower its quality. The RFID label maintains the functional benefits of RFID technology, such as inventory visibility, product traceability, and loss prevention, while aligning with recycling infrastructure requirements. According to Avery Dennison, recycling-compatible labelling improves material recovery rates, enhances sorting efficiency and increases the overall quality of recycled PET. The RFID feature can also help to identify products during recycling, potentially streamlining processes and extending the life cycle of the material. The company plans to launch the APR-recognized label later this year and is working with additional certifiers to broaden PET recycling certification globally. This development supports brands in meeting ambitious recycling targets and contributes to circular economy initiatives by making packaging more recyclable.
The UV-tagged bottles function in the same way for the consumer, but provide detailed feedback to the retailer on packaging outcomes in the post-consumer phase.ThePackHub
Marks & Spencer introduce invisible UV tags to enable tracking of milk bottle recycling
Marks & Spencer (M&S), a retailer headquartered in London, UK, has introduced invisible ultraviolet (UV) tags on the labels of its four-pint milk bottles, enabling the tracking of these bottles through the recycling system. The tags, undetectable to consumers, are scanned at recycling centers equipped with Polytag’s Plastic Detection Units, providing M&S with real-time, barcode-level data about when, where, and how much of its single-use packaging is recycled. This technology supports the retailer in monitoring progress towards sustainability targets, verifying recyclability claims, and maintaining regulatory compliance. Polytag has partnered with recycling companies, including Biffa, to install UV detection technology at high-volume recycling facilities across the UK, reportedly covering 50% of the country through its Ecotrace Program. M&S has invested £100,000 into the initiative as part of its broader sustainability strategy. The UV-tagged bottles function in the same way for the consumer, but provide detailed feedback to the retailer on packaging outcomes in the post-consumer phase, offering insights that could inform future packaging decisions.
Credo’s pump is made from a single material, polypropylene, and contains 84% NewMatter blended with 16% virgin material.ThePackHub
Credo Beauty recycles beauty packaging waste into lotion pump
Credo Beauty, a cosmetics retailer based in San Francisco, USA, has developed a fully recyclable lotion pump made largely from post-consumer beauty packaging waste. The pump was created in partnership with the Pact Collective, a Colorado-based non-profit that collects and recycles hard-to-process small-format cosmetic packaging, such as caps, applicators, and pumps. Credo, a founding member of Pact, used the recycled resin developed from these waste streams, called NewMatter, to produce a lotion pump designed to be compatible with recycling systems. Unlike traditional pumps, which typically use a mix of plastics and metal that complicates recycling, Credo’s pump is made from a single material, polypropylene, and contains 84% NewMatter blended with 16% virgin material. The resin was sourced from Pact’s collection bins, which have gathered approximately 232 tons of material since 2022. This initiative demonstrates that small-format beauty packaging, which is often excluded from recycling streams, can be transformed into functional, high-quality components. According to Credo, each 38 pumps made prevents one pound (0.45 kg) of waste from ending up in landfill or the ocean. Credo is also exploring further uses for the NewMatter resin in closures and other packaging elements.
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