Certified as Recyclable

About the service

With increasing scrutiny of packaging and the sustainability claims being made about specific pack designs, it’s vital for packaging specifiers and procurers to be able to distinguish fact from greenwash. Many claims are made in marketing materials, but do they really stand up to scrutiny?

The OPRL Certified as Recyclable scheme has been developed exclusively for our members, to provide a robust analysis of the design, materials and special features of packaging items, to give a clear analysis of its recyclability in the UK. No other certification scheme offers this analysis.

We are currently offering this service for rigid plastic packaging with our partners RECOUP.

How will it work?

The certification scheme will assess packaging for recyclability. Sample packaging will be tested to ensure that the design and materials choices and compatibility meet the capacity of UK recycling collections, sorting and recovery infrastructure.

Testing will determine:

For rigid plastic packaging:

  • If the pack type and material is collected in the UK
  • If the pack size and type and material/materials combination can be sorted and recycled at typical UK Materials Recovery Facilities (MRF) and Plastics Recovery Facilities (PRF)
  • If there is a market for that recycled material

Interested in using the service?

The Certified as Recyclable scheme is exclusive to members of OPRL. If you’re interested in joining, find out more here:

Join the Scheme