Recyclable plastic packaging (Design for Recycling)

Check plastic packaging identified by the supplier as recyclable as part of the contract, such as by requesting information about the types of packaging and the materials they are made from.

Ask for technical documentation and control that the packaging is design for recycling, eg by control of the information on the specification (including bottles/pots, bags, trays, rigid plastic tapes, closures and labels) showing at least the following: 

• The type of material used in the packaging closure, sealing and sealing wads.
• The colour of packaging and closure.
• The material of the label.
• Information if it is possible to wash away the label below the temperature given.
• Information about how big part of the packaging surface that is covered by the label.
• Information about how big part of the packaging surface that is covered by printing.

A self-declaration, inclusive technical documentation, showing compliance with the requirement verified by an accredited bodies in accordance with ISO/IEC 17029, or equivalent.

This is a special contract term that states that secondary and/or tertiary packaging made from plastic used under the contract shall be designed for recycling.

The material requirements for packaging and closures set in the special contract term contribute to improving the quality of the recycled raw material. This may drive up demand for recycled material as well as increasing the volume available on the market. It should be kept in mind that it may initially be difficult to use this requirement in the case of small-scale food suppliers.

Most food packaging and packages from Swedish food retailers shall be able to be sorted by consumers and left at existing collection systems, such as those from FTI (Förpacknings och Tidningsinsamlingen) or TMR (Tailor-Made Responsibility, in swedish).

Scope

This special contract term covers both rigid and flexible plastic packaging. The contract term means that only mono-material packaging made from PE, PP or clear PET can currently meet the requirement. Note that LDPE and HDPE are covered, since they are variants of PE. See also primary packaging included in Requirement 11562.

It is important to hold a dialogue with the market before the requirement it set in order to assess which product groups and levels of packaging the requirement can be applied to and whether there is a demand on the market. See further information about market analyses under Innovation in Procurement.

If your procurement object involves foodstuffs that are delivered in packaging made from EPS (expanded polystyrene), the packaging may need to be excepted from the requirement, since EPS does not meet the requirement. Fish is an example of foodstuffs that are shipped in EPS packages. The European Commission is currently reviewing FCMs (Food Contact Materials), and a draft legislation is expected by the end of 2022. Amongst other things, threshold values for several substances are being reviewed with regards to the Precautionary Principle and the risk of transfer to foodstuffs, such as the migration of styrene from the polymerisation process of EPS.

Self-declaration in accordance with ISO/IEC 17029

There are currently no accredited verification bodies in accordance with ISO/IEC 17029 (Conformity assessment – General principles and requirements for validation and verification bodies) since it is a relatively new standard. However, this may change, especially if demand increases for verifying compliance with requirements in this way. This possibility is therefore included in the list of suggested verification methods. For more information, see the Swedac website.

Design for recycling is a necessity in order to be able to promote a circular economy, as is also emphasised in the EU plastics strategy with its goal that packaging shall be able to be recycled.¹ It is important that plastic packaging is designed so as to be recyclable and that producers of plastic packaging take circularity into consideration during the design phase so that the packaging is easy to sort and conforms to existing collection systems.

Great environmental gains can be made by prioritising products and plastics for which there are already-existing recycling systems. Polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and clear, blow-moulded polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are plastics that can be recycled using systems available today, where they are used as mono-materials. Packages made from expanded polystyrene (EPS) are not currently separated out in established recycling systems. This is planned to be included in recycling systems no earlier than 2023. Further information is available on the websites of FTI (Förpacknings- och Tidningsinsamlingen) or TMR (Tailor-Made Responsibility, link in swedish).

¹ The EU plastics strategy, January 2018

The version date indicates when the sustainability criterion was created or last updated. Last reviewed dated tells when we last checked that the sustainability criterion still is relevant.