ASTRX White Paper Case Studies of Navigating the Recycling System

Introduction

In today’s recycling system, some specific packaging types are considered widely recyclable - meaning they are accepted by the majority of communities for collection and are able to successfully navigate other aspects of the recycling system. This widely recyclable packaging often includes “legacy” packaging types, such as corrugated cardboard boxes or PET bottles. However, as packaging has evolved, new formats enter the marketplace reflecting innovations in material efficiency and design, and sometimes do not fit seamlessly into the existing recycling system infrastructure for a number of reasons. Investment is therefore required to change the status of some packaging types from not yet recyclable, to locally recyclable, to widely recyclable.

To navigate the recycling system, a package must navigate through the five elements of the recycling system: 1) Consumers must know they can recycle the package and participate in recycling; 2) The package must be collected for recycling; 3) The package must sort successfully at a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF); 4) The sorted bale must be technically able to be reprocessed into a salable commodity and; 5) An end market must exist for this reprocessed material. There are many points in this system therefore where a packaging may fail to navigate successfully. For example, consumers may not yet realize that they can recycle a given type of package, the package may not sort easily at a MRF, or there may not be sufficient quantity of these packages to sell to reprocessors and create end markets. The interventions needed to successfully improve the recyclability of different packages will therefore differ from package to package. Some packaging types require interventions in certain elements of the recycling system and not in others, depending on work that has already been done or is needed for a given packaging type. Some packages require only specific interventions, i.e. in sortation, while others require multiple interventions across the recovery system to make them more widely recyclable. Each package or material has a different journey to navigate.

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This research was developed by ASTRX, a joint project of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) and The Recycling Partnership. This research highlights five case studies which represent examples of industry initiatives that are trying to navigate the recycling industry for traditionally non-recyclable packaging. Packaging formats that face challenges in their journey towards being recycled are the focus of this White Paper.

The packages represented in these case studies have not all achieved ‘Widely Recycled’ ¹ status as of publishing, however all initiatives represent efforts to improve the recyclability status of these packages by working to help them better navigate the recycling system.²

The initiatives we examined in this white paper include both industry-level initiatives - which involve industry associations or informal consortiums of companies working together in a group, as well as brand-specific initiatives - which involve singular efforts by companies working to make their packaging successfully navigate the recycling system. The case studies include:

1. Recycling Initiative for Poly Coated Cartons 2. Recycling Initiative for Keurig® K-Cup® Pods 3. Recycling Initiative for Fiber Cups 4. Recycling Initiative for Foodservice Packaging 5. Recycling Initiative for Toothpaste Tubes

¹ https://how2recycle.info/ ² Inclusion of these initiatives in this white paper does not imply endorsement or confirmation of recyclability by either the Sustainable Packaging Coalition or The Recycling Partnership

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ASTRX Framework: The five elements of the recycling system

These initiatives provide examples of different strategies businesses can take to move their packaging towards recyclability. Each case study provides information on the background and strategy behind the initiative, the current status of the initiative and intended next steps, lessons learned to-date, as well as a set of recommendations to companies looking to pursue similar initiatives. These examples serve as a potential roadmap for companies who wish to move their packaging towards core curbside recyclable packaging.

This white paper does not outline a specific formula that a package must take in order to be called recyclable. Rather, it is a collection of case studies for consideration.

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Section 1: Recycling Initiative for Poly Coated Cartons

Background and Strategy

Carton Council of North America (CCNA) was formed in 2009, by its four member companies, Evergreen Packaging, Tetra Pak, EloPak and SIG Combibloc, to improve the state of recycling for poly coated cartons (hereby referred to as cartons) in the U.S. At that time, cartons had 18% household access and the four founding member companies looked to grow that number and limit the number of cartons that end up in landfills. The project began with a regional focus and then moved to develop a national strategy, after identifying who would be willing to work with them in different regions. Their strategy that evolved over time was to focus first on end market development, then effective sortation, and lastly partnering with communities on communications.

