About the Roll ‘n’ Recycle® program
Roll ‘n’ Recycle® is embarking on a substantial contribution to the recycling industry and minimising landfill.
Up until 2020, the only way to recycle flexible plastics was to collect them yourselves and dropping them into an assigned bin at a store that participates in a suitable program. However, wouldn’t it be easier if some of these plastics could be placed conveniently in the home recycling bin?
The Roll ‘n' Recycle® program has been under development by Anthony Peyton, Director of PREP Design since registering the trademark in Australia in 2016. He has subsequently registered the mark in the European Union, USA, New Zealand, South Korea and China.
His knowledge of how Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) work, led him to the idea that consumers could be part of the solution by rolling the ‘semi-rigid' plastic pouches into a 3D shape to prevent them from travelling to Mixed Paper at the 2D/3D separation process. This was originally verified at the SKM Recycling MRF in Melbourne in 2017.
However, this solution would only be applicable to monopolymer pouches, which first became commercialised by major producers around 2015: these companies currently refer to these pouches as ‘Recycle Ready'.
In 2019 PREP Design, in association with a founding partner OF Packaging, conducted trials at Recycled Plastics Australia (RPA) in Adelaide, which confirmed that the pouches could be successfully captured as part of the ‘lightweights’ stream. In addition, RPA sort and process bales from other Australian MRFs. The demand for the product was also confirmed by Plastic Forests for the recovered lightweights.
It was a bold recycling program idea that involved working with packaging manufacturers, the recycling industry and brand owners, and was based on a simple, easily recognised logo with directions on packaging highlighting the ability to recycle via the household recycling bin.
The Roll ‘n’ Recycle® accreditation is making a substantial and growing contribution to the commitment to less landfill, and the sustainability targets to recycle more household waste.
The Roll ‘n’ Recycle® program is committed to:
- engaging and supporting packaging converters/manufacturers to proactively innovate and sell ‘monopolymer’ bags and pouches
- encouraging brand owners to make their products’ packaging recyclable via consumers’ household recycling bins
- the success of providing the community the trust and confidence they need to make smarter and more informed recycling decisions.
This shift is driving packaging manufacturers to change their products to meet consumer expectations for great products in more sustainable packaging. The Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) has been widely adopted by brand owners, and so pack labelling is firmly established on the packaging agenda via APCO (Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation). Roll ‘n’ Recycle® can further support this program by helping consumers to recycle right.
Roll ‘n’ Recycle® is proud, passionate and committed to driving significant change in multiple industries and having some fun whilst we are at it.
About PREP Design
PREP Design Pty Ltd was founded in 2017 by GreenChip, Planet Ark Environmental Foundation and Innovyz Waste & Recycling Technologies to partner with APCO to launch PREP for the APCO Members.
Since then the company has partnered with OPRL Ltd to set up a version of PREP for the UK market and with Label4Recycling to set up PREP Singapore and the 'PREP Label', as used for the ARL.
The company is very excited to launch its next venture - Roll ‘n’ Recycle®
The Roll n Recycle® Mark
Since early mankind, people have used symbols to distinguish their individuality, their clan, their territory, and strength – from cave paintings to flags, to the marks on a beast, to the label on your clothing. They arouse emotion and trigger awareness and recall. They are both a mark of trust and of a promise.
For Roll ‘n’ Recycle®, the promise given to customers, consumers, shoppers and the recycling industry that if you dispose of something with the Roll ‘n’ Recycle® logo and words present, you can be sure that the packaging will be recycled.
You can be sure the packaging is made of recyclable material, the manufacturer has created it the right way, and recyclers have conducted trials which have shown the rolled packaging end up in the right place to ACTUALLY get recycled.
All consumers need to do is buy participating products and when finished simply “Roll, place in your household recycle bin, and Recycle”. Simple!
In addition, Roll ‘n’ Recycle®, the (words and logo) are registered trademarks of PREP Design Pty. Ltd. (the legal part!). The promise is more interesting though.
Plastic pouches and bags that do not include the Roll ‘n’ Recycle® Mark may be recyclable at drop-off bins at the front of the major retail stores, or other solutions. To find out, simply check the packaging for the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) and if it has 'Check Locally' on it.
Check Locally: The geotag symbol means that this item may be recyclable at kerbside or other locations recognised as alternative destinations. Use the interactive local recycling tool on arl.org.au to check recyclability options in your area. If there are no local options available, you will be prompted to place the item in the general waste bin.
