GreenBlue's How2Recycle (H2R) program just completed a momentous few days in Chicago.
A spate of new developments were incrementally unveiled over the course of the week, culminating today with H2R's launch of How2Recycle Plus, which uses on QR-based connectivity to tap into The Recycling Partnership's Recycle Check platform and corresponding National Recycling Database.
That database, stakeholders say, provides the most up-to-date information on which materials are accepted at more than 9,000 recovery facilities across the country, representing 99% of the U.S. population. Published for the first time on Sept. 23, The Partnership’s Acceptance Data will be released twice-annually to inform How2Recycle labeling system. How2Recycle Plus is available for brand adoption now and will appear on packaging across the U.S. in 2025, starting soon with Danone. The CPG giant is the first company to adopt the new How2Recycle Plus label on select new Silk brand products by the end of the year, hitting store shelves soon.
The Recycling Partnership & Recycle Check on board
Also piquing our attention on Monday was another design on the slide that Nowak displayed, a data matrix or QR-style code that bore The Recycling Partnership's Recycle Check logo. Details were scarce, but it certainly hinted at more information to come.
Sure enough, Nowak and Katherine Huded, TRP's VP of recyclability solutions, unveiled today H2R's new dynamic label offering, How2Recycle Plus, which features TRP’s Recycle Check QR code. The pair say thisHow2Recycle Plus will provide trusted real-time local recycling and disposal instructions to Americans beginning in 2025.
“With a How2Recycle label already inside nearly every home in America, the new label, featuring Recycle Check, delivers real-time information on what is accepted for recycling locally to people across the country,” said Huded. "Reducing confusion on what can be recycled is essential to improving the U.S. recycling rate. Real-time, location-specific education is a critical tool for recovering the 76% of what could be recycled but is instead sent to landfills or incinerators."
This new label offering comes after a year-long pilot that paired the widely recognized How2Recycle Legacy Label with The Recycling Partnership’s Recycle Check QR code.
“How2Recycle has the consumer recognition—eight in 10 Americans recognize our labels—and the brand reach to make it an obvious choice and a simple solution in the evolving world of recycling policy and consumer education,” said GreenBlue Executive Director Paul Nowak. “Now for the first time, we have the data and technology to link national brand packaging with local recycling program acceptance.”
Now, when How2Recycle members opt to adopt the How2Recycle Plus label featuring Recycle Check, the label lets consumers scan the QR code, enter a zip code or allow location permissions and receive a clear, yes-no answer on whether a material is accepted for recycling in their community. How2Recycle Plus featuring Recycle Check draws from TRP's National Recycling Database. The Database includes acceptance data across more than 9,000 unique community recycling programs, representing 99% of the U.S. population. On September 23, the Database released, for the very first time, Community Recycling Program Acceptance Data, which provides critical insights that power digital tools and empowers companies, local governments, policymakers, and the public to navigate recycling acceptance.
In recent years, the fragmented recycling system, changes to material recyclability, and issues with access to recycling have contributed to the erosion of trust in the recycling system. The recycling system is faced with new changes as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation spreads, states seek to advance “label laws” to regulate recycling chasing arrows, and consumers demand transparency around recycling. To meet the moment, How2Recycle Plus featuring Recycle Check can help clear confusion around recycling and empower individuals to make informed disposal decisions.
Read more about The Recycling Partnership's Recycle Check platform, launched last year and now powering How2Recycle Plus. |
Stakeholders say that the power of the How2Recycle Plus label featuring Recycle Check stems in part from the reach of How2Recycle’s members, the widespread recognition of the How2Recycle labels—nearly 84% of Americans recognize the label—and The Recycling Partnership’s robust program-level acceptance data.
Starting today, How2Recycle Plus featuring Recycle Check label is available for brand adoption and application to their packaging. Individuals will begin to find packages featuring this label in 2025. Anyone seeking disposal information today can continue looking for the How2Recycle label for instruction, and find local recycling information with Recycle Check chatbot that provides a clear yes-no answer on what is accepted for recycling today in their community at recyclecheck.org.
Walmart grant accelerates rollout
The Recycling Partnership also announced that it received a Walmart Foundation grant to help accelerate the rollout of GreenBlue Org's How2Recycle Plus labels featuring Recycle Check on a larger scale.
Supported by Aura’s e-halo platform, TRP says its streamlining packaging information flow from end to end, enabling faster delivery of on-pack recycling education at scale across the U.S.
A TRP LinkedIn post from this week reads: "We’re appreciative that the Walmart Foundation recognized the opportunity to support this critical work, knowing that to build a better recycling system, and divert materials from landfill, we must work together. By leveraging our collective expertise in recycling data, technology, and labeling, we’re making it easier for everyday people to access clear, local, on-pack recycling information—faster than ever. The recycling system is complex, and our collaboration will help reduce confusion for both the industry and everyday people." PW