One of the ongoing challenges faced by CCNA is the need to develop further recycling market demand for cartons, which is essential to pull materials through the recycling value chain. CCNA works with interested pulp and paper mills to understand their limitations related to using post consumer cartons. Acting as a technical resource, they can help those mills identify a possible solution. This work has helped CCNA secure additional market demand for cartons both in North America and in more distant export markets. Increasing recycling capacity for cartons remains a key priority for CCNA today.

Image 1: “Drink, Empty, Recycle” carton information poster for students

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After securing end markets, CCNA then worked directly with MRFs, ensuring facilities have the capability and technology to sort cartons into a separate bale. Understanding how materials flow at the MRF is critical to understanding what types of equipment are needed and where to place them within the MRF to sort material more efficiently. CCNA makes grants available for MRFs to upgrade equipment to sort cartons. Another key role played by CCNA is connecting MRFs that sort cartons with end markets that buy cartons, helping facilities to understand who they can contact to move material.

Once these business relationships are in place and end markets are established, the next step is to work with communities to let them know the MRF in their area accepts cartons, and help update their communications materials.

The final step in the process is to work to develop consumer-facing communications and community access. CCNA has a consumer-facing website, recyclecartons.org, to educate the public about carton recycling. In addition, CCNA has a more technical website, cartonopportunities.org, where brands, schools, local governments and others can learn more about carton recycling. The website offers on-pack recycling logos for brands to use to help spread the word that cartons are recyclable, tool kits for local governments looking to add cartons to their list of accepted materials, and information for schools looking to offer carton recycling.

Current Status and Next Steps

Cartons now have over 60% recycling access nationally in the U.S. and have achieved a ‘Widely Recyclable’ label from How2Recycle. CCNA continues to work with more communities to get cartons added to their collection programs. CCNA also continues their work on communications to create greater awareness of carton recycling.

In addition to communities, CCNA continues to be committed to its work within the MRF system, seeking new innovations to better recover more of their products. The group is excited about their involvement with the development of robotics and the opportunities to sort cartons as this technology has moved from the developmental phase to being proven and deployed in MRFs across the country.

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Lessons Learned

The business case should appeal to stakeholders across the value chain. Making a strong business case is paramount to attracting committed, diverse partners, as each actor is focused on their own interests. The business case needs to consider a complex system that operates across many communities and stakeholders. That case also needs to justify investing in the right equipment at MRFs, to promote and develop stable end markets, and to get communities to change and update their communications.

Conduct research on material flows to make sure your interventions are in the right place. CCNA conducted a robust assessment to evaluate how to capture the cartons in a MRF with different equipment, to identify best placement within a facility. CCNA also learned the importance of identifying where materials are generated. Do they primarily come from residents, restaurants, office buildings, open spaces, or somewhere else? CCNA found an important generator of cartons is schools. As a result, CCNA offers robust school recycling programs.

Common bale specifications are important. True in other commodities, as well, the more a material is sorted into specific bales, the greater the value of that material to end markets, particularly in comparison to unsorted grades of materials. Having bale specifications accepted across the industry is key in making sure material ends up sorted into a bale which can then be sold to end markets. There was no bale grade that included cartons prior to CCNA’s work to develop a bale specification for aseptic and gable-top cartons, now known as commodity bale grade specification #52. The organization then went through an intensive, robust process to gain market acceptance of the bale.

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Recommendations

Get committed, diverse partners. Key to the success of this initiative is the commitment and funding provided by the member companies. There are only four member companies of CCNA, but these members are focused and committed to achieving results quickly. Because of the diverse landscape of communities and MRFs, many outside partnerships are also essential. CCNA advises getting a commitment from a broad range of stakeholders in the recycling system when taking on such initiatives.

Scale your project nationally to maximize impact. CCNA recommends that initiatives gain commitment from the broadest range of stakeholders possible to help drive change at scale. If looking to increase access quickly, looking nationally at those partners and companies interested in working to demonstrate a model is working. Focus on working with the most interested and committed partners that enables the most scale with the least bureaucracy.

