The recycling company has made the announcement in the wake of various reports in the media criticising the use of the Green Dot logo on UK products, as the symbol is used in Europe to indicate that the producer has made a contribution towards recycling that packaging but it is not applicable in the UK.
Despite the concerns, the company said that by using the same logo throughout Europe saved money and prevented the environmental impact of producing separate packaging for UK bound products and those heading to Europe.
Steve Gough, chief executive of Valpak, said: “We are caught in the middle of this as the organisation responsible for protecting the trade mark but we are keenly aware that we must do everything within our powers to ensure that Valpak and its members comply with both the letter and the spirit of the law.”
“We are therefore anxious to ensure that the correct interpretation of the symbol is widely known by both consumers and business users alike. We have therefore taken advice from local Trading Standards representatives, who enforce the law relating to claims made to potential consumers to ensure that all our members and licence holders who print the Green Dot on their packaging are fully informed of their responsibilities,” he added.
Under advice from Trading Standards, Valpak has directed any company currently carrying the Green Dot on its packaging to not use it if they feel it misleads customers over the recyclability of the packaging.
Mark Ryder, head of Warwickshire Trading Standards Service, said: “We would urge businesses that currently use the Green Dot on their packaging to work with Valpak to ensure that any recycling message on packaging is clear, so that consumers are not misled.”
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