Plastics recycling auditing scheme RecyClass (Brussels; www.recyclass.eu) has updated its Recyclability Evaluation protocols and released a new set of Design for Recycling guidelines for all plastic packaging streams.

RecyClass said the creation of the latest set of guidelines would provide the industry with up-to-date recommendations for improving the recyclability of plastic packaging. The move follows the completion and subsequent findings of 18 testing campaigns commissioned in 2023.

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The organisation carried out trials on non-polyethylene decorations on HDPE bottles, along with testing on polypropylene and HDPE rigid rolling packaging, to further clarify the sorting performances of different plastics.

Additions to the new guidelines include a more detailed classification of ink binders and AlOx (aluminium oxide) coatings with PVOH primer in PO films, along with polyurethane-based materials for laminating adhesives in PP flexible packaging.

In rigid packaging, a melt flow index of PE closures used on PE containers has been introduced, while thermoplastic elastomers have been classified as fully compatible with recycling for both HDPE and PP streams. Importance was also stressed on label removability in HDPE rigid packaging.