Industry guidance
To support all companies manufacturing and/or placing detergents, cleaners and maintenance products on the market, A.I.S.E. has developed
high-level principles to design sustainable plastic packaging for products, with a focus on recyclability -
download the guidelines here.
In addition to A.I.S.E.'s guiding principles, there are several existing tools and guidance developed by value chain partners that can be of great help for companies to put these principles into practice. Beneath, we present a non-exhaustive list of existing standards to define packaging specifications, tools to assess the recyclability of packaging, and a list of partners working on similar issues.
Existing Standards
There is a series of harmonised EN standards for packaging. The most relevant are listed here, more information is available via the
European Commission website.
- CEN EN 13428:2004: Requirements specific to manufacturing and composition - Prevention by source reduction
- CEN EN 13430:2004: Requirements for packaging recoverable by material recycling
- CEN EN 13432:2000: Requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation - Test scheme and evaluation criteria for the final acceptance of packaging
Useful resources
This section provides the link to guidelines or tools that can help design sustainable packaging. Some of these resources address the recyclability criteria, others might cover more broadly LCA and eco-design more broadly.
This list has been compiled to the best of the knowledge of the A.I.S.E. experts and is non-exhaustive. Tools listed here have been identified as developed by reliable sources and used within the detergent sector. Other equally valuable tools might exist, especially at national level, comprising the specificity of recycling/design requirements in one or more countries. We recommend you contact the relevant
national association to get country-specific information.
- Guidelines on ‘Design for Recycling’ for several plastic materials, including PE films, PP films, HDPE and PP transparent and coloured containers, PET bottles, PET trays, PO pots, tubs, blisters and trays - published by PRE
- Guidelines on ‘Design for Recycling’ for PET bottles are to encourage packaging designers, converters and users to integrate certain criteria during the development phase of a new product in order to facilitate PET recycling – published by EPBP
- Free online tool RecyClass to enable the assessment of most plastic package regarding its recyclability, using the class system from A to F - published by PRE
- Test protocol for testing properties of new PET bottle innovations to verify impacts of non-PET components coming from the use of recycled PET – Published by EPBP
- Test protocol for testing properties of innovative PE films on recycling process – published by PRE
Stakeholders in Europe
Disclaimer
This information is provided free of charge and is based on technical data that A.I.S.E. believes to be reliable. It is intended for use by persons having technical skills and at their own discretion and risk. Since conditions of use are outside our control, we make no warranties, express or implied, and assume no liability in connection with any use of this information. Nothing herein is to be taken as a license to operate under or a recommendation to infringe any patents. Please note that in cases where some brands can be recognised in the images, those are included only as illustrative examples and A.I.S.E. does not recommend any brand in particular.