Be flexible and adaptable to various MRF situations. CCNA has supported a variety of equipment innovations over the years, and has seen an evolution of equipment over time. CCNA recommends that recycling initiatives be flexible and adaptable to various MRF situations, understanding that the flow of materials can behave differently depending on the specifics of MRF operations. There is no one-size-fits-all for MRF equipment.

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Section 2: Recycling Initiative for Keurig® K-Cup® Pods

Background and Strategy

Keurig® K-Cup® pods represent the majority of the U.S. coffee pod market. In 2015, Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) set a goal to have 100% of their K-Cup® pods be recyclable by the end of 2020. Partnership, collaboration, and data were central to making progress against this goal. KDP worked with recyclers, manufacturers, their own engineers, end-market reclaimers and industry experts – such as the Association of Plastic Recyclers and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition – to understand the recycling industry and what makes a product or package recyclable.

From its inception, the legacy K-Cup® pod had been made of a blend of polystyrene and other plastic (#7 plastic) and used a filter and lid that were heat-sealed to the body of the pod itself. After assessing what material would be both technically recyclable and could be recycled effectively at scale, KDP chose polypropylene (#5 plastic) for the body of its new K-Cup® pods. Polypropylene is accepted curbside by most communities across North America (How2Recycle). KDP worked with multiple polypropylene end markets across North America to ensure the polypropylene chosen for the new K-Cup® pods would add value to the existing polypropylene recycling stream. Through this partnership, polypropylene coffee pods were added to the bale specification for acceptable incoming polypropylene material at the largest existing reclaimer.

In addition to the material substrate challenge, KDP also responded to the concern that K-Cup® pods could be too small to successfully advance through the sortation process in a materials recovery facility (MRF). To address this concern, KDP performed testing at MRFs to track how and where pods flow through existing recycling facilities. KDP testing methodology used radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology to track the coffee pods as they

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traveled through recycling systems. The tests helped demonstrate that the pods have the ability to be sorted with existing equipment, making them available for end markets. KDP has conducted more than a dozen tests at-scale in MRFs throughout North America.

After working with polypropylene end markets and MRFs, as well as confirming the polypropylene coffee pods have the ability to be sorted and reprocessed, KDP addressed consumer education and engagement. In 2017, KDP launched polypropylene K-Cup® pods in Canada. In coordination with this product launch, KDP partnered with RecycleBC (the producer responsibility organization that manages residential packaging and paper recycling for British Columbia) to understand the most effective communication methods to increase proper recycling behavior. KDP conducted multiple consumer education campaigns providing instructions on how to properly recycle the new pods. RecycleBC then audited the recycling stream to assess how many consumers were recycling the new pods correctly. Through these audits, KDP concluded that consumer education campaigns conducted in cooperation with municipalities are effective for impacting recycling behavior change.

KDP believes the use of RFID testing and the engagement process with recyclers and communities are examples that others in industry can follow, representing “a new model for producer responsibility.”a KDP’s work has additionally uncovered strategies to scale-up the recovery of polypropylene, which is a valuable material.

Current Status and Next Steps KDP met its transition goal early for Canada in 2018 and is now applying learnings to their U.S. transition to all polypropylene pods which began in 2019. KDP states they are on track to make 100% of their K-Cup® pods in the U.S. recyclable by the end of 2020. They continue to work with communities and recyclers to advance the acceptance of K-Cup® pods across North America and move towards universal recyclability. Keurig K-Cup® Pods currently have a ‘Check Locally’ label with How2Recycle, along with other polypropylene packaging.

Lessons Learned Industry standards are an important enabler of recyclability. KDP found that performing testing and collecting data is a great proof point, but with few industry standards and highly variable recycling infrastructure across North America, gaining universal “recyclability” status across the U.S became challenging. KDP’s efforts revealed the need for industry standard metrics of success for companies to point to as they are designing for the recyclability of a package. For example, minimum MRF capture rate thresholds and minimum thresholds to achieve critical mass for each recyclable format. Each of these threshold metrics would better enable companies to market the recyclability claims of their products with confidence based on clear, common standards. APR’s size sortation test protocol, which KDP helped to develop, establishes thresholds of size and shape to determine a package’s sortability via size.

