Recyclable Food Packaging
We manufacture recyclable food packaging to meet a range of environmental and functional requirements; be that food waste reduction, hot and cold serve, ovenable and microwaveable, same day consumption or extended shelf-life.
Our recyclable food packaging can be recycled in the mixed paper and board stream.
Food Packaging Recyclability
Our packaging is designed in line with the UK’s OPRL guidelines and Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM). We support our customers in understanding the recyclability of the packaging that they choose and help them to make choices accordingly, in support of their sustainability objectives.
Working closely with waste management companies is vital to understanding real-world recycling systems. We focus on whole supply chain collaboration and utilise our industry experience and voice to ensure that our recyclable food packaging is recyclable in practice. Groups such as the Alliance for Fibre-Based Packaging, which we co-founded, are key in unifying industry efforts to increase recycling rates.
Recycling Labelling
We work closely with the UK’s On Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) scheme to understand the recyclability of our products and continue to work with OPRL on recycling labelling. Mandatory on-pack recycling labelling is due to come into effect from 2027, to align with directives from the European Union.
We provide on-pack recycling labels for all our products already, to support consumers in disposing of our packaging correctly. This includes recycling instructions for our key markets that have released recycling guidelines, such as France and Spain. This information is all hosted within sustainability credential webpages that can be accessed by customers via on pack QR codes.
Designing Recyclable Food Packaging
We follow circular design principles in our product development, a key area where we can make the biggest contribution to reduce and recycle. To do this, we:
- Choose materials to maximise efficiency in the recycling process
- Minimise laminated composites
- Align with industry guidelines and best practices
- Reduce materials where possible
- Remove unnecessary plastic and lightweight materials
- Use recycled and recovered materials to conserve resources and energy
Circularity in Action
We welcomed Sustainable Packaging News to visit us, as part of the publication’s Circular Economy Week! Watch the video to find out about how we put circular economy principles into action.
Get in Touch
Looking for food packaging that aligns with your sustainability goals? Contact us today to discover how we can support you.
Recycling & Composting FAQs
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