APR Releases Summary of Recycling Design Guides

The Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR) has published an executive summary version of its recently released recyclability design guides for packaging and containers.

Executive Director Steve Alexander says that while the organization has published its design guides for the past 14 years, recently many nontechnical audiences, including consumer product companies, marketing and brand managers, as well as packaging design experts have expressed the need for a quick reference summary version of the guidelines.

“As one of its core missions, APR has always sought to provide packaging designers with specific information to allow for informed decisions,” Alexander says. For the past 14 years, the APR Recyclability Guidelines, which are based on actual industry experience, have provided that guidance to industry. These guidelines describe how a package design might impact conventional mechanical plastics recycling systems, be improved to avoid recycling problems and be optimized to make plastic packages more compatible with current recycling systems.

Steve Sikra, Procter & Gamble's global leader for packaging material science and technology and a member of APR’s board of directors, observes, “The APR Design for Recyclability Guidelines Executive Summary has been prepared by the APR as a quick reference tool for package designers, engineers, brand managers and decision makers. It is focused on the most commonly reclaimed postconsumer packaging items: PET, polyethylene and polypropylene bottles and containers. It contains key points to consider from the APR Design for Recyclability Guidelines.”

Alexander adds that the summary will help to provide a broader audience with an understanding of how the technical aspects of container and packaging design will have an impact on the ability of the package or product to be recycled. “Recyclers tend to be the last to know about the impact of a new product or package design on the ability of the package to be recycled. Hopefully, this summary will help a broader audience consider the downstream implications of the recyclability of a package during the conceptual development stage.”

To discuss the changes, the APR will host a webinar 1:00 pm on Sept. 19 during which the association will explain how to use the guide to aid in the design process when considering the recyclability of a bottle or container.

To register for the webinar go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/443533447537141504.

Visit http://www.plasticsrecycling.org/images/stories/doc/apr_dfr_executive_summary_08_2013.pdf to download a copy of the executive summary as well as full versions of the design guides.

The APR represents companies who acquire, reprocess and sell the output of more than 90 percent of the postconsumer plastic processing capacity in North America.