a https://www.keurigdrpepper.com/content/dam/keurig-brand-sites/kdp/files/KDP-CR-Report-2018.pdf

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Recommendations Partner across the value chain. Partnering across the value chain is key to understanding both recycling and circularity and to gaining buy-in for a new item that was once disposable and single-use. KDP partnered with MRFs, plastics recycling facilities, reprocessors and communities to confirm the K-Cup® pod packaging has value and that it could travel from recycling bins to recovery facilities and then on to a useful second life. Putting in the effort with recyclers. Companies should take the time, money, and resources to truly understand how the recycling industry works today and potential for the future in order to most effectively foster recyclability of packaging materials and formats. Based on feedback from MRFs, reclaimers, and industry organizations involved in this journey, there is industry respect for KDP’s approach and an appreciation for the time and effort they have put into this issue.

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Section 3: Recycling Initiative for Fiber Cups

Background and Strategy

In 2018, Closed Loop Partners (CLP) was approached by Starbucks to answer the question -- What would it take to address the recyclability of single-use, hot and cold fiber cups? Shortly afterwards, CLP, along with Starbucks and McDonald’s, the founding partners of this initiative, highlighted an industry need to address recovery of single-use, hot and cold fiber cup packaging. They developed a project called the NextGen Consortium.³

The overall goal of the NextGen Consortium is to identify and advance recoverable solutions to address single-use food packaging waste globally. From the outset, the NextGen Consortium was envisioned as an alliance of industry players coming together to solve a shared challenge. The group felt that, in silos, it is hard for brands to influence downstream systems, but coming together and working collaboratively can deliver the effects of systems change.

Today, most fiber cups end up in landfills due to lack of collection, as well as sortation and reprocessing capabilities to manage poly coatings, although a growing number of paper mills are beginning to accept cups⁴. To make these cups recyclable, the Consortium identified a need to go beyond innovation and design to incorporate collection, sortation, and recovery as well. This meant the Consortium needed to address the bottlenecks from disposal through point of recovery, including consumers who don’t know whether to recycle the cups, paper mills who don’t process cup coatings, and more.

The NextGen Consortium is not looking for one fix, but at a variety of solutions. The group agreed on the desire to have diversity and flexibility in the solutions identified, so that brands can choose which solution they would like to employ. Reusable cups are one example of an answer that would reduce single-use food packaging waste. Through the cultivation of different solutions -- particularly focusing on recyclability and compostability -- the NextGen Consortium wants to minimize environmental impact while meeting health, safety and performance standards.

³ https://www.nextgenconsortium.com/⁴ https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/paper-cup-recycling-reality-or-rhetoric/

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Current Status and Next Steps

The first two founding members of the NextGen Consortium, Starbucks and McDonald’s, came on board in 2018. As of 2020, there are now four additional supporting partners: The Coca-Cola Company, Yum! Brands, Nestlé, and Wendy’s.

This project is about halfway completed. In the fall of 2018, the Consortium launched an innovation challenge which identified “innovative high-potential cup solutions that could work globally,” and did some real-world testing. Winners of the challenge were announced in February 2019 ⁵ and included solutions from three categories -- innovative cups and liners; new, compostable materials; and reusable cup service models. With support from the NextGen Consortium, some winners were launched into a business accelerator ⁶, which provides mentorship and guidance for developing companies, to help them become self-sufficient and grow.

Throughout this process, the Consortium has been working extremely closely with innovators, far beyond the initial design stage. For example, they have taken some innovators behind the scenes at McDonald’s, a program participant and potential end market, to show them real conditions for how cups stack, and also put the innovators’ cups through a materials recovery facility to test sortation when recycled. In another example, five cup solutions were deployed at Google campus cafés. Café goers were then surveyed and interviewed to understand the challenges of the current cup options. The cup designs were then improved using this real-world feedback. In early 2020, four promising cup innovators, including two reusable cup systems, were piloted across more than a dozen independent cafés in the San Francisco Bay area over a period of a month.

