A plastics recycling trade group is out with what it calls updated and “more user friendly” guidelines to help promote packaging recycling.
The Association of Plastic Recyclers' new version of its APR Design Guide for Plastics Recyclability was released at the group's meeting in San Antonio, Texas, which began June 7.
“The content has been updated to more accurately reflect today's North American plastics recycling infrastructure,” said Scott Saunders, chairman of APR, in a statement.
The APR Design Guild strives to “have packaging designed that is compatible with the recycling infrastructure,” APR said.
“One of the biggest challenges facing plastic recyclers are containers that come through the stream that may have a negative impact on recycling,” APR Executive Director Steve Alexander said in a statement.
“APR firmly believes that companies want to design packaging that is recyclable and sustainable. Both recyclers and product manufacturers often do not realize the implications of new products, until they have been brought to market, made it through the collection process, and contaminate the recycling stream,” he continued.
The guide aims to change that.
While the guide is written for plastic packaging, the trade group said it's “principles can be applied to all potentially recycled plastic items.”
The guide provides information on different resin categories and provides further detail about what impact color, dimensions, labels, inks and adhesives can have on recyclability, APR said.
More information about the guide is available on APR's website.
APR will be hosting an upcoming webinar to discuss the guide at 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 28. Registration here for the webinar.
