Empowering Adaptation: How2Recycle’s Role in a Dynamic Recycling Environment

No company can control all the changes in our current recycling landscape. At How2Recycle, we know that in the world of recycling, change will be constant in the coming years. 

What we can’t change, we can adapt to—it’s like the difference between moving a mountain and learning to climb it instead. With How2Recycle membership, we’re working to empower companies to adapt to the constant changes in the legislation and recyclability ecosystems. 

Through the How2Recycle label, our Guidelines for Use, and our assessments, we’re making sure that member companies receive the tools they need to make the clearest on-pack disposal instructions, backed by the best possible data and comprehensive assessments. And we’re doing that to ensure that packaging materials make it into the right stream, no matter the changes in the legislative or recyclability landscape. 

Right now, as we prepare to release our semi-annual Guidelines for Use and refresh the design of the How2Recycle label, we’re taking a look back at our history of evolving with our members to meet the changing legislative and recyclability landscapes. 

How Did the How2Recycle Label Start?

In 2008, our sister program, the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), got together to address a change in our understanding of consumer behavior: according to SPC consumer testing, people didn’t understand Resin Identification Codes (RICs) as disposal instructions—and RICs were actually never intended to be a tool for consumers.

Larger cultural changes were brewing too, as environmental concerns rose and interest in recycling spiked. But SPC’s findings were clear—people didn’t understand what RICs meant on packaging. So SPC members came together with a simple yet powerful idea: to give consumers clear, concise, standardized disposal instructions on packaging. 

Together, 12 companies took inspiration from the OPRL Label in the United Kingdom and used the FTC Green Guides to inform a label design and recyclability designations. And when they did, they created the working group that flourished into the How2Recycle program. 

In the years that followed, How2Recycle grew from its 12 founding members to more than 800 members, comprising consumer-facing brands and packaging suppliers across the packaging supply chain. Today, the How2Recycle label is the leading on-pack disposal instruction for consumers across the U.S. and Canada. From the boardrooms where companies decide on sustainability initiatives to the classrooms where children follow How2Recycle disposal instructions, the label is the only on-pack signal guiding consumers and getting a piece of packaging into the right stream. 

But what happens upstream of these disposal decisions?

The How2Recycle Label & Guidelines for Use

Before a piece of packaging is deemed widely recyclable, recyclable in some communities, or not yet recyclable, the How2Recycle team conducts a thorough assessment. We analyze materials, leverage data, use the FTC’s Green Guides, and review other substantiating recyclability information to determine the appropriate label.

Historically, the label has sought to make disposal instructions as clear as possible for consumers. But to make sure that members knew how to use the label properly and could meet changes in recyclability, How2Recycle began developing the Guidelines for Use more than a decade ago. Since then, the Guidelines for Use have served as a core part of membership (members are required to review and comply) as well as a bellwether—making the changes in recyclability and legislation clear to brands.

These changes, of course, can be scary and intensive. Larger changes could mean changing the artwork on thousands of products for brands. But they can also serve as more than just a reflection of the landscape—they can serve as a company’s guide for determining their progress toward achieving their sustainability goals as well as the materials they want to use in their packaging design. And ultimately, they can help us make sure that no matter the label, we’re getting a piece of packaging into the right stream.

Embracing Change for a Better Recycling System

Right now, we’re in the middle of a watershed moment for recycling, as states pass Extended Producer Responsibility legislation and California redefines the laws around labeling. As we look to the future of How2Recycle, we’ll continue to make sure that our label and our Guidelines for Use help members meet these and future changes. 

• With our Guidelines for Use, which you can look out for later this month, we’ll make sure that we’re sharing industry, legislative, and recyclability shifts so that brands can issue accurate labels—and use the information to inform their sustainability goals and packaging design. 
• With the scoping of a refreshed How2Recycle label this Fall, we’re working to make sure that a new, data-backed, dynamic label will let companies readily adapt to recyclability changes while letting consumers know exactly what to do during disposal. 

At How2Recycle, we’ll keep adapting to these changes with you, because that’s all we’ve ever done. And together, with clear instructions and accurate assessments, we’ll do our part to keep waste out of our environment and get it into the right stream.