How2Recycle, a program of GreenBlue, continues to evolve to meet our mission of eliminating consumer confusion and driving responsible packaging design to improve the quality and quality of recycled materials. We do this by actively supporting our member companies in addressing the growing complexity of the recycling infrastructure, consumer education and trends, policy and regulation, changes in packaging design, and the use of technology in packaging design and labeling. Since its inception in 2012, How2Recycle has grown from a pilot project to a full program with over 500 member companies and thousands of labels issued annually, effectively impacting packaging design and how consumers recycle.
Our goals for the program continue to grow, and our future outlook includes:
Increased Consumer Education & Interaction with a More Dynamic Label Our focus during our past decade of growth has been to work with the industry to gain adoption of the label. However, consumer communication has always been at the core of the program, and we will be increasing our focus on consumer education and awareness of the label. We also recognize the necessity of adapting to the needs of today’s consumers to ensure that what we offer is meeting the goal of taking the guesswork out of recycling.
Development of Strategic Relationships with industry partners such as The Recycling Partnership, The Carton Council, The Association of Plastics Recyclers to align our efforts, language and terminology, data and provide clarity and direction to the initiatives we are carrying forward.
The Launch of a New Packaging Design Collaborative with SPC and How2Recycle members with the objective of bringing together brands, retailers, and design agency thinking to be able to prototype what future How2Recycle labels will look like.
Participation in FTC Green Guides potential update How2Recycle is designed to comply with the FTC Green Guides, so we are following the update process closely. We will submit comments based on our extensive experience with best practices for consumer labeling, and continue to share our data and insights on consumer perception of the language and claims covered in the Green Guides with the FTC.
Understanding and adapting to policy impacts Between California and many other states looking at the definition of “recyclable” and implementing recyclability labeling regulations, we understand the need to proactively address the impacts to How2Recycle. We are working on providing more clarity to members and on the implications of these policy shifts, as well as assessing internally how our program needs to evolve. We will be providing a detailed update this spring.
Market and Consumer Research Our program is based on data, and it is important that the information we have is comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date. We have commissioned several studies to address gaps in data, including consumer perception and updated access for certain packaging types.
Team Growth and Process Improvement To meet the needs of our growing membership, we are expanding our team as well as working to improve internal and external processes. See below for more about our new team members and the specializations of our current team!
How2Recycle team members will be at SPC Impact 2023 this April 24-27 in Austin, TX - we will have a kiosk in the exhibit area where members and prospects can ask questions and will have office hours for current members to schedule meetings with members of the team. Stay tuned for further information on signing up for office hours ahead of the event.