Ocado Retail has emerged as the first UK grocer to enhance packaging traceability through its collaboration with Polytag. By utilizing UV invisible tag technologies, the online grocery retailer supports a more transparent and data-driven recycling system. This initiative encompasses the complete Ocado Retail milk range and serves as a pivotal step toward large-scale circularity in food and drink packaging.
A New Era of Traceable Recycling for UK Grocery
In partnership with Polytag, the UK’s leader in connected packaging and recycling technology, Ocado Retail has initiated the application of UV watermarks on its milk range. While these UV tags remain invisible to consumers, they are readable at Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs), providing Ocado Retail with accurate, item-level data regarding the recycling of its packaging.
These innovative tags will facilitate real-time, barcode-level insights into the recycling processes of Ocado Retail’s packaging. This advancement offers unprecedented visibility that has never before been available at such a scale in the realm of food and drink sustainable packaging.
This initiative builds on Ocado Retail’s role as a founding partner of Polytag’s Ecotrace Programme—a world-first project aimed at transforming how packaging is tracked and accounted for once it enters the waste stream.
Furthermore, over 100 Ocado Retail own-label products now feature Polytag QR codes. These codes equip consumers with clear recycling instructions and sustainability information, effectively linking packaging design with its end-of-life ramifications.
A Connected Supply Chain Solution
Under the Ecotrace Programme, Polytag has deployed a network of Plastic Detection Units (PDUs) in high-volume Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) throughout the UK and Northern Ireland. These units can now monitor nearly 50% of the UK’s household recycling stream, automatically detecting UV-tagged items and sharing real-time, verified data via the Polytag dashboard.
This detailed information provides unparalleled insights into the lifecycle of Ocado Retail’s packaging. It enables benchmarking of real recycling rates and fosters informed decision-making to comply with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation, which mandates retailers to manage the full lifecycle of their packaging and minimize associated fees.
Data regarding product types and locations will deliver a new level of traceability, facilitating real-time optimization of recycling strategies. This optimization ultimately improves recycling rates and mitigates downcycling, where packaging is repurposed into lower-value materials. As brands increasingly assume responsibility for their packaging under EPR, this data will be critical in helping the UK achieve its goal of a 65% recycling rate by 2035.
Ocado Retail’s collaboration with Polytag signifies a substantial advancement in how retailers interact with the lifecycle of their packaging, redefining accountability amidst growing environmental demands.
Alice Rackley, CEO of Polytag, stated: “This is the beginning of an industry-wide shift towards a more transparent recycling system. Retailers and brands can no longer afford to be in the dark about what happens to their packaging. Ocado Retail’s scale and pace in rolling out this technology has established a template for the entire industry, proving what’s feasible and necessary as we enter a new era of accountability for FMCG brands. The data now exists. The infrastructure is in place. Ocado Retail is demonstrating how to harness it.”
Laura Fernandez, Senior Sustainability Manager at Ocado Retail, added: “Ocado Retail constantly seeks data-driven approaches to minimize environmental impact, and we are proud to be the first online retailer to adopt Polytag’s UV watermark technology for our brand range. This technology enables us to fully understand the lifecycle of our packaging and make meaningful decisions guided by that data. Tracking our products through the recycling system marks a significant milestone as we pave the way toward more sustainable practices in food and drink packaging.”
As the Ecotrace network expands, Polytag encourages additional retailers and brands to embrace connected packaging as the key to achieving true circularity.
For more information, visit https://polytag.io/ecotrace/.
