One of the problems that plague both packagers and those trying to recycle packaging is that rarely do the twain meet to actually codify what comprises “recyclable” packaging. Small choices can have a big impact on whether something can be recycled or has to be sent to a landfill. The organization GreenBlue (maybe they should just change their name to Turquoise) has released a variety of “recovery” guidelines for sustainable packaging, which include:

• Design Guidelines for Sustainable Packaging ($35)

• Design for Recovery Guidelines: Aluminum Packaging (free)

• Design for Recovery Guidelines: Glass Packaging (free)

• Design for Recovery Guidelines: Paper Packaging (free)

• Design for Recovery Guidelines: Steel Packaging (free)

As an example, the Paper Packaging guideline document includes a “summary checklist” of questions to ask to ensure that the package that is being designed is compatible with recovery systems:

• Have you included a step early in the packaging design process to determine the compatibility of your current and future packaging designs with recycling and composting processes?

• Have you considered the availability and type of collection and sorting schemes for recycling or composting over the area where your package will be sold?

• Has the probable fate of the package been considered? Is it beneficial (recycling, composting, waste-to-energy [in Europe]) or is it disposal (landfill or waste to energy [in U.S.])?

• If the package is to be composted, are all components made of certified compostable biodegradable materials?

• Consider when your packaging will become waste, for instance in retail or event venues, residential settings, or on-the-go. If the package tends to be disposed of with food waste, consider using packaging materials that easily compost to facilitate overall resource conservation.

And so on. Each document has a wealth of material. According to GreenBiz, the new guidelines were inspired by those produced by the Association of Postconsumer Plastics Recyclers that address plastic packaging:

GreenBlue’s guides speak to typical recycling and composting setups in the U.S., based on interviews and tours at paper mills, sorting facilities, reprocessors and others in the waste and recovery chain. In some cases, designers can have little effect, no matter what they do, on the recyclability of materials. “There is not a whole lot designers can do to make steel packaging not recyclable,” [Liz Shoch, project manager for GreenBlue's Closing the Loop projects] said. Since steel is reprocessed at such high temperatures, any possible contaminants burns up. “For paper, there is a whole lot more design influence that can impede recyclability,” Shoch said. Adhesives, inks, coatings, additives and more can all have varying effects on how well paper gets recycled, if at all.

The Carton Council (yes, there is such a thing) has also been making great strides in improving the collection and recycling on aseptic cartons. After all, as Sydney Carton famously said, “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done.”