Circular Economy giant Reconomy has announced it has gone into partnership with Wales-based tag and trace provider Polytag.
The move will see Polytag’s UV tag detection and trace technology installed at Reconcomy brand Casepak’s materials recycling facility in Leicester. It will provide brands with granular, real-time data on when and where packaging is recycled and the recycling rates of their products.
Reconomy said the move would enable brands to accurately report on sustainability progress and ensure compliance with extended producer responsibility requirements.
It added it hoped the partnership would lead to the redesign of packaging content to use alternative or lighter-weight packaging that would reduce compliance costs and their carbon footprint.
Fellow Reconomy brand Valpak will also support the integration of the data into brands’ reporting systems.
Valpak already operates the largest packaging and product database in the UK, used by major supermarkets to report on their packaging and identify material cost savings.
It is also one of three bidders in a contest to run the producer-run organisation, which is to be appointed by Defra and Pack UK to spearhead the running of the EPR system.
Polytag has been instrumental in the development of the Ecotrace Programme, an industry-wide initiative to improve transparency in packaging recycling, backed by retailers including Marks & Spencer, Ocado Retail and Waitrose.
Earlier this month, it announced Waitrose had extended its tie-up with Polytag into a nationwide scheme to monitor plastic recycling with the retailer has become the first high street supermarket to roll out invisible recycling tags at scale, adding them to plastic packaging on the majority of its own label fresh milk range.
“This collaboration highlights the strength of Reconomy’s unique offering – combining our operational expertise in recycling with Valpak’s data capability and Polytag’s trace technology,” said Georgina Cullen, commercial director at Casepak. “We look forward to working with Polytag to accelerate the shift to a circular economy.”
Jon Anderson, chief technology officer at Polytag, added: “The installation of our latest detection unit at Casepak is a pivotal moment for the Ecotrace Programme, in which Reconomy has played a major part. Every installation brings us closer to a fully transparent, scalable and verifiable recycling system. We are proud to work with the forward-thinking teams at Casepak and Valpak to make this vision a reality.”
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