Aldi and the UK’s largest dairy cooperative, Arla, are conducting an operational pilot where they are utilising Polytag’s UV-tagging technology to track milk bottle packaging through the recycling process. Building on their 2023 collaboration, the pair are improving packaging traceability, gaining a better understanding of how milk bottle packaging moves through the recycling system. Additionally, the pilot utilises Sun Chemical’s specially developed ink on wrap-around labels, providing comprehensive recycling data.
Polytag
Aldi and Arla integrate Polytag’s UV tags to track milk bottle packaging
The work represents a further development in packaging traceability, with UV-tagged labels applied to Arla’s milk bottle range at the company’s Oakthorpe site. The labels, printed by Saica Flex, enable real-time tracking of packaging as it moves through the recycling stream.
“This next phase with Polytag represents an exciting step forward in how we use data to drive our sustainability strategy,” said Luke Emery, Plastics and Packaging Director, Aldi UK. “By integrating this advanced traceability technology into our packaging, we can gain deeper insights into the lifecycle of our materials.”
Helena Delgado Nordmann, Head of Sustainability at Arla Foods UK, added, “As Europe’s largest dairy cooperative, Arla is committed to understanding how our packaging performs beyond point of sale. By working with Polytag, we hope to gain valuable insight into how milk bottle packaging moves through the recycling system, helping us to make more informed decisions about future packaging developments and supporting our ongoing efforts to improve packaging circularity.”
Stefaan D’hoore, Director of Business Development, Speciality Inks & Coatings at Sun Chemical, said: “This next phase of the collaboration showcases Sun Chemical’s proprietary fluorescent ink technology for wrap-around labels. The ink has been tested against Recyclass’ Washing Quick Test Procedures and EPBP Quicktest QT 507 with good results. It has also been approved for use on labels designed to be optimally detected by Polytag’s ink-agnostic detection units, helping to deliver robust recycling data and not impacting the quality of the recycled polymers. This deployment marks an exciting milestone as the first commercial use of Sun Chemical’s fluorescent ink with Polytag’s technology, demonstrating how collaboration across the packaging value chain can support greater transparency and help accelerate the transition to a more circular economy.”