Recyclability is assessed by looking at how easy it is for consumers to put the packaging into recycling collections, whether the UK’s recycling infrastructure can handle that material/packaging combination, and whether there are markets for the resulting recyclate.
Where possible, our labels take a binary approach i.e. ‘Recycle‘ or ‘Do Not Recycle‘. This is in line with ISO 14021 for self-declared environmental claims such as recyclability.
75% or more of UK local authorities collect this type of packaging through household recycling collections. It is then effectively sorted, processed, and sold as recyclate for use in new packaging or products.
Fewer than 50% of UK local authorities collect this type of packaging through household recycling collections, and/or it is not effectively sorted, processed or sold as recyclate for use in new packaging or products.
A handful of fully recyclable packaging types where collections fall between 50-75% of local authorities will retain the intermediary ‘Check Home Collections‘ status.
Alongside our ‘Recycle’ and ‘‘Do Not Recycle’ labels our catalogue as a range of additional labels which will allow a wider range of materials to be collected and recycled, which should, in turn, result in higher recycling rates.
We provide a range of specialist labels, used for a small number of materials which may not always be collected through household recycling collections. In addition, we have a specialist label for coffee cup take back schemes.
We’re aware that many products will need multi-component packaging. Therefore, we allow our members to download labels with up to 4 different components.
We also have REFILL labels which have been developed and consumer-tested to enable OPRL members to engage their customers in using refill systems appropriately.
We also provide our members with the option to include Call-To-Action instructions like ‘clean’, ‘rinse’, ‘scrape’, ’empty,’ and ‘scrunch,’ to their recycling labels.
As a UK only scheme, we can only comment on what is collected, sorted and reprocessed for the UK market. Other markets may have infrastructures that are similar to the UK but we don’t have any detail regarding this.
Because our labels are based on the UK collection and reprocessing infrastructure, we can only say that they are fully relevant to the UK market. However, we do know that a lot of materials that can be recycled here can also be recycled in other countries, so the message is still likely to be relevant. Once you have created your label artwork using our intuitive labelling tool, you have an option to include a ‘UK only’ message as part of the label artwork. The ‘UK only’ message will appear on the downloaded label not on the preview.
Once you become a member, we will issue you with log in details for the members area of our website. There you’ll find the Rules for using the labels covering any restrictions and details of which labels should be used for each packaging material and format.
We also have an artwork labelling tool which will help you select the labels you need and allow you to download it for use straight away. The tool will ask you to select the number (up to 4) of packaging components your product has. Then you’ll need to answer a few simple questions about each component, such as the material for your component, or if any product residue will be on the packaging.
Once you’ve completed the questions, a preview box will appear, and you can then select the colour option and format you require, before downloading and saving your print ready artwork.