Waste Stream Mapping Guides

The World Packaging Organisation (WPO), in conjunction with FH Campus University of Applied Sciences, Austria and ECR Community, have launched the Waste Stream Mapping Guides as the second stage of the Global Packaging Design for Recycling Guide program.

Circular Design is only effective when the relevant collection, sorting and recycling streams exist. From the mapping of the Waste Streams we can better determine technically recyclable packaging types in countries across the world.

In order to be able to apply recyclable packaging design, a certain fundamental knowledge of sorting and recycling processes is necessary. Packaging must, therefore, be suitable for state-of-the-art sorting and recycling processes in addition to its basic functions (e.g., storage, transport, product protection, product presentation and convenience).

The Waste Stream Mapping Guides are essential global decision-making tools that will enable anyone to access current information on technically recyclable packaging across the world.

The guides also come with a ‘How to Use Guide’ for the Global Packaging Design for Recycling Guide so that they can be used hand-in-hand when packaging is being designed.

Global Packaging Design for Recycling Guide

The waste stream mapping guides are a part of the Global Packaging Design for Recycling Guide program.

A global ‘Packaging Design for Recycling Guide’ has been developed by the WPO, Circular Analytics, FH Campus University of Applied Sciences and ECR Community.

Design for recycling is part of circular product design and represents an important basis for holistic sustainability assessment. Accordingly, circularity means that the packaging is designed in such a way that the highest possible recycling of the materials in use can be achieved. The goals here are resource conservation, the longest possible service life, material-identical recycling (closed-loop recycling) or the use of renewable materials. Circular packaging should therefore be designed and manufactured in such a way that it can be reused (reusable solution) and/or that the raw materials used can be reused to a large extent as secondary raw materials after the use phase (recycling) and/or consist of renewable raw materials.

In order to be able to apply recyclable packaging design, a certain fundamental knowledge of sorting and recycling processes is necessary. Packaging must, therefore, be suitable for state-of-the-art sorting and recycling processes in addition to its basic functions (e.g., storage, transport, product protection, product presentation and convenience).

The ‘Packaging Design for Recycling Guide’ is a starting point to understand Best Practice examples using state-of-the-art technology that can then be applied and tailored to suit the recovery and recyclability capabilities and infrastructure on a regional and local level.

 

Please use the country-specific waste stream mapping guides alongside the Global guide which is available in multiple translations:

 

 

(English Language)

 

(Japanese Language)

 

(Thai Language)

 

(Indonesian Language)

 

(Portuguese Language)

 

 

(Polish Language)

 

(Ukrainian Language)

 

(Czech Language)

 

(Latvian Language)

 

(Arabic Language)

 

(Hungarian Language)

 

(German Language)

 

  (Georgian Language)

 

  (Spanish Language)