Design

The first products showing a new standardised logo for retail packaging recycling, which is backed by multiples including Tesco and Asda, will start to appear on shelves this month (December).

Asda packaging buyer Shane Monkman said the logo, developed by British Retail Consortium (BRC) members with the Waste & Resources Action Programme (Wrap), would feature on the multiple’s Christmas gravy lines.

The logo places each of the materials used in a product’s packaging into one of three categories (see box).
It will initially appear on retailer own-brands but Monkman said multiples hoped to persuade brand owners to use it on their products.

He also wants inconsistencies in local authority recycling addressed.

The logo categories are based on a combination of kerbside collection and bring-bank facilities.

Tetra Paks are in the “not currently recycled” list but the firm said it was confident they would be classed as “widely recycled” by the time the label is introduced.