Avery Dennison RFID tags garner RecyClass approval for PET bottle recyclability
Materials science and digital identification solutions provider Avery Dennison announced that its AD CleanFlake RFID tags have secured RecyClass Technology Approval in Europe. The solution builds on the portfolio’s existing Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) Design Recognition in North America. Avery Dennison is now the first manufacturer to offer an RFID solution recognized by both major regional bodies for compatibility with mechanical PET recycling streams, it says.
With regional recognition spanning plastic reclamation frameworks — covering rigid PET packaging in North America and PET bottles in Europe — multinational brand owners can now utilize a technically unified label construction across international supply chains. Cross-regional compatibility supports brands in their efforts to deploy high-performance tracking while also streamlining material sourcing and structural packaging data for international reporting, the company adds.
Avery Dennison’s AD CleanFlake RFID solution represents a dual-innovation breakthrough. The solution is built on Avery Dennison’s proprietary CleanFlake adhesive technology and paired with a patent-pending RFID inlay and label construction, a combination that ensures RFID tags are separated cleanly from rigid PET during the mechanical recycling process. This extraction avoids adhesive and metal contamination, the company says, which leaves the PET flakes suitable for reuse without sacrificing the operational benefits that RFID delivers.
As one of the most widely used packaging materials, the recyclability of PET is critical to reducing plastic waste at scale, Avery Dennison notes. Ninety-six percent of the top 50 consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands are committed to recyclability and waste management targets, it adds, and the pressure to find solutions that work within existing recycling infrastructure “has never been greater.”
That pressure is reinforced by the European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). The PPWR requires brands to demonstrate recyclability at scale. RecyClass Technology Approval verifies that AD CleanFlake RFID products are technically optimized to fit into these evolving circular packaging workstreams without disrupting established mechanical PET recycling, the company adds.
The use of recycling-compatible RFID inlays, tags and adhesives improves material recovery and sortation rates, while also supporting brand owners in meeting sustainability goals.
“When APR recognized the AD CleanFlake RFID products, it validated that RFID and PET recyclability no longer have to be in conflict,” said Pascale Wautelet, vice president, global R&D and sustainability at Avery Dennison Materials Group, in a statement. “We’re proud that RecyClass Technology Approval validates our RFID tag compatibility with the European PET bottles recycling stream. Brands operating across North America and Europe now have a single, approved solution that works within both recycling infrastructures, without compromise.”
In a statement, Paolo Glerean, chairman at RecyClass, shared that the core purpose of RecyClass Technology Approval is to advance and recognize circular packaging technologies through science-based testing methodologies that evaluate recyclability.
“Given the stringent criteria applied, combined with Avery Dennison’s clear commitment to advancing circularity on a global scale, this Approval serves as a testament that recyclable solutions are readily available on the market, and jointly, we can work towards achieving the upcoming legislative targets,” he said.
More information about AD CleanFlake can be found here.
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