Frequently Asked Questions

Colpac products are designed with circular economy principles in mind. We focus on designing our products for recyclability and compostability to improve the circularity of our products and we are constantly innovating as recycling guidelines and legislation evolve.

Compostable packaging, as part of the right closed-loop solution, can provide an excellent feedstock for anaerobic digestion and other composting facilities, including on-site bioprocessors to be used in forestry and agriculture, gardening, or as a source for biofuel burners.

Unrecyclable products are not circular. Even with circular economy principles in mind, we sometimes choose to make trade-offs to tackle other environmental issues, such as preventing food waste which has a higher carbon impact than packaging. Our modified atmosphere packaging can be harder to recycle, depending on the jurisdiction, but extends food shelf-life by over 10 days.

As part of the PackUK Interim Steering Group, we are well placed to support our customers in interpreting their packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) obligations. We can help to guide you through your responsibilities and support your compliance, please contact us for additional information.

Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) is a new packaging reform in the UK that seeks to reduce the environmental impact of packaging and increase recycling rates.

It aims to do this by incentivising producers to only place recyclable packaging materials on the market. It assigns 100% of the financial responsibility to one producer in the supply chain. Organisations are classified under pEPR depending on the activity they perform in the supply chain, their turnover, and the amount of packaging they place on the market.

Our reference to ‘compostable materials’ means that the materials utilised to make the relevant product are certified to the EN 13432 standard and are suitable for composting in industrial composting facilities.

Find out more on our compostable food packaging page.

We are ready and able to help you with any queries on the Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM) and packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR). We are able to provide RAM assessments for all the products we sell and can help you to understand the details of the material categories.

The Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM) is a framework under the UK packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) legislation that assesses the recyclability of packaging materials. It assesses material composition against the following criteria:

• Collection
• Sortation
• Application
• Reprocessing

In addition, it assigns a further red, amber, or green (RAG) sub-category to each product.

• Red: difficult to recycle at scale
• Amber: some challenges during collection and sortation, requires specialist infrastructure for reprocesses, or other issues
• Green: widely recyclable in current infrastructure

The recyclability information that we provide online and, in our literature, currently relates to UK On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) recycling guidelines. Recyclability assessments according to the Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM) are available, following the implementation of Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility in the UK.

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

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

Yes, cardboard with a plastic barrier or window can be recycled, according to local recycling guidelines. In the UK, the recyclability of packaging is determined by the Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM), according to the percentage of plastic content, and labelled according to OPRL guidelines.

We design our products to have the lowest percentage of plastic content to be effective and to aid recycling.

Each of our products has on-pack recycling instructions, in accordance with labelling guidance. Please contact us for additional support or information on recyclability in the UK or EU Member States.

More about our recyclable food packaging

The food packaging industry in the UK has long stopped using the term ‘biodegradable’ as this term does not specify how long the process will take and what packaging will degrade into. Instead, the industry considers whether a product can be composted.

Compostable food packaging is best used in a closed-loop system where the packaging can be captured and disposed of appropriately, often along with food waste. There are many benefits to composting packaging and processing food waste and packaging together. These include:

• Playing a role in the circular economy
• Producing CO₂, water and biomass to support soil regeneration and food security by returning packaging and food materials and nutrients to the earth
• Reducing food waste contamination in standard recycling facilities, as the mix of food and packaging is not a problem for composting facilities
• Providing sites with the opportunity to apply their composted packaging and food from an on-site bioprocessor directly to land or as a feedstock for biogas boilers
• Diverting food waste and packaging from landfill