Recyclable primary plastic packaging included (Design for Recycling)
Level: Advanced
Plastic packaging that is designed to be recycled contributes to more circular plastic streams.
Details
- Type:
- Special contract terms
- ID:
- 11562:1
- Group:
- Packaging food sector
Criterion text
Primary, secondary and/or tertiary packaging made from plastic that is used under the contract shall be designed for recycling. Plastic packaging and closures shall comply with at least the following:
Plastic packaging1 and any plastic closures2 shall be manufactured as a mono-material3 from one of the following plastics or as separable4 components thereof:
- Polyethylene (PE)
- Polypropylene (PP)
- Clear polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
Metallic parts shall not be used in the packaging,1 closure2 or label.
Plastic packaging shall not be dyed using carbon black
Plastic packaging shall not have printing that covers more than 60% of its surface.
Labels
Labels on plastic packaging shall meet one of the following twp requirements:
- Labels shall be made from the same material as the packaging.
- If the packaging is made from PET, the label shall be made from PP or PE.
Labels shall be able to be washed away according to following:
- Packaging of PE and PP shall have labels with water soluble adhesive glue, which can be washed away at temperatures below 60°C.
- Packaging of PET shall have labels possible to washed away with a basic solution at temperatures below 70 °C.
Labels shall not cover more than 60% of the surface of the packaging.
Exception: Any seals or sealing wads5 present are excepted on the condition that they are easily separable3 from the packaging and the closure.
1Plastic packaging includes rigid and flexible packaging, such as bottles, pots, bags, trays, wrappings, and similar.
2Closures include bottle caps, lids, bagsealers, cable ties.
3Mono-materials are plastics whose composition consists of a single type of plastic polymer, such as polyethylene.
4Separable components include elements of the packaging that can be easily taken apart by the end user without the need of tools before being recycled. Note, too, that an EVOH barrier in a fraction of up to 2% of PE can be accepted and is not considered to be a multi-layer material because it is compatible with existing recycling processes.
5Seals and sealing wads include components such as foils or multi-layer materials that seal certain food packages, such as margarine tubs, liver pâté containers and ketchup bottles.
Verification
When a supplier accepts the tender, it means that the special contract term will be fulfilled by the dates shown in the contract. This can be followed up during the contractual period.
Proposed follow-up
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, wrapping, 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.
Information about the criterion
This is a special contract term that states that primary, secondary and/or tertiary packaging layers 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.
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.
Environmental goals
Motive
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 Plastic Strategy (2018)
Versions history
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.
- Current ID
- 11562:1
- Version date
- 2023-07-05