Consumers know the ubiquitous three-arrow recycling icon means that a package is made of recyclable material. But do they know whether the lid on their tea bottle can stay on, or if their local recycling program is able to process Tetra Paks? 
 
How2Recycle is trying to clear up any confusion about what can be recycled where, and how, by creating a more thorough, nationally harmonized, on-package label. The traditional recycling symbol with a number in the center was developed decades ago as a way for manufacturers to communicate with recycling facilities or reprocessors, the organization says. This one is designed specifically for consumers. “Fifty-seven percent of consumers look to a product’s packaging first for recycling information, before looking elsewhere,” says project manager Kelly Cramer. “This data suggests that having a recycling label like How2Recycle on package is important to triggering correct recycling behavior, because it’s where people look for direction.” 
 
The effort is a project of GreenBlue’s Sustainable Packaging Coalition, a nonprofit membership group working to improve packaging sustainability and the public’s understanding of it. Several natural brands including WhiteWave Foods, Seventh Generation and Happy Family Brands, as well as conventional brands such as Clorox and Kellogg’s, are members and display How2Recycle labels on their packages. 
 
To read the full story, visit http://newhope.com/packaging/can-i-recycle-brands-adopt-more-thorough-label-make-recycling-less-confusing.

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