Recyclability of Packaging

Recyclability will be a legislative cornerstone concerning packaging and its end-of-life. However, the definition of “recyclable” varies among different Member States in Europe.

Even the criteria for determining recyclability, particularly of plastic packaging, lack harmonization. Large manufacturers adhere to proposed recyclability scheme by following guidelines established by sectorial organizations and trade associations. Therefore, despite proposed European regulations on packaging and packaging waste, there are no corresponding European standards to prove recyclability.

When addressing recyclability, it is essential to verify the existence of:

A separate collection system for the specific type of product.
A suitable industrial recycling system.
A market for the recycled product.

“Design for Recycling” is the concept that arises most frequently in international discussions. However, it could be strongly influenced by national situations, which differ in terms of waste collection systems and recycling technologies.

Recyclability of Paper

World demand for paper and paperboard has steadily grown over the past 20 years. The most significant boost comes from packaging, partly due to the EU Plastic Strategy and the European Single-Use Plastic Directive, which ban or restrict the use of plastics in some single-use solutions. This has expanded the applications of paper even in areas where plastic was traditionally preferred.

Paper is recyclable if, after appropriate collection and sorting, it can be processed effectively and efficiently from both technological and economic standpoints. This allows for the recovery of cellulose fibers and the production of new paper and paperboard using technologies mainly employed in the paper industry.

To support this crucial characteristic and use it as an environmental claim, it is possible to apply a method that simulates some of the main steps in industrial processing and a specific evaluation system.

Mérieux NutriSciences in Support of Companies using Recyclable Products

Regarding the evaluation of recyclability, we offer different services for plastic and paper, reflecting the varying levels of standardization and harmonized methods:

For plastic, we can provide consultancy on potential recyclability strategies in Europe and worldwide.
For paper, we offer recyclability testing using CEPI (Europe) and UNI 11743:2019 (Italy) methods, along with the corresponding evaluation schemes (4evergreen and Aticelca 501).
We also conduct separability tests to assess real separability between paper and non-paper packaging components, improving recyclability quality.

We also specialize in packaging safety and packaging contaminants analysis, which we can provide for recycled packaging.

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