KIDV Recycle Check paper and cardboard packaging
The Recycle Check is a support tool for one of the many choices that packaging designers, but also marketers and buyers have to make if they bring a new product or packaging on the market. The tool has the model of a decision tree. The user is asked a brief number of questions about all sorts of material and packaging components that can influence sorting and recycling. Additional information for each question is provided in the background document.
At the end the packaging gets a rating: optimal, reasonable, limited or non-recyclable. The Recycle Check focuses on the entire packaging, for example a printed box with a label and adhesives.
KIDV has also developed Recycle Checks for other materials, click here for an overview.
In January 2024 we published the latest update of the KIDV Recycle Check Paper and Cardboard Packaging. This 2024 version is more specific than the versions published so far: it can detail exactly which materials have been used for the packaging. Users immediately get a clear picture of what the easily or less recyclable components are, and if there are any disruptive factors.
How it works
The Paper and Cardboard Packaging Recycle Check consists of two parts: the Recycle Check itself, and a document with a lot of background information that details the sorting and recycling process of paper and cardboard, the influence of labels, printing (inks) and glues and other interfering substances. At the end the packaging is scored on recyclability, from optimal (green) to yellow (reasonable), orange (limited) and finally red (non-recyclable).
The 2024 version has been updated according to the criteria set by Paper Recycling Netherlands in the Paper and Cardboard Separation Guide (in Dutch) and is in line with the design guidelines and protocols of 4evergreen and CEPI. 4evergreen is a consortium of manufacturers, designers, brand owners, researchers and recyclers seeking to optimize fiber-based packaging for circularity and reduction of environmental impact. CEPI represents the interests of the European paper industry. These European draft guidelines for consumer packaging define which packaging can best be recycled in a standard paper mill. These design guidelines, supplemented by the latest insights from the paper and cardboard industry, formed the basis for the Recyclecheck update.
Other points of interest include:
As of 2021, the waste paper stream has also included single-sided laminated/coated paper and cardboard, effectively increasing the recycling rate of waste paper and simplifying the waste separation process. The Recyclecheck describes how a producer/importer can deal with this and how the recyclability of such packaging can be tested.
The impact of labels, sleeves, printing and other sub-components on the recyclability is described. It also includes tips on the use of printing inks, including how to minimize this and how to properly separate the inks from the material of the main component (see also the KIDV fact sheet about Inks).
As a starting point for the Recycle Checks, the KIDV uses the principle 'One disposable unit, unless...'. When a packaging consists of separate disposable units of different material types, this affects its recyclability. This is explicitly described in the background document.
Other KIDV Recycle Checks
The KIDV has also developed Recycle Checks for many other forms of packaging, click here for an overview.
Enter your details below to download the KIDV Recycle Check. If you do so, you will receive updates by email. In addition, we inform you about the availability of new Recycle Checks for other packaging materials.
Enter your details below to download the KIDV Recycle Check. If you do so, you will receive updates by e-mail. In addition, we inform you about the availability of new Recycle Checks for other packaging materials.