⁵ https://www.nextgenconsortium.com/challenge⁶ https://www.keurigdrpepper.com/content/dam/keurig-brand-sites/kdp/files/KDP-CR-Report-2018.pdf

Image 2: The 6 NextGen winners participating in the Circular Business Accelerator (Top row: CupClub, ReCup, Muuse. Bottom row:

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The reusable cup pilots evaluated how “smart” reusable systems could operate across an open network of cafés and gathered critical data, insights, and learnings from critical participating stakeholders.

In parallel, the Consortium is currently partnering with The Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI) to learn lessons from their work on increasing acceptance of food packaging in municipalities and understanding who is accepting certain material and who is not. FPI is the trade association for the foodservice packaging industry in North America, whose members include raw material and machinery suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and purchasers of foodservice packaging. FPI has done extensive work to increase the viability of recycling for food packaging. This work is addressed in detail in Section 4. The Consortium is conducting extensive infrastructure testing of several cup solutions, including lab-scale studies and large-scale mill trials and MRF tests, to evaluate recyclability and recoverability of the materials and mitigate against any unintended downstream impacts. Fiber cups today receive a “Not yet recyclable” label from How2Recycle, but the work of the Consortium represents the types of efforts needed to shift that status.

Lessons Learned

Increasing opportunities for group engagement can help build better outcomes. Bringing diverse industry stakeholders together early in the process is critical. The Consortium stated they had a lot of meetings with partners and conducted extensive interviews across areas of expertise, but bringing many of these industry experts and partners together in person created an important opportunity to test assumptions. . Convening in very early stages of an initiative may mean having a ‘messier’ meeting, as things may not be as structured when you’re just getting started, but these collaborative processes can be more effective when key players have been brought to the table early on. This included engaging end market leaders like McDonalds and Starbucks from the very beginning.

Recommendations

Partner. From the very beginning, the NextGen Consortium wanted this effort to bring different companies together to solve a shared challenge. Even outside of the funders, the Consortium convened a lot of partners across the value chain to interview subject matter experts, learn from experts at MRFs, end markets, trade associations, testing facilities, chemists, and others along the supply chain, and bring them together to deliver theses on infrastructure challenges. Hearing from the entire industry has been a big part of the success of this project.

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Section 4: Recycling Initiative for Foodservice Packaging

Background and Strategy

Foodservice packaging primarily includes single-use products such as cups, plates, platters, bowls, trays, beverage carriers, bags (single portion and carry-out), containers, lids and domes, wraps, straws, cutlery and utensils for the service and/or packaging of prepared foods and beverages in foodservice establishments. These items have traditionally not been widely accepted in recycling programs due to the longstanding focus of recycling programs on containers such as bottles and cans, fears over their potential for contamination from food or beverage residue, limited equipment to process coated paper food packaging, and lack of end-market demand for some of these materials. The Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI) is the trade association for the foodservice packaging industry in North America, whose members include raw material and machinery suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and purchasers of foodservice packaging⁷. FPI has done extensive work to increase the viability of recycling for foodservice packaging. Bringing together the individual efforts of several member companies, in 2011 FPI formed the Paper Recovery Alliance and in the beginning of 2012 formed the Plastic Recovery Alliance, with the goal of enabling more foodservice packaging to be recovered.

The project began by undertaking significant research to better understand how much foodservice packaging material there was, where it was going and how it was being discarded. This research included an assessment across the whole system, including food residue studies (2013-14)⁸, a materials recovery facility (MRF) benchmarking study⁹, and a recycling access study (2016)¹⁰. FPI found that over half of foodservice packaging is discarded in the home and residential curbside collection would be their best intervention point to increase recovery. FPI examined its materials and determined what items would most likely flow through a MRF. The majority of those materials are cups, containers, boxes and paper bags, which also make up the majority of foodservice packaging items. Plastic bags are a known contaminant in MRFs and they did not want to introduce them in that space. The best items to target for recovery were therefore paper and plastic cups, paper and plastic boxes (e.g clamshells), plastic two-piece containers, and paper bags.

