TÜV SÜD and Reclay Group present a new testing and certification offer addressing packaging recyclability

The European Union has set itself the goal of ensuring that by 2030, all plastic packaging placed on the EU market is either reusable or recyclable. To reach this goal, the EU relies on the development of quality standards for secondary raw materials, promotes certification, and supports the introduction of mandatory rules on minimum recyclability in certain products and the reduction of disposable plastics. By offering the new TÜV SÜD “Recyclability of Packaging” standard, TÜV SÜD and Reclay Group support manufacturers, bottlers and other fillers, importers, online merchants, trade chains and other distributors of packaged goods on their road to establishing circular economy systems.

“Our new TÜV SÜD standard evaluates the recyclability of packaging and all its individual components, taking into account regional collection and recycling structures, the sorting capability as a basic requirement of recycling and the market potential of secondary raw materials to replace primary raw materials. Combined with exact material testing, it thus provides us with maximum accuracy for certification”, says Dr Robert Hermann, Business Unit Manager Environmental Technology & Climate Protection at TÜV SÜD in Austria.

Barbara Hettche, Senior Consultant at Reclay Group, adds, “In many cases, small changes can make a big impact. Digital technology ensures maximum transparency and integrated evaluation of packaging recyclability. This also enables us to clearly identify ways of leveraging opportunities for improvement, and thus provides companies with value added right from the testing and certification process.”

Testing and certification
Depending on the product in question the testing and certification process takes one to three months. Once an application for testing and certification has been filed, samples of the material, product and process data are requested. Based on the results of product testing by TÜV SÜD and in-house production control, the expert team from Reclay Group prepares a digital twin of the packaging. This documentation of materials, weights and dimensions enables all relevant influencing factors to be included in the assessment of packaging recyclability. If requested, this step can even be supervised and evaluated by scientists from the Chair of Waste Processing Technology and Waste Management at the renowned Austrian university, Montanuniversität Leoben.

Subsequently, TÜV SÜD documents the results in an audit report or final report. After successful completion of the testing and certification process, a certificate with a three-year validity period is issued.