FAQS

According to the CPI and OPRL guidelines, it can still be recycled if:

• The plastic content of the whole product is less than 10% and only on one side of the board (current OPRL guidelines)
• The laminate or window is easy to peel, remove, and recycle or dispose of separately, and the board component is less than 10% plastic content

Double sided coating will make the cardboard non-recyclable.

More about our recyclable food packaging

In the UK we follow guidelines issued by OPRL (On Pack Recycling Label) and the Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI). For cardboard to be recyclable it needs to be able to be recycled in 75% of the waste facilities in that geographic area. The guidelines consider our products to be recyclable if:

• It has a coating or barrier on one side only
• It contains less than 10% plastic by weight
• It is dry, is not soaked with grease, and is free from lots of 3D food waste

There are different tolerances for contamination in mixed recycling facilities.

More about our recyclable food packaging

Cardboard is one of the most efficient materials to recycle. A recent study estimates that fibre-based packaging material can be recycled at least 25 times.

Carboard recycling has multiple benefits:

• Significantly reduces the volume of waste sent to landfill and the negative impacts on the environment
• Reduces carbon emissions that would otherwise be produced from converting new trees into new sheets
• Saves valuable resources, reducing the number of new trees that need to be cut down and the gallons of water used to process them
• Yields fibres that can be made into new products
• Reduces energy use and associated costs

More about our recyclable food packaging

Our products are certified for industrial composting. Materials will break down in 16 weeks or 90 days. We use EN13432 certified materials for our compostable products.

Household and on-street collections of compostable packaging are limited. However, there are a range of on-site solutions and take-back schemes that are available to our customers. Compostable solutions have an important role to play, particularly for helping to capture more food waste and divert it from landfill. We are currently working with partners throughout the UK, the EU, and the rest of the world to set up on-site closed loop composting solutions.

Talk to us more about our compostable food packaging.

Our compostable food packaging can be composted with food or other green waste. When our products are collected for industrial composting, they are usually sent for anaerobic digestion or in vessel composting where the temperature and processes can be controlled and monitored.

Through these processes, compostable packaging breaks down with food waste into a nutrient rich substrate, digestate, or compost. This can is used to power biogas boilers, to enrichen compost, or to apply directly to land as compost.

The criteria for the industrial compostability of packaging are set out in the European standard EN13432. This requires compostable plastics to disintegrate after twelve weeks and completely degrade after six months.

Compostable food packaging has many benefits. These include:

• It plays an important role in a circular economy
• It is a fantastic solution for closed-loop systems with high levels of food contamination (food contamination does not affect product compostability)
• Capturing food and packaging together helps to ensure that materials are circulated at their highest value
• It diverts food waste from landfill and prevents loss of important nutrients by capturing food waste in packaging
• Once fully broken down, compostable products can provide the earth with these valuable nutrients
• Composting food and packaging produces CO2, water and biomass that can improve soils

‘Biodegradable’ means that the material will degrade over time, but it doesn’t tell you what it will degrade into or how long it will take. EN13432 certification confirms that the materials will biodegrade within a specific time frame and will not leave any toxic waste.

Colpac products are designed with circular economy principles in mind. We predominantly rely on recycling to improve the circularity of our products. We constantly innovate as recycling guidelines and legislation evolve to increase recyclability.

With the right closed loop solution, compostable packaging can restore land and help to fuel the production of new materials used to make similar products.

Unrecyclable products are not circular. Even with circular economy principles in mind, we sometimes choose to make trade-offs to tackle other environmental issues. An example is preventing food waste which has a higher carbon impact than packaging. Our Modified Atmosphere Packaging is difficult to recycle, but extends food shelf-life by over 10 days.

Unless otherwise stated, our recyclability credentials refer to the entire product. Where a window or a separable part (e.g., lid) should be removed, guidelines are given.

The recyclability information that we provide online and, in our catalogue, relates to UK OPRL recycling guidelines. The current threshold for plastic content within recyclable paperboard is 10%.

Information on sustainability guidelines for other countries is available for each of our products. For specific country information, please contact your account manager.