⁷https://www.fpi.org/about-fpi⁸http://www.fpi.org/fpi/files/ccLibraryFiles/Filename/000000000859/2014_Food_Residue_Studies_Overview.pdf⁹https://sustainablepackaging.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2013_Benchmarking_Report_Overview_FINAL.pdf¹⁰https://sustainablepackaging.org/resources/

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FPI interviewed numerous MRFs, end markets, and other recycling stakeholders to identify the questions, concerns and barriers that were preventing foodservice packaging from being more widely recycled.

Current status and Next Steps

FPI engaged with the end-market community by talking to paper mills alongside MRFs, building this project from that point in the supply chain on up.

Paper and plastic foodservice packaging represents only about 1.7% of MSW ¹¹ overall and is only a very small percentage of the incoming stream at a MRF. Furthermore, foodservice packaging is made from a variety of different materials, and most of those already have homes in commonly traded commodity bales. So FPI focused on inclusion of its foodservice packaging materials in existing bales, conducting extensive research and outreach to confirm end market acceptance. Plastic end markets don’t make a distinction between foodservice plastic and other types of plastic packaging, and FPI regularly confirms which plastics reclaimers accept and recover items such as cups and containers. Most paper foodservice packaging is either uncoated or clay-coated and can be recovered with mixed paper. FPI surveyed the major OCC markets in the U.S. and confirmed that pizza boxes are widely accepted. A significant, multiyear effort by FPI has focused on increasing mill acceptance of polycoated paper cups and containers. This work has been at the mill level, since the determination of whether a mill can successfully process a polycoated package depends on its equipment and processes. FPI facilitated tests of the material with participating mills, including before and after audits. Adding materials to the list of accepted recyclables is a significant step for MRFs, because it requires alignment from their end markets, and for some MRFs and materials, changes to their operations. So FPI provided technical support where needed, and worked with the end markets near MRFs to make sure they were supportive. FPI was able to get help from some vertically integrated mills that also own MRFs. At the MRF level, FPI conducted bale audits to determine what a mixed paper bale that included foodservice packaging would look like.

Image 3: Community Partnership in Chattanoga, TN - Communications Flyer

¹¹ https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/guide-facts-and-figures-report-about-materials

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FPI launched a Community Partnership program to provide communications support to communities expanding their recycling programs to include foodservice packaging. The first community partners came on board in 2017. FPI now has seven community partners: Chattanooga, TN; Clark County, IN; Denver, CO; Kent County, MI; Louisville, KY; Millennium Recycling in South Dakota and Minnesota; and Washington, DC ¹². In working with communities to find out what they need, FPI found they most often wanted support with communications around recycling. Depending on the community, this included web presence, billboards, Facebook ads to inform consumers they can recycle foodservice packaging curbside, resident education toolkits and other outreach materials¹³. FPI integrates language emphasizing the importance of recyclables being clean and empty, and partner communities have seen improved quality in their recycling stream after rolling out these program changes. Foodservice packaging currently gets a ‘Not yet recyclable’ label from How2Recycle, but the work of FPI represents the type of efforts needed to shift this status.

Lessons Learned

Start at the end market. Ensuring there is an appetite from the end markets that the MRF will ultimately sell the collected and sorted material to is paramount to adding a new material to a recycling program. Working backward from making that business case that foodservice packaging is recyclable and can be sold to end markets allows for more positive communication with both MRF and community.

Clear, consistent communication is critical. Good, clear communication -- over multiple channels at multiple points in time -- is key to a successful campaign. Building refreshed communications plans into community programs helps reinforce messages about not only newly-added materials, but for all recyclables.

Using data to understand contamination. There is a need to separate real from perceived barriers around what contaminants truly have an impact on MRF operations. Research has shown that Items such as tanglers, engine blocks, lithium ion batteries, and hazardous materials have a much greater negative impact on MRF operations than a tiny amount of coffee or some grease on a pizza box. By interviewing MRFs and end markets, FPI was able to determine which foodservice packaging is technically recyclable today, such as pizza boxes, and then work with community stakeholders to change their perceptions of these materials.

