The On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) scheme has now reached 250 members, with more than 60 organisations signing up since the beginning of the year.

The latest sign-ups to the scheme, which seeks to provide consumers with information on how likely it is that their local authority will accept specific packaging materials for recycling, include small businesses Jing Tea and The Booja Booja Company, luxury retailers Fortnum & Mason and Harrods, packaging companies Greiner and Colpac and UK food manufacturers Cranswick and Moy Park, as well as global brand McCain.

Last autumn, membership was opened to packaging designers and manufacturers, as well as to packers, fillers and others in the supply chain. OPRL has launched new online and member support services over the last 18 months, including a label artwork library, a tool to help members identify the correct labels and a matrix tool to aid in building an accurate label.

Commenting on this surge in membership, Stuart Lendrum, OPRL Executive Director since his appointment in April, said: “We have experienced the perfect storm, with OPRL’s expanding services and membership categories opening up just as public sentiment and political interest, inspired by Blue Planet II, challenged brands, retailers and the packaging industry to step up action on the design and recyclability of packaging, and to communicate this more effectively to consumers.

“With UK Government backing and UNEP recognition as international best practice, our labels give the same simple, consistent advice to consumers whether you’re a tiny start-up or an established global giant. This autumn sees new services coming online supporting recyclable packaging design, and piloting our consumer recycling app, enabling all members to demonstrate their responsibilities as producers. That’s an irresistible offer in the current trading environment.”

The OPRL scheme, which was founded in 2009 by leading retailers and brands to engage consumers more actively in recycling, has three categories indicating a packaging item’s recyclability.

These categories are:

• Widely recycled – 75 per cent or more of UK local authorities collect that type of packaging;
• Check local recycling – between 20 and 75 per cent of UK local authorities collect that type of packaging; and
• Not currently recycled – fewer than 20 per cent of UK local authorities collect that type of packaging.

Over 600 brands now use the label system to inform consumers about the recyclability of their products’ packaging.

You can find more information on OPRL on the scheme’s website.