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OPRL welcomes plans for mandatory ‘swoosh’ label

The On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) Ltd has welcomed the government’s plans to adopt the Recycle Now ‘swoosh’ as part of labelling requirements under extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging.

WRAP has agreed that brand owners and importers can use the Recycle Now ‘swoosh’ free of charge

Professor Margaret Bates is executive director at the OPRL, which operates the UK-wide on-pack labelling scheme used by more than 750 member companies and charities. She described the government’s move, confirmed by Defra at a business readiness forum on 25 January, as “reassuring” (see letsrecycle.com story).

During the meeting the department outlined that from 2026, brand owners and importers would be required to label most packaging with the swoosh and instructions stating either ‘recycle’ or ‘do not recycle’.

The requirements will be introduced as part of a UK-wide statutory instrument later in 2023 and WRAP, the resources charity behind the Recycle Now recycling campaign, has agreed that the swoosh can be used as the logo free of charge.

Professor Bates said: “Consumers need clear messages and this commitment to familiar imagery and messaging will help to avoid any confusion.

“It is also encouraging to see that Defra, the devolved administrations and OPRL members – including many international brands – understand the value of the label.”

Free of charge

OPRL will no longer have exclusive use of the Recycle Now mark once labelling became mandatory. Currently, the cost of joining OPRL, which is voluntary and starts at £395, varies based on the size of company.

Professor Margaret Bates is executive director of OPRL

Professor Bates said she was “unconcerned” about the government’s decision to offer the logo for free. “Our ongoing engagement with Defra means this outcome was not surprising. Instead, OPRL is focused on helping our members to prepare by assessing the recyclability of their packaging and navigating the intricacies of labelling.”

While the swoosh and instructions will be mandatory, packaging producers can choose whether to manage the application themselves or sign up to a scheme to do it for them.

“You could compare it to filling out a tax return – it is possible to do it yourself, but if you are looking for a guarantee that you have ticked every box, then it is safer to hire an accountant,” Professor Bates said.

“Managing labelling requirements for a vast range of products is challenging; getting it wrong can have a huge impact on consumer relations, as well as the regulatory consequences.”

Recycling process

OPRL was launched in 2009 as a not-for-profit limited by guarantee as part of the British Retail Consortium, the trade association for UK retailers.

OPRL says its labelling system, which already uses the swoosh, takes account of the “whole recycling process”, from council and in-store collections to sorting at material recycling facilities.

“Where possible,” OPRL says, it promotes the use of ‘recycle’ and ‘do not recycle’ as the two primary labels. ‘Recycle’ means 75% or more of local authorities collect this type of packaging through household collections, before sorting, processing and selling it “effectively”. ‘Do not recycle’ means fewer than 50% of local authorities collect this packaging through household collections and/or it is not effectively sorted, processed or sold as recyclate.

Defra first set out its intention to implement mandatory labelling to indicate recyclability from 2026 in a consultation response published in March 2022 (see letsrecycle.com story).

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