¹² https://www.recyclefsp.org/community-partnership-program ¹³ https://www.recyclefsp.org/communities

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Recommendations

Find allies. This project was successful largely due to its collaborative approach working with like-minded groups (associations, NGOs, coalitions, and the like) with aligned goals. With small budgets and bandwidth as individual entities, you can multiply both by working with others to solve common problems. Starting with one or two very committed companies who are willing to put in a big effort will help also bring others on board. Finding end market allies in particular is key.

Do your homework. Gathering data and executing fresh research on how a material behaves in the recycling system pays off. The more information you have, the better you can address concerns and take action to solve for challenges.

Be willing to be flexible. When FPI started out they originally planned to conduct pilot projects in two cities. However, the project approach was modified to focus on implementing lasting program expansions rather than pilot projects. Their advice is not to be afraid of changing the approach, but rather focus on being flexible and acknowledge that learnings can come along and change things.

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Section 5: Recycling Initiative for Toothpaste Tubes

Background and Strategy

Colgate-Palmolive took on a toothpaste tube recycling project starting in 2015. In its recently launched 2025 Sustainability Strategy, the company targeted a goal to make all its packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. To help achieve this target, the company took on a toothpaste tube recycling project five years ago.

Traditionally, toothpaste tubes are not compatible with the existing recycling stream due to their multi material structure, which does not have an end market. Rather than creating a new recycling stream that would require a whole new sortation methodology and end market, they pursued a design change to remove the aluminum foil from the inner layer of the tube and to make the tubes entirely compatible with High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), a widely recyclable material. To this end, Colgate-Palmolive changed the whole tube structure over five years of development and various research phases. They tested their new tube design against the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) Critical Guidance and received APR recognition of technical recyclability in 2019. In addition, the company tested against APR Application Guidance, showing tha tubes can be used for the end application of making bottles.

Colgate-Palmolive produces the majority of its tubes in-house, but also has external suppliers. The company has shared its technology and had discussions with two of its global tube suppliers, Essel and Albéa, who also attained APR critical guidance approval using their own technology, following the same strategy. As the two companies are significant tube suppliers, and in particular for toothpaste tubes, this collaboration had a significant potential to help the industry adopt tubes which are technically recyclable.

Image 4: Colgate-Palmolive’s HDPE Toothpaste Tube

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Current Status and Next Steps

In 2019, the new tube was released in the Tom’s of Maine brand in the U.S. and the Smile for Good brand in Europe, with Colgate-Palmolive variants to follow in 2020 in the U.S. market. Within Colgate-Palmolive, the company is gradually converting all of its manufacturing to its first-of-its-kind HDPE tube, step by step, across all regions globally. Following design guidance provided by APR and Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE)’s RecyClass system, the company is considering and researching a move to a polyethylene (PE) cap instead of a polypropylene (PP) cap, to make the whole package more compatible with HDPE recycling. Beyond this, the company says the next step is to work more broadly with many stakeholders to make tubes - not just toothpaste tubes - both technically recyclable and recycled in practice and at scale.

Lessons Learned

Design Guidance is crucial. Managed by More Recycling, there is now an APR-approved Design Guide for tubes, and More Recycling is also leading tube working groups to focus on both technical recyclability and acceptance. Colgate works with More Recycling in both North America and Europe. Solving the PP cap on HDPE containers is an important next step.

It is important to find ways to address differences between products and formats in tubes. It is problematic to instruct consumers to recycle one tube one way and another tube another way (i.e. toothpaste tubes versus liquid cosmetics; Colgate-brand tubes versus other brands; small versus large tubes; aluminum-containing versus non aluminum-containing). The ideal message to the public is that all tubes are recyclable, but there are major differences between the products tubes contain and the tube designs. This is, again, why it is critical for industry to work together and adopt common design guidance as well as consumer instructions.

Recommendations

Understand existing design for recyclability guidance and the new Design Guidance for tubes: The APR Design Guide® for Plastics Recyclability and its related testing protocols, to include Application Guidance to show how tube-to-bottle recycling can be accomplished, helped Colgate-Palmolive adjust their tube design to include layers and a shoulder that are compatible with the HDPE recycling stream. The new HDPE Design Guide for Tubes addresses this.

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Share knowledge and help convert all tubes: Colgate-Palmolive acknowledges the importance of making its first-of-its kind toothpaste tube technology available to third parties, including suppliers that also supply competitors, in order to assist recyclability efforts. One company alone can’t move the whole industry to recyclability. Getting to critical mass is also important in the transition to scale relatively quickly so as to not confuse the public and to move tubes towards universal recyclability.

Conclusion

The specific packaging types and strategies to increase recyclability vary widely across the case studies presented in this white paper. There is no one answer for how to move materials and products that are not currently accepted for curbside recycling towards commonly accepted and widely recycled. This is because the specific points at which a package may fail to navigate the recycling system are different and may require different solutions. Companies interested in pursuing their own recyclability initiatives for packaging should consider the case studies presented here as examples for possible strategies, depending on the intervention needed. However, they should also be inspired to be innovative in defining new responses and strategies as well that best reflect the unique nature of the particular packaging type they are trying to solve for. That being said, these initiatives do share some common features. They all required strong commitment, a significant level of financial investment, as well as patience and perseverance by parties involved. Below are some key takeaways derived from the lessons learned and recommendations, which apply across the case studies presented in this white paper. Successful recyclability initiatives require partnership across the packaging and recycling value chain. Recyclability is a complex system that operates across many communities and stakeholders. Involving diverse partners that represent the various interests in this system is important to finding a successful approach, as all of these stakeholders must participate to enable recyclability for packaging that is not currently recyclable. Information-sharing with suppliers and competitors is important, as one company alone can’t move the whole industry to recyclability. Partnerships with disparate players throughout the recycling system such as communities, MRFs, and reprocessors, are important as they are the actors who need to accept and manage packaging, understanding that cultivating trust and effective partnerships will require time and resources.

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Successful recyclability initiatives require research and due diligence. Before jumping into a solution, it is important to understand the nature of the problem as well as the landscape of activities underway to address that problem. Companies should understand how their packaging behaves in today’s recycling system to ensure that interventions are in the right place as the recycling system grows and adapts in the future. This also means understanding and embracing the complexity of the recycling system, as many MRFs have different equipment and many communities have different policies and requirements. It is also important to be aware of and engage with any widely available industry guidance on design for recyclability, as these can help you understand the how and why of packaging category’s journey through the recycling system. A flexible and agile approach is important to a successful recyclability initiative.While project plans are important, of course, these efforts all cited the benefits of learning on the go. As more is learned, an approach may need to be adjusted. It is important therefore to embed a flexible mindset into your planning, as results may not turn out as expected, which is all part of the proverbial journey. Have contingency plans and processes in place for making changes.

End markets are gaining traction as a key intervention point in the recycling system. All of the five case studies highlighted in this white paper involved engaging with end markets as part of the package recycling initiatives. Reviewing these case studies, it is clear that industry understanding of the need for a holistic approach and role of end markets is evolving. While the need for specific technical interventions will vary, end markets stood out as an important area for intervention across the case studies.

The transition to commonly recyclable packaging takes time. It is notable that none of the initiatives highlighted in this white paper have formally concluded and efforts are ongoing. Some initiatives have been in existence for longer than others and some packages are further along in their journey to universal recyclability. Any transition requires more than one-off projects and involves behavioral and systemic change over time which requires ongoing commitment, efforts and learning.

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AppendixA. Comparative table for case studies identified

Not every package and format has the same challenges and requires the same attention. Some packages require interventions in certain elements of the recycling system and not in others, depending on work that has been done or is needed for a given package. Some packages require only specific interventions, i.e. in sortation, while others require multiple interventions across the recovery system to make them more widely recyclable. The below table summarizes the specific challenges faced in the recycling system for the studied packages and interventions taken to address them for the initiatives highlighted in this white paper.

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B. Navigating the Recycling System matrix and worksheet: Companies can use this worksheet to help evaluate where packaging fails to navigate the system successfully, and where interventions may be needed.

Appendix

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