Design for recycling is the practice of designing a product or pack so that it can actually be collected, sorted and recycled at the end of its life. The decisions are made at the drawing board: which polymer, which colour, which label, ink, adhesive and closure.
Common guidelines are to use a single polymer instead of multilayer structures, prefer clear or light colours, avoid carbon black that NIR sorters cannot detect, keep printing and labels limited and removable, and avoid PVC and other incompatible components. Organisations such as RecyClass publish design guidelines and assess recyclability. Good design raises the yield and value of the recyclate and makes it easier to use recycled content again.
