Together with global packaging compliance leader, Citeo, Polytag has achieved a major breakthrough for the recycling industry, in a project successfully detecting 100% of UV- tagged single-use plastic bottles entering one of Europe’s busiest Materials Recycling Facilities (MRF) in France.
Important milestone for the industry
The collaboration, focused on advancing innovation in the recycling sector, demonstrates the effectiveness of Polytag’s solution in providing insights into the lifecycle of plastic packaging. Access to accurate barcode-level data enables brands and retailers to meet Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations, monitor sustainability initiatives and increase recycling rates.
Citeo detected UV Tags printed using food-safe fluorescent ink applied directly on packaging labels using standard printing methods, including digital, flexographic solvent-based and UV-cure inks.
Access to never-before-seen data
During the project, Citeo was able to access barcode-level data captured as UV-tagged items entered the recycling stream and were detected by Polytag’s Detection Units. Companies applying UV Tags to their packaging will be able to view their own unique data in real time via the Polytag dashboard, providing a comprehensive view of each item’s journey through the recycling process. By sharing this data with supply chain partners, brands and retailers can help drive an industry-wide approach to improving recycling rates.
Alice Rackley, CEO of Polytag, said:
“Working with a global leader like Citeo and achieving a 100% detection rate in an MRF, operating at normal speed during active operating conditions, is a milestone moment for us, and the wider recycling industry. It demonstrates the undeniable effectiveness of our UV Tags for PET bottles in full-scale facility conditions.
“Our UV Tags, combined with our advanced detection technology, provide an unprecedented level of insight through the supply chain, tagging and tracing every piece of packaging. In this way, Polytag technology empowers businesses to make informed decisions, to optimise their processes and to truly embrace circularity.”
A spokesperson from the Citeo innovation project team added:
“Polytag has been selected as part of an innovation project. We want to explore the potential of marking technologies and their impact on sorting performance in live environments. These are the first results we’ve seen and they will enable us to project the use of this new kind of data in packaging sorting.”