SPS Pouches has been shortlisted for Best Plastic Product Development for Recyclability or Re-Use at the RECOUP Awards 2026 for its Mono-PE Pouch. The company is one of three finalists in the category, alongside Klöckner Pentaplast and Amcor.
The entry highlights SPS Pouches’ work on mono-PE packaging for dry goods, combining design for recyclability with the barrier protection, sealing and high-quality printing that brands require from their pouches.
Working with its converters, SPS Pouches developed a structure using machine-direction oriented polyethylene, or MDO-PE, to address practical challenges including pouch stiffness, ease of opening and sealing. Custom printing and minimum orders starting at 1,000 units make the format accessible to smaller businesses as well as established brands.
In RECOUP trials at Sherbourne Recycling in March 2026, the tested dry-goods construction recorded 20 out of 20 positive results at both sorting stages. The samples were identified as polyethylene and directed into the films and flexibles stream. The findings demonstrate the sortability of that construction under the conditions tested; the trials assessed identification and sorting, rather than subsequent reprocessing.
The work also informs SPS Pouches’ contribution to the wider recycling debate. Elliot Hyams, Director and Sustainability Lead, argues that funding from pEPR should help make flexible plastics commercially viable to recycle, rather than subsidising recycling that is already profitable. At the Packaging News Sustainability & Impact Summit, he warned that without clear requirements for how funding is used, investment could be used to bolster more profitable recycling while leaving the challenges facing flexible plastics unresolved.
The RECOUP Awards winners will be announced on 30 September 2026 in Peterborough.
About SPS Pouches
SPS Pouches is a UK supplier of custom printed pouch packaging, supporting brands with material selection, pouch formats, printing and production requirements across sectors including food supplements, pet treats and other consumer products.