The new How2Recycle Plus label will include a QR code to provide more detailed recycling acceptance information. | Philip Rozenski/Shutterstock
How2Recycle has announced new looks and capabilities for its labels, including the ability to scan a QR code and access The Recycling Partnership’s Recycle Check data.
The new “dynamic” label, called How2Recycle Plus, will “pave the way for trusted, real-time local recycling and disposal instructions beginning in 2025,” How2Recycle said in an Oct. 3 press release. The label is rolling out after a year of pilot trials.
Katherine Huded, TRP’s vice president of recyclability solutions, said in the press release that providing real-time information on what is accepted for recycling locally will reduce confusion and “is essential to improving the U.S. recycling rate.”
“Real-time, location-specific education is a critical tool for recovering the 76% of what could be recycled but is instead sent to landfills or incinerators,” she added.
When How2Recycle members opt to adopt the Plus label, it will allow consumers to scan the QR code, enter their zip code and receive a yes-no answer on whether that package is accepted for recycling in their community.
That determination is informed by TRP’s National Recycling Database, which has acceptance data spanning more than 9,000 recycling programs.
Another in-progress refresh is How2Recycle Pro, an updated version of How2Recycle’s legacy label that will soon be available, replacing older versions of the label.
The Pro label is “designed to be actionable, clear and compliant with new regulations,” the press release added, such as labeling laws, allowing the more than 800 companies who use How2Recycle’s system to provide clearer recycling instructions.
Driven by technical capability
GreenBlue Executive Director Paul Nowak said that with the new releases, “for the first time, we have the data and technology to link national brand packaging with local recycling program acceptance.”
In addition, GreenBlue, parent company of How2Recycle, is launching a new education and outreach campaign. “How2Recycle Forward: The Dynamic, Data-Driven Future of On-Pack Labeling” will focus on strengthening the data informing How2Recycle labels, optimizing operations and increasing consumer education.
The first step is implementing the new labels. To improve the data behind the labels, How2Recycle plans to draw on data from partners such as the Association of Plastic Recyclers, the Carton Council, the Recycled Materials Association and The Recycling Partnership, the press release noted. (The Association of Plastic Recyclers owns Resource Recycling, Inc., publisher of Plastics Recycling Update.)
The press release noted that when How2Recycle was formed, the priority was scale – “getting as many labels on-pack as swiftly” as possible.
“After more than a decade of growth, hundreds of members and thousands of SKUs to keep track of, we’re partnering with first-in-class companies like Specright, Aura and SGS Marks to build out work flows and harmonize data points,” the press release said. “Together, we’ll build more efficient systems to scale the high standards of How2Recycle’s assessment and labeling work.”
Finally, How2Recycle is also looking into a national consumer education initiative.
“Historically our industry has asked the label to do too much of the lift on educating consumers,” the press release noted, but with extended producer responsibility programs also requiring consumer education pieces, there’s the possibility of improvement.
“With these initiatives, How2Recycle is adapting to the landscape changes – future-proofing the label so that labels are accurate and compliant no matter when or where they’re issued,” the press release added.
A version of this story appeared in Plastics Recycling Update on Oct. 9.