The British Plastics Federation (BPF) launched the new edition of PackScore - its longstanding packaging design tool – at the Packaging Innovations, at the Birmingham NEC on 15 February.
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Key highlights
- BPF launching new version of its packaging design tool
- Looking to build on success of current tool, which has scored nearly 2000 products worldwide
- BPF claims that the update to the popular design tool will give all users even more detail on why product designs score as they do.
PackScore is designed to be used early in the design stage, providing a way in which to assess how design decisions will affect the ultimate recyclability of a product.
It sits alongside a wealth of other ecodesign resources developed by the BPF and has been used to ‘score’ nearly 2000 packaging products worldwide.
The BPF claims that the update to the popular design tool will give all users even more detail on why product designs score as they do. Users are now taken through a critical path that involves a succession of decision trees, quickly revealing when a ‘bad’ decision is made.
BPF Director of Packaging Brian Lodge states:
"The BPF is committed to helping the packaging industry in any way it can to produce packaging that is suitable for a circular economy and PackScore is one of several tools aimed at achieving this.
Importantly, the latest version of PackScore includes more up-to-date advice on what is and what is not recyclable. The packaging and recycling industries are very dynamic and constantly improving. From time to time, what is considered recyclable does change. This is normally the result of experimentation and experience and the advice of organisations like RecyClass and RECOUP."
Although packaging designers are the primary intended users, PackScore can deliver benefits throughout the specifying and production chain. Lodge adds:
“In practice, anyone wanting to find out about the recyclability of a piece of packaging or compare one pack to another can use the tool with great effect. It is used by sales, marketing, technical, buyers, and management, as well as designers.”