"These new findings reaffirm the importance of continuous, science-based testing to support a truly circular plastics economy,” commented Paolo Glerean, Chairman of RecyClass. He added, “By refining our Guidelines and Protocols, we are ensuring that design decisions across the value chain align with state-of-the-art recycling conditions in Europe. This is essential to improving material sortability and quality, and boosting market confidence to support the plastic packaging industry in meeting the target of recyclability at scale, as stipulated by the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.”
Given the importance of the sorting step, among the conducted testing campaigns, RecyClass evaluated the sorting behaviour of metallised decorations and the rolling behaviour of rigid packaging. In parallel, a new colour module has been added to the Sorting Evaluation Protocol for PET bottles – an important development for preserving the transparent, clear and light blue streams within the industry.
For flexible packaging, RecyClass has issued recommendations on electron beam treatment of PE films and confirmed the full compatibility of PVB-based inks for both PE and PP films. Additionally, the recommendations regarding printing on transparent films have been revised, following two years of testing various ink concentrations. Based on the results of this test campaign, RecyClass recommendations on the use of inks no longer focus on printing coverage, but rather on the percentage of inks used with respect to the weight of packaging – an important milestone for unlocking the full circularity potential for transparent films.
