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Free tool launched to help Americans know what to recycle

In line with Earth Day 2022, we look into a new framework that can help people in the US recycle.

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For better or worse, recycling is a complicated process. Many people do not fully understand what can and cannot be recycled, what goes where, and how, and until recently there was no app that has covered every aspect of recycling, from post-consumer community recycling to directly from brands.

This is where The Circular Packaging Assessment Tool, a new framework from The Recycling Partnership's Pathway to Circularity for Packaging scheme, which seeks to tackle many of the leading issues with recycling head-on, comes into play.

Read more: Plastic packaging increases pollution & food waste, research finds

Developed through insight and collaboration with some of the world's largest recycling and packaging firms across the entire lifecycle of recycling, the tool seeks to help users determine how best to recycle packaging - all for free.

At the core is the Recycling Partnership's National Database which provides a source for local recycling across the US through an automated outreach process - typically conducted through text - that will be able to answer specific questions from users.

One-third of all municipal waste in the US is made up of packaging, so frameworks such as this are a must-have to reducing the weight in urban areas.

The platform claims to provide step-by-step guidelines of what is required for packaging and materials to be considered recyclable in the US, which can not only help communities better manage their recycling loads but also provide a framework from which packaging firms can better ensure their products are easier to recycle.

The Partnership claims at least 95% of the packaging weight passes through the framework's requirement, provided whatever remains does not interfere with the process in any way.

"Primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging items, even when serving to protect the same product, must be assessed as individual packages, not in combination since that is the way each will enter the system," the NGO said in a report introducing the tool.

It will also aid people in determining where to recycle locally, due to 45% of Americans not having access to roadside recycling.

There are five main guidelines the tool follows to address the eligibility of packaging to be recycled:

The app has been designed to give users an understanding of the US's recycling ecosystem while also continuing to stay relevant as trends and technologies update, the firm claims.

To aid with guidance, the Recycling Partnership has teamed up with several industry associations, including the Aluminum Association, the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), the Carton Council, the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI), the Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) and the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI).

The tool involves a fully digital platform that integrates the Partnership's online databases to provide guidelines in a digestible format.

It will also provide a method to track packaging products that are en route to becoming more sustainable and give them the exposure they need.

The teams have access to the recycling information for many local communities, claiming to have data on 97% of US households. Its next plan of action is to add this to its database to better prepare the public for recycling.

Read more: Next 5 years "critical" for plastics sector to go circular & decarbonise

In addition, it is hoping to increase equitable access to recycling services by 2023 at the latest to make "recycling as easy as throwing an item into the trash." 

It will also be looking to specify its criteria and update its accreditation schemes over the coming years, which will also make knowing what to recycle far